25% Of U.S. Adults Using Prescription Stimulants Misuse Them & 9% Have Prescription Stimulant Use Disorder

About 25.3% of adults aged 18 to 64 prescribed a stimulant (amphetamines and methylphenidate) misuse the medication. About 9.0% had a prescription stimulant use disorder (PSUD). The prevalence of misuse was 3.1 times higher, and the prevalence of PSUD was 2.2 times higher among those using prescription amphetamines than among those using methylphenidate. About 87.1% of those with PSUD were prescribed an amphetamine.

In 2021-2022, about 7.5% of adults who responded to the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health reported using a prescription stimulant in the past year. Within this group, 80 . . .