Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis Rate Three Times Higher Among Commercially Insured Adults With Disabilities

Adults with disabilities, including serious mental illness (SMI), were diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) at more than three times the rate of adults without disabilities, according to a recent analysis of commercial insurance claims. Although AUD diagnosis rates increased across both groups between 2016 and 2023, the increase was larger among adults without disabilities. In 2023, 94.3 per 10,000 commercially insured adults ages 18 to 64 without disabilities were diagnosed with AUD, compared with 312.2 per 10,000 adults with disabilities.

Between 2016 and 2023, the overall rate of AUD diagnoses increased 50.6%, from 85 . . .