Does DSM-5 Nomenclature for Inhalant Use Disorder Improve Upon DSM-IV?

Among drug classes, substance use disorder (SUD) consequent to using inhalants (SUD-I) has perhaps the smallest evidence base. This study compared DSM-IV versus DSM-5 nomenclatures, testing whether 4 traditional categories of inhalants (aerosols, gases, nitrites, solvents) are manifestations of a single pathology, obtaining item parameters of SUD-I criteria, and presenting evidence that SUD can result from using nitrites. An urban, Midwestern, community sample of 162 inhalant users was recruited. Participants were 2/3 male, nearly 85% White, and had a mean age of 20.3 years (SD = 2.4 years), spanning the ages of greatest incidence of SUD and slightly older than the primary ages of inhalants use initiation. Analyses consisted of bivariate associations, principle components analysis, and item response theory analysis. Validity was demonstrated for SUD-I consequent to each inhalant type as well as for aggregating all inhalant types into a single drug class. Results supported DSM-5 nomenclature over DSM-IV in multiple ways except that occurrence of diagnostic orphans was not statistically smaller using DSM-5.