保健医療科学 Proposed indicators for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in drug abuse fields based on national data from Japan

『保健医療科学』 2021 第70巻 第2号 p.252-272(2021年8月)
Topics: United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3): Japan's progress and future challenges regarding health-related indicators

Proposed indicators for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in drug abuse fields based on national data from Japan

SHIMANE Takuya, INOURA Satoshi, MATSUMOTO Toshihiko

Department of Drug Dependence Research, National Institute of Mental Health,
National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry

Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to develop proposed indicators for Sustainable Development Goals section 3.5 (SDGs 3.5) based on existing databases published in Japan.
Methods: The following data sources were selected to identify potential indicators because they contained information consistent with the research objectives, the surveys were conducted sustainably, and the information was available on the Internet: Nationwide General Population Survey on Drug Use in Japan (2007–2019), reports on the status of the mplementation of a substance abuse preventive class (SAPC) (2015–2018), Nationwide Mental Hospital Survey on Drug-related Psychiatric Disorders (2012–2020), and mental health and welfare-related reports from the National Database (2014–2017).
Results: The lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use among the general population in 2019 was as follows: marijuana, 1.81%; methamphetamine, 0.39%; inhalants, 1.09%; MDMA, 0.30%; cocaine, 0.34%; heroin, 0.13%; new psychoactive substances (NPSs), 0.31%; and LSD, 0.30%. Regarding changes in the lifetime prevalence of substance use from 2007 to 2019, marijuana showed a significant increase, while inhalants showed a significant decrease. The SAPC implementation rate was 78.6%, 90.6%, and 85.8% in elementary, junior high, and high schools respectively. The proportion of principal drugs among patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) visiting psychiatric facilities was as follows: methamphetamine, 36.0%; hypnotics/anxiolytics, 29.5%; over-the-counter drugs (OTCs), 15.7%; polysubstance, 7.3%; marijuana, 5.3%; inhalants, 2.7%; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 0.7%; opioids, 0.5%; and NPSs, 0.3%. While the proportion of methamphetamine cases has remained the highest, the proportions of hypnotic/anxiolytic and OTC cases are increasing. The number of inpatients with SUDs in psychiatric wards was 1,689 in 2014, 1,437 in 2015, 1,431 in 2016, and 2,416 in 2017. The number of outpatients who received treatment for substance use at least once was 6,636 in 2014, 6,321 in 2015, 6,458 in 2016, and 10,746 in 2017.
Conclusions: Considering the accumulation and sustainability of databases in the area of substance abuse and dependence, we concluded that it is appropriate to use the following as SDGs 3.5 indicators for Japan: 1) the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use in the general population; 2) the SAPC implementation rate in schools; 3) the composition ratios of the principal drugs among patients with SUDs in psychiatric facilities, and 4) the number of patients with SUDs and the medical facilities available to them.

keywords: Sustainable Development Goals, substance use disorders, drug abuse, national data, indicators

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