Journal of Clinical Medicine
Global Trends and Regional Patterns in the Epidemiology of Substance Use Disorders in 1990–2023: A Secondary Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2023 Study
By Ahmed M. Ashour and Ali Alshahrani.
Abstract
Background
Substance use disorders (SUDs) remain a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality, imposing substantial health, social, and economic burdens worldwide. Comprehensive assessments of long-term epidemiological trends across World Health Organization (WHO) regions remain limited. This study examined global and regional trends in the age-standardized prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of substance use disorders between 1990 and 2023.
Methods
This longitudinal ecological study utilized publicly available estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 Study. Annual age-standardized prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of substance use disorders were extracted for the period of 1990–2023. Analyses were conducted for global estimates and the six WHO regions. Absolute and percentage changes between 1990 and 2023 were calculated, while temporal trends were illustrated using annual line graphs. Sensitivity analyses using five representative time points (1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2023) were undertaken to assess the robustness of the observed trends.