Opioid use disorder

Mental health and substance use. Also called: OUD.

How common is Opioid use disorder in the US?

US adults with past-year prescription-related opioid use disorder (POUD, DSM-5 criteria, >=2 symptoms), among adults reporting past-year prescription opioid use: 4.8 million (US adults aged 18+ with past-year prescription opioid use; United States (2021 NSDUH, nationally representative), 2021). Source: The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2024. Label: REPORTED.

• 4.8 million US adults with past-year prescription-related opioid use disorder (POUD, DSM-5 criteria, >=2 symptoms), among adults reporting past-year prescription opioid use. Out of: US adults aged 18+ with past-year prescription opioid use. Where: United States (2021 NSDUH, nationally representative). When: 2021. Covers prescription-related opioid use disorder among adults who used prescription opioids in the past year; excludes opioid use disorder arising solely from illicit opioid use (e.g., heroin without prescription opioid use) and excludes ages 12-17. Relabeled REPORTED on 2026-09-25: the figure is published in a peer-reviewed journal article (T3), not by the federal survey itself, so it cannot carry VERIFIED under the tier ladder. Label: REPORTED.

  Among adults with past-year prescription opioid use, approximately 12.1% (95% CI, 11.1%–13.1%), or 8.3 million (95% CI, 7.5–9.0 million), misused prescription opioids, and approximately 7.0% (95% CI, 6.2%–8.9%), or 4.8 million (95% CI, 4.2–5.3 million), had POUD (ie, with ≥2symptoms) ().

  Source: Prescription Opioid Use Disorder Among Adults Reporting Prescription Opioid Use With or Without Misuse in the United States. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2024. PubMed 39028542. DOI 10.4088/JCP.24m15258.

Each figure measures something different. Do not compare them with each other or with other conditions.

Medical codes

• ICD-10-CM FY2026: F11.20 Opioid dependence, uncomplicated (narrower). Code titles use dependence and abuse. DSM-5-TR uses a single use-disorder scale. The two are not treated as equivalent here.

Research activity

As of 2026-09-24: 1,341 registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov (search Opioid Use Disorder) and 7,847 PubMed records, 2021 to 2025. A count of records is not how common or serious the condition is.

Population information, not medical advice. Methodology · Known limitations