New CDC Youth Inhalant Data

Yesterday, the “Surprising Trends for Youth Risk” post notes, “The figures from the CDC report indicate that youth behaviors are actually improving in many regards. With the exception of inhalant use, the CDC summary indicates that the use of drugs has dropped over the past several years, following increases between 1991 and 1999.”

The report that he is referring to is the recent Centers for Disease Control’s “2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).” And, the inhalant data is indeed startling.

Page 17 of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report’s “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance” outlines the issues in more details. The reporting period covers January – December 2007 and the report “summarizes results from the national survey, 39 state surveys, and 22 local surveys conducted among students in grades 9–12.”

Under “Lifetime Inhalant Use” (page 17 of the report, 19 on your PDF reader) a quick summary of their findings:

• Nationwide 13.3% of students (grade 9-12) have used an inhalant in their lifetime
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher for female (14.3%) than male (12.4%) students
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher among white female (15.6%) than white male (13.1%) students
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher for 9th-grade female (17.2%) and 10th-grade female (16.6%) than 9th-grade male (13.0%) and 10th-grade male (12.5%) students, respectively
  
• Overall, the prevalence of lifetime inhalant use was higher among white (14.4%) and Hispanic (14.1%) than black (8.5%) students
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher among white female (15.6%) and Hispanic female (15.5%) than black female (7.9%) students.
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher among white male (13.1%) than black male (9.2%) students.
  
• Prevalence of lifetime inhalant use was higher among 9th-grade (15.0%), 10th-grade (14.6%), and 11th-grade (12.5%) than 12th-grade (10.2%) students
  
• Lifetime inhalant use was higher among 9th-grade female (17.2%) and 10th-grade female (16.6%) than 11th-grade female (12.4%) and 12th-grade female (9.7%) students
  
• Prevalence of lifetime inhalant use ranged from 9.8% to 19.2% across state surveys (median: 12.8%) and from 6.9% to 17.4% across local surveys (median: 10.0%)

The survey also provides a good summary in Power Point Slides

While all the findings are alarming, particualrly disturbing are how high the percentages are for the younger grades. Discuss inhalant abuse with your children and encourge as many members of your community to be informed of this issue as possible. Together, we need to see these numbers decline, not increase.