Research shows that psychiatric hospital admissions related to methamphetamine have increased

A new study, now available in Drug and alcohol addictiondescribing trends in psychiatric hospitalizations between 2015 and 2019, shows that most hospitalizations were not substance-related, but that the number of hospitalizations related to methamphetamine increased, while the total number of psychiatric hospitalizations remained stable.

Additionally, researchers note that psychiatric hospitalizations due to methamphetamine use were highest in the Mountain West region, but also varied geographically. “The rates of psychiatric hospitalizations due to methamphetamine use were by far the highest in the Mountain West. As expected, this mirrors the rates of self-reported methamphetamine use and methamphetamine-related overdose deaths in the Mountain West,” said Susan Calcaterra, MD, MPH, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and lead author of the study. “Psychiatric hospitalizations due to methamphetamine use are really increasing in the Midwest and Northeast, in particular.”

While rates of methamphetamine-related psychiatric hospitalizations increased by 68% over the study period, opioid-related hospitalizations decreased by 22%. The increase in methamphetamine rates may be attributed to the ubiquity and affordability of methamphetamine, as well as the lack of resources available to manage methamphetamine use. Why opioid-related psychiatric hospitalizations decreased is less clear, but may be related to the lethality of fentanyl.

“An important conclusion from this study is the need for resources for the mental and physical treatment of methamphetamine use,” Calcaterra said.

“While the vast majority of psychiatric hospitalizations during this time period were not for substance abuse, the significant increase in methamphetamine use indicates that we need to better consider harm reduction in clinical settings. Evidence-based interventions such as contingency management, which provides incentives for abstinence, education on harm reduction, provision of naloxone for overdose reversal, and access to comprehensive mental health treatment have been shown to help mitigate the dangerous effects of methamphetamine use, particularly when it is contaminated with fentanyl, as have public awareness campaigns around opioid use.”