Prevalence and patterns of methamphetamine use and mental health disparity in the United States

Methamphetamine is a growing health problem, as is mental health illness. However, no studies have investigated the combinatory effects of both diseases or characterized national trends over a period of time greater than 10 years. We evaluated US trends in mental health disorder-related hospital admissions (MHD-HAs) and compared them with those with concurrent methamphetamine use (MHD-HA-MUs), comparing the demographic characteristics from 2008 to 2020. Our findings reveal a significant increase in MHD-HA-MUs, increasing 10.5-fold, compared with a 1.4-fold increase in MHD-HAs. We also found a 1.53 times higher adjusted prevalence ratio of MHD-HA-MUs compared with MHD-HAs, even when adjusted for confounding factors. MHD-HA-MUs increased significantly among male patients (13-fold), non-Hispanic Black patients (39-fold), those aged 41-64 years (16-fold), and the South (24-fold). Overall, the data suggest that there are synergistic effects with methamphetamine use and mental health disorder, highlighting this patient group's unique needs, requiring distinct action.