Commentary on why national epidemiological estimates of substance abuse by race should not be used to estimate prevalence and need for substance abuse services at community and local levels.
Large-scale epidemiological studies suggest substantially lower prevalence rates of substance abuse disorders in Black Americans than in White Americans. This is counterintuitive since indicators of socioeconomic status, which on an average are lower in Blacks than Whites, are inversely associated with the prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Herein, we recommend against the use of race-specific national epidemiological data to estimate prevalence of substance abuse disorders and need for services at community/local levels. This is important so that catchment areas with high proportions of minorities receive equitable levels of substance abuse prevention and treatment resources. We illustrate our recommendation through observations and potential biases (e.g., reporting bias) identified from large-scale epidemiological studies of the prevalence of substance use disorders between Black and White Americans.
Kip
Kevin E
KE
Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa 33612, USA. kkip@fmhi.usf.edu
Peters
Roger H
RH
Morrison-Rodriguez
Barbara
B
D015982:Bias; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology