Research has shown that women lack a stomach enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, which usually acts as a protective barrier and acts to break down the alcohol before it is absorbed. Without this enzyme, alcohol enters women's bloodstreams in a higher concentration. Alcoholic women have virtually none of this enzyme.
Among youths aged 12 to 17, there were 1.1 million (4.5 percent) who needed treatment for an illicit drug use problem in 2009. Of this group, only 115,000 received treatment at a specialty facility (10.5 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 who needed treatment), leaving 983,000 youths who needed treatment but did not receive it at a specialty facility.
Treatment Outcomes among Clients Discharged from Residential Substance Abuse Treatment: 2005 SAMHSA's annual Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) provides data on completion rates by race, gender, primary substance of abuse, and type of residential treatment for those with discharge information provided by the States for their specialty substance abuse treatment facilities. In 2005, clients discharged from short-term residential treatment (30 days or less) were more likely to complete treatment than those discharged from long-term residential treatment (57% vs. 38%). Among short-term residential treatment discharges, a higher proportion of American Indian/Alaska Natives (63%) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (60%) completed treatment than Whites (57%), Blacks (55%), or Hispanics (52%). Clients who reported alcohol as their primary drug of abuse were more likely to complete treatment among residential short-term discharges (66%) and long-term discharges (46%) than those with other primary drugs of abuse. Discharged clients who reported stimulants as their primary drug of abuse were the least likely to complete short-term residential treatment (46%) and were almost as likely (19%) as those reporting opiates (21%) as their primary drug to drop out of short-term residential treatment. Treatment completion among clients discharged from long-term residential treatment was lowest among those reporting cocaine abuse (33%) or opiate abuse (35%) as their primary drug of abuse.
In 2009, rates of substance dependence or abuse for persons aged 12 or older were similar by region, with 9.5 percent in the West, 8.6 percent in the South, 9.1 percent in the Midwest, and 8.8 percent in the Northeast. Rates for substance dependence or abuse among persons aged 12 or older in 2009 were similar among large metropolitan counties (9.0 percent), nonmetropolitan counties (8.5 percent), and small metropolitan counties (9.1 percent).
