Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Substance Use and Mental Health

The NSDUH Report:  Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Substance Use and Mental Health

• HTML format (also has the data table used to construct each figure)

• PDF format (recommended for printing)

• Press release

• Detailed tables on substance use and mental health before and after Katrina/Rita (HTML format)    (PDF format)

Highlights:

• Data are presented on substance use and mental health problems before and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among adults aged 18 or older who lived in the Gulf State Disaster Area and for adults living in the rest of the United States. Estimates of substance use and mental health problems before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from July 2004 through June 2005. Estimates for the post hurricane period were based on NSDUH data from January 2006 through December 2006.

• Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on substance use and mental health was primarily found among persons who were displaced from their homes.

  Substance Use:

• Adult Gulf State Disaster Area residents who were displaced from their homes for 2 weeks or longer had significantly higher rates of past month use of illicit drugs, marijuana, and cigarettes than those who were not displaced.

• Adult Gulf State Disaster Area residents who were displaced from their homes for less than 2 weeks had significantly higher rates of past month binge alcohol use than those who were not displaced.

• Mental Health Problems:

• Adult Gulf State Disaster Area residents who were displaced from their homes for 2 weeks or longer had significantly higher rates of serious psychological distress, major depressive episode, and unmet need for mental health treatment or counseling in 2006 than those who were not displaced.

Other reports on Hurricanes Katrina/Rita

Other topics

Other OAS publications and services

This Short Report, The NSDUH Report:  Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Substance Use and Mental Health, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse and for selected mental health measures in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health also provides estimates for drug use and for selected mental health measures by State.

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This page was last updated on January 31, 2008.

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