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Substance Use Disorders

Definition

This indicator measures the number of people aged 18 or older who have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder (including alcohol and/or drug dependence), over a five-year time period.

Why This Matters

Substance use disorders are characterized by the excess use of and reliance on a drug, alcohol, or other chemical that leads to severe negative effects on the individual’s health and well-being or to the welfare of others. It is challenging to estimate the prevalence of these disorders because patients are not usually forthright in describing their excess use of alcohol and drugs.

Adults were considered to have a diagnosis of a substance use disorder from 2010/11 to 2014/15 if they met at least one of the following criteria:

  • At least one hospitalization with a diagnosis for alcohol or drug-induced psychosis, alcohol or drug dependence, or nondependent abuse of drugs; or
  • At least one physician visit with a diagnosis for alcohol or drug-induced psychosis, alcohol or drug dependence, or nondependent abuse of drugs.

– Manitoba Centre for Health Police: Mental Illness Among Adult Manitobans (2018)

Measurement and Limitations

Peg had previously reported on rates of substance abuse in the population 10-years and older.

Substance use disorder/substance abuse measures the number of residents aged 10 or older diagnosed with “alcoholic or drug psychoses, alcohol or drug dependence, or nondependent abuse of drugs” (MCHP, 2013, p. 126). Prevalence was calculated from International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes from hospitalization or physician visits in a five-year period.

More specifically, substance use disorder/substance abuse was defined as at least one hospitalization with an ICD-9-CM code of 291, 292, 303, 304, 305 or an ICD-10-CA code of F10-F19, F55 or at least one physician visit with an ICD-9-CM code of 291, 292, 303, 304, or 305.

This indicator likely undercounts the number of individuals with substance abuse issues, since it only captures individuals visiting physicians or hospitals and being coded to one of the substance-abuse codes listed below.

Data Source

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. 2019. Winnipeg Health Region Community Health Assessment 2019. Retrieved from: https://wrha.mb.ca/files/cha-2019-full-report.pdf

Data is updated on Peg as it becomes available from the data providers.

References

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA). (2005). Substance abuse in Canada: Current challenges and choices. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/2005%20CCSA%20Documents/ccsa-004032-2005.pdf

CCSA. (2006). The costs of substance abuse in Canada 2002: Highlights. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/2006%20CCSA%20Documents/ccsa-011332-2006.pdf

Cui Y, Zinnick S, Henderson A, Dunne L. Winnipeg Health Region Community Health Assessment 2019. Winnipeg, MB. Evaluation Platform, Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) & Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. December 2019.

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. (2009). Manitoba RHA indicators atlas 2009. Retrieved from http://mchp-appserv.cpe.umanitoba.ca/reference/RHA_Atlas_Report.pdf

 
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Substance Use Disorders in the Sustainable Development Goals

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3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality. Major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.

Related Substance Use Disorders Targets

3.5

Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol