Researchers at St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine found that among patients presenting to the emergency department with a substance-related problem, cannabis was most common among adolescents while alcohol was most common among older adults.
The study, published Nov. 4 in The American Journal of Psychiatry, analyzed data from large health insurance databases for more than 1.3 million patients ages 16 to 64 who had at least one substance-related emergency care visit between January 2016 and December 2023. Researchers analyzed the data by age group and substance used.
Here are six findings.
1. Cannabis was involved in 84% of substance-related ED visits and hospitalizations among adolescents ages 16 to 18, the highest share of any age group.
2. Young adults ages 19 to 24 had the largest increase in the share of encounters involving cannabis, about 1.8 percentage points a year. Among adolescents, the share rose about 0.8 percentage points a year, while older adults saw little change.
3. The study found increases in cannabis-related psychosis and severe vomiting among younger people.
4. Nearly half of cannabis-related encounters also involved at least one other substance.
5. Although alcohol use declined nationally during the study period, alcohol-related emergency visits and hospital admissions remained high and increased with age.
6. Alcohol was involved in 70% of encounters among adults ages 55 to 64, compared with 33% among adolescents. Alcohol-related admissions rose about 3.6 percentage points a year among adults ages 25 to 34.
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