Substance Use Disorders More Prevalent among Transgender Adults Compared to Cisgender Peers

Transgender adults in the U.S. are significantly more likely to have a diagnosed substance use disorder compared to cisgender adults. Using deidentified medical claims data, researchers compared substance use disorder diagnoses (SUDDs) of 15,500 transgender adults and 47,000 cisgender adults. Multi-substance SUDDs were 4 times more common among transgender adults than cisgender adults and any-drug SUDDs were over 3.6 times more common. As transgender individuals face specific social and structural issues that can impact mental health and access to care, health care efforts should consider the unique needs of this population as well as investigate and address barriers to high-quality treatment. To learn more, see the study in JAMA.  “