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January 2, 2004 |
In Brief |
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Substance use during pregnancy has garnered substantial medical, governmental, and media attention because of the risks that illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use pose to unborn children.1,2,3,4 The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks female respondents aged 15 to 44 whether they are currently pregnant and how far along in the pregnancy they are.5 The 2002 NSDUH also asks respondents about their past month use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Any illicit drug includes marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or any prescription-type drugs used nonmedically. Binge alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days. Heavy alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days; all heavy alcohol users are also binge alcohol users. This report examines illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use among pregnant and nonpregnant women aged 15 to 44.6
The rate of illicit drug use was higher among nonpregnant women than among pregnant women, regardless of age, and pregnant women aged 15 to 25 were more likely to use illicit drugs in the past month than pregnant women aged 26 to 44 (Figure 1). Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, approximately 6 percent of blacks, 4 percent of whites, and 2 percent of Hispanics used illicit drugs in the past month (Figure 1). White and Hispanic women who were pregnant had lower rates of illicit drug use than nonpregnant women of the same age. However, among black women, the rate of past month illicit drug use was not statistically different between those who were pregnant and those who were not pregnant.
Figure 1. Percentages of Past Month Any Illicit Drug Use among Women Aged 15 to 44, by Pregnancy Status, Age, and Race/Ethnicity*: 2002 |
Figure 2. Percentages of Past Month Binge Drinking among Women Aged 15 to 44, by Pregnancy Status, Age, and Race/Ethnicity*: 2002 |
The rate of past month binge alcohol use among pregnant women aged 15 to 25 (5 percent) was more than twice the rate reported by pregnant women aged 26 to 44 (2 percent) (Figure 2). White, black, and Hispanic women who were pregnant had lower rates of past month binge drinking than nonpregnant women of the same age.
Figure 3. Percentages of Past Month Cigarette Use among Women Aged 15 to 44, by Pregnancy Status, Age, and Race/Ethnicity*: 2002 |
Figure 4. Percentages of Women Aged 15 to 44 Reporting Past Month Substance Use, by Pregnancy and Recent Motherhood Status**: 2002 |
** Pregnant women were those women aged 15 to 44 who were currently pregnant at the time of the survey. Nonpregnant, recent mothers were defined as women aged 15 to 44 who were not currently pregnant and who gave birth during the prior year. Nonpregnant, not recent mothers were defined as women aged 15 to 44 who were not currently pregnant and who did not have a biological child under 1 year old in the household. This definition of nonpregnant women is different than in the previous sections of this report.
Source: SAMHSA 2002 NSDUH.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to 2002, this survey was called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The 2002 data are based on information obtained from 68,126 persons aged 12 or older, including 1,104 pregnant women aged 15 to 44. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence.
The NSDUH Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Information and data for this issue are based on the following publication and statistics: Office of Applied Studies. (2003). Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 033836, NHSDA Series H22). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Also available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Additional tables available upon request. Because of improvements and modifications to the 2002 NSDUH, estimates from the 2002 survey should not be compared with estimates from the 2001 or earlier versions of the survey to examine changes over time. |
Other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are also available on-line on the OAS home page: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov
This page was last updated on December 31, 2008. |
SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.
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