Download Grant County Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile

Grant County Substance
Abuse Epidemiology
Profile - 2014
Acknowledgements
The Grant County Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile was prepared by Sarah Shrum (while a
Masters in Public Health graduate student at the University of New Mexico) for the New Mexico
Department of Health (NMDOH), Epidemiology and Response Division (ERD), Injury and
Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau (IBEB), Substance Abuse Epidemiology Section (SAES), with
data provision and analytic support from the NMDOH IBEB Survey Section and Health Systems
Epidemiology; and was made possible by the generous support of the NM Human Services
Department (NMHSD), Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD), Office of Substance Abuse
Prevention (OSAP), based on an allocation from the Statewide Epidemiological Outcomes
Workgroup (SEOW) grant received from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA-CSAP); and by funding from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Alcohol Program.
i
Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 1
Evidence-Based Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 3
Technical Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Data Sources ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Data Suppression ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Consumption ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Alcohol ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Adult Binge Drinking ............................................................................................................................. 7
Youth Binge Drinking........................................................................................................................... 10
Adult Heavy Drinking .......................................................................................................................... 12
Youth Early Alcohol Initiation ............................................................................................................. 14
Controlled Substance Prescription Consumption ................................................................................... 16
Opioids ................................................................................................................................................ 16
Benzodiazepines ................................................................................................................................. 19
Prescribing Patterns ............................................................................................................................ 21
Illicit Drugs .............................................................................................................................................. 25
Youth Marijuana Use .......................................................................................................................... 25
Youth Cocaine Use .............................................................................................................................. 27
Youth Prescription Drug Use ............................................................................................................... 29
Youth Injectable Drug Use .................................................................................................................. 31
Youth Methamphetamine Use............................................................................................................ 33
Consequences ............................................................................................................................................. 35
Hospitalizations for Alcohol and Other Drugs ........................................................................................ 35
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome ......................................................................................................... 38
Alcohol-Related Death ............................................................................................................................ 39
Alcohol-Related Chronic Disease ........................................................................................................ 42
Alcohol- Related Chronic Liver Disease............................................................................................... 44
Alcohol-Related Injury Death .............................................................................................................. 46
Total Drug Overdose ............................................................................................................................... 48
Adult Mental Health................................................................................................................................ 50
Frequent Mental Distress ................................................................................................................... 50
ii
Current Depression ............................................................................................................................. 52
Youth Mental Health ............................................................................................................................... 54
Youth Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness ...................................................................... 54
Youth Seriously Considered Suicide .................................................................................................... 56
Youth Attempted Suicide .................................................................................................................... 58
iii
Executive Summary

In 2012, Grant County ranked first in the state for adult binge drinking.
o Binge drinking (defined as 4+ drinks on one occasion among women, or 5+ drinks on
one occasion among men) is primarily associated with alcohol-related injury, such as
suicide, homicide, and motor-vehicle traffic crash death.

In 2012, Grant County ranked third in the state for adult heavy drinking.
o Heavy drinking (defined as 2+ drinks per day among women, or 3+ drinks per day
among men) is primarily associated with alcohol-related chronic disease, such as
alcoholic liver disease and alcohol dependence syndrome.

Among youth, alcohol consumption in Grant County was high. A total of 21.5% of youth in
Grant County reported binge drinking in 2013 (versus 17.1% for New Mexico), and 27.9% of
youth reported that they began regularly consuming alcohol before age 13 (versus 22.3%
for New Mexico).
o Youth who start drinking before age 15 years are five times more likely to develop
alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after
age 21 years.

Controlled substance prescribing rates, especially for opioids, were concerning for Grant
County. In addition, there were high rates of both opioid and benzodiazepine use in the
entire Southwest region of the state.

Grant County had the fourth highest amount of opioids dispensed per person in 2013.

Certain prescribing patterns put patients at high risk for drug overdose death. These
include: prescribing high doses of opioids (>120 morphine milligram equivalent [MME] per
day), prescribing benzodiazepines and opioids together, and “doctor-shopping” (filling
prescription from multiple providers and/or with multiple pharmacies).
o Of these prescribing patterns, high dose opioid prescriptions among Grant County
residents were particularly concerning. A total of 8.4% of patients in Grant County
who received opioid prescriptions filled prescriptions for over 120 MME/day, versus
7.4% statewide.
1

Illicit drug use at a county level in New Mexico is measured primarily in youth and is not
regularly measured among adults. Measures include marijuana use, cocaine use,
prescription misuse, injection drug use, and methamphetamine use among youth, grades 912. Prevalence of illicit drug use among Grant County youth was similar to the state rate for
the measures listed here.

In 2012, over 20,000 hospitalizations in New Mexico were attributable to alcohol and other
drugs. In Grant County, 306 hospitalizations were due to alcohol and other drugs.
o Grant County is a major service provider for other southwestern New Mexico
counties. A total of 47.8% of alcohol and other drug hospitalizations among Catron
County residents occurred in Grant County and 72.7% of alcohol and other drug
hospitalizations among Hidalgo County residents occurred in Grant County.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a constellation of conditions that occur in a
newborn who was exposed to addictive illegal or prescription drugs while in utero. The rate
of NAS hospitalizations among infants in Grant County was very similar to that of New
Mexico (6.5 vs. 6.9 hospitalizations per 1,000 live births, 2011 and 2012 combined data).

Alcohol-related mortality rates were very similar between Grant County (56.0 deaths per
100,000 population) and New Mexico (52.3 deaths per 100,000). This is twice the national
rate (27.9 deaths per 100,000 population for 2006-2010 combined).

Grant County ranked seventh in New Mexico for total drug overdose death, which may be
related to high rates of prescription drug use.
2
Evidence-Based Recommendations
Drug Overdose:

Increase access to effective treatment for drug dependence and abuse. Appropriate
treatment can greatly reduce the consumption of drugs and reduce the risk of overdose
and other consequences.

Assure that naloxone is available to all at high risk of drug overdose. Naloxone is a safe
and effective way to reverse opioid overdose, and can be administered by almost
anyone with minimal training.

Ensure that prescribers and pharmacies use the Prescription Monitoring Program to
monitor prescription drug consumption among patients and reduce high-risk
prescribing.
Alcohol:

Increase access to effective treatment for alcohol dependence and abuse. Appropriate
treatment can help reduce excessive consumption and the associated negative
consequences for individuals and the community.

Promote evidence-based strategies, such as screening and brief intervention and local
control over alcohol outlet densities. These and other strategies in the Community
Guide (http://www.thecommunityguide.org/alcohol/index.html) have been shown to be
effective in reducing excessive consumption.

Reduce the consumption of alcohol, particularly in high risk areas, using evidence-based
prevention strategies. Use data on deaths and alcohol sales to target high risk areas. A
reduction in excessive consumption (heavy drinking, binge drinking) can reduce the
harms associated with alcohol.
3
Technical Notes
Data Sources

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). It is the nationwide surveillance
system, developed and conducted annually to monitor state-level prevalence of the
major behavioral risks among non-institutionalized adults associated with premature
morbidity and mortality. BRFSS updated its surveillance methods in 2011, when cell
phone surveys were included in the public release data set. Comparison of estimates
from 2010 and prior to those from 2011 onwards must be interpreted with caution, as it
may be partially due to change in methods necessary to keep up with changes in cell
phone use in the U.S. and take advantage of improved statistical procedures.

Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data (HIDD). Information included in the HIDD was
collected by the Health Policy Commission until 2011 and since then, the system has
been managed by New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). HIDD contains
information collected when patients are discharged from a hospital in New Mexico.
Federal facilities are not required to report information to the HIDD. However, the
Indian Health Service (IHS) has voluntarily provided data to the HIDD, but with major
limitations. This will create a more population-based dataset. New Mexico statute (New
Mexico Administrative Code [NMAC] 7.1.27) specifies the information to be reported by
hospitals on a quarterly basis. Variables include: patient’s gender, age, county of
residence, diagnosis (coded using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases
and Related Health Problems, version 9, Clinical Modification [ICD-9CM]), procedure
codes, and admission and release dates. Additional diagnosis information can be
collected from the external cause of injury codes (E-codes).

New Mexico Death Data. Death rates were calculated by the NMDOH, Epidemiology and
Response Division (ERD), Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau, Substance Abuse
Epidemiology Section (SAES) using final death data from NMDOH-ERD Bureau of Vital
Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), New Mexico’s annual estimates of population
4
(2000-2012) from the University of New Mexico (UNM), Geospatial and Population
Studies (GPS). For the estimation of alcohol-related deaths and alcohol-related death
rates the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) revised Alcohol-Related Disease Impact
(ARDI) Alcohol-Attributable Fractions (AAFs) were used. AAFs are the proportion of a
given cause of death that can be attributed to excessive alcohol use. The revised CDC
ARDI AAFs are the standard AAFs recommended for use by the CDC.

New Mexico Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). It was established in 2005 in
response to the increase in prescription drug overdose. The PMP is operated by the New
Mexico Board of Pharmacy under the board’s authority to regulate pharmacies and has
been in place since July 2005. All controlled substance prescriptions filled by
pharmacies (including refills) are required to be reported to the PMP within seven days.
The information collected by the PMP is similar to the information on a prescription
label, and identifies the prescriber, the patient, the pharmacy, the drug and includes
details of the prescription such as quantity and number of days of supply.

Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS). It is the New Mexico tool to assess the health
risk behaviors and resiliency (protective) factors of New Mexico high school and middle
school students. The YRRS is part of the national CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
System (YRBSS). The YRRS is offered to a selection of high schools and middle schools in
each school district in the fall of odd-numbered years. All data are self-reported by
students who voluntarily complete the survey during one class period.
5
Data Suppression

New Mexico’s Department of Health (NMDOH) ‘Small Numbers Rule’ establishes
suppression of reporting only for estimates based on three or fewer events coming from
a population of fewer than 20 people.

For survey-based measures of risk behaviors (i.e., BRFSS and YRRS), rates based on
fewer than 50 respondents for a given table cell have been removed from this report.
While prevalence estimates can be calculated based on very small numbers of
respondents, estimates based on fewer than 50 respondents can be unstable and are
often misleading.
6
Consumption
Alcohol
Adult Binge Drinking
Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of alcohol consumption that brings the blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) level to 0.08% or above. This pattern of drinking usually corresponds to 5 or
more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on a single occasion for women,
generally within about 2 hours. According to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), about 47% of homicides, 32% of fall injury deaths, and 29% of drug
overdose deaths are attributable to alcohol. These statistics are generally more attributable to
binge patterns of alcohol consumption rather than chronic heavy drinking.
Likewise, binge drinking is the primary causal factor in roughly 45% of motor vehicle crash
deaths among males aged 20-44, and in more than a third of motor vehicle crash deaths among
females aged 20-44. Binge drinking is also associated with a wide range of other social
problems, including domestic and sexual violence, crime, and risky sexual behavior. Binge
drinking rates tend to decrease with age and tend to be higher among males. Figure 2 shows
that binge drinking rates were higher in Grant County than in New Mexico overall, and higher
than the U.S. total. Data from American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black populations in
Grant County were suppressed following NMDOH’s ‘Small Numbers Rule’. Binge drinking was
slightly lower among Hispanic populations, but higher in White populations in Grant County
(Figure 1).
7
Figure 1: Binge drinking* (past 30 days) by county, adults aged 18+,
New Mexico, 2012
Grant
21.8
Dona Ana
20.8
Lincoln
19.9
San Miguel
19.1
Chaves
17.6
McKinley
16.8
Lea
16.4
Curry
16.1
Torrance
16.0
County
Eddy
15.2
New Mexico
14.6
Roosevelt
14.4
Bernalillo
14.2
Otero
14.0
Sandoval
13.4
Los Alamos
13.3
Santa Fe
13.1
San Juan
11.5
Valencia
11.0
Socorro
10.4
Luna
10.0
Cibola
9.0
Taos
8.8
Sierra
8.4
Rio Arriba
8.3
Quay
6.1
Colfax
5.1
US
16.9
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
Percent of Adults
Source: BRFSS, 2012
*Binge Drinking: 5 or more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more
drinks on a single occasion for women.
**Data for Union, Mora, Hidalgo, Guadalupe, Harding, De Baca, and Catron
counties data are suppressed due to small numbers
8
Figure 2: Binge drinking* (past 30 days) by race/ethnicity, adults aged 18+,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2012
30
25.8
Percent of Adults
25
21.8
18.4
20
15
14.6
17.7
13.0
12.9
12.9
12.0
10
5
0
Total Rate
American Indian
Asian/Pacific
Black (Suppressed
(Suppressed in
Islander
in Grant County
Grant County due (Suppressed in
due to low
to low numbers) Grant County due
numbers)
to low numbers)
NM
Hispanic
White
Grant County
Source: BRFSS, 2012
*Binge Drinking: 5 or more drinks on a single occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on a single occasion for
women.
9
Youth Binge Drinking
Among youth, binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the
past 30 days. Binge drinking is a major risk factor for the three leading causes of death for this
age group: motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and homicide. It is also associated with poor
academic performance and risky behaviors such as impaired driving, riding with a drinking
driver, physical fighting, increased number of sexual partners, and other substance use.
Although the percent of youth who binge drink in Grant County was slightly higher than the
percent for New Mexico overall, the difference was not statistically significant. Grant County
ranked 8th in the state for rates of youth binge drinking.
Figure 3: Youth binge drinking*, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
25%
22%
21%
20%
Percent of Youth
17%
15%
10%
5%
0%
US
NM
Grant County
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Binge drinking: five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30
days.
10
Figure 4: Youth binge drinking* by county, grades 9-12,
County
New Mexico, 2013
Luna
Lea
Socorro
Valencia
Catron
Taos
San Miguel
Grant
Dona Ana
Cibola
Eddy
Bernalillo
Rio Arriba
Otero
Santa Fe
Guadalupe
Quay
Colfax
Sierra
Lincoln
Curry
New Mexico
Sandoval
Roosevelt
Los Alamos
Torrance
San Juan
Hidalgo
Mora
McKinley
De Baca
US
30.7
28.0
26.9
26.2
24.3
23.8
23.3
21.5
21.3
21.1
20.0
19.9
19.8
19.6
19.3
19.1
18.9
18.8
18.4
17.8
17.5
17.1
16.5
16.3
14.0
13.5
13.3
13.0
12.6
11.7
7.5
20.8
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Binge drinking: five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30
days.
**Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
11
35
Adult Heavy Drinking
Heavy drinking (defined as having more than 2 drinks/day, for males; and more than 1
drink/day, for females) is a pattern of excessive alcohol consumption that can lead to alcoholrelated chronic disease and death. Numerous chronic disease conditions such as alcoholic liver
disease and alcohol dependence syndrome are strongly associated with heavy drinking. A
significant proportion of many other conditions (e.g., unspecified liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis)
are due in part to patterns of heavy alcohol consumption. For each of these causes, it is chronic
heavy drinking (as opposed to acute episodic, or binge drinking) that is considered primarily
responsible for the incidence and progression of alcohol-related chronic disease. Heavy drinking
is also associated with a wide range of other social problems, including alcoholism (also known
as alcohol dependence), domestic violence and family disruption.
The total rate for heavy drinking in Grant County was higher than in New Mexico and the
United States as a whole. Although the percent of adults who drink heavily in Grant County was
higher than the percent for New Mexico overall, the difference was not statistically significant.
Figure 5: Heavy drinking (past 30 days) by race and ethnicity, adults 18+,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2012
Percent of Adults
8.5
8.3
7.8
5.4 5.8
5.5
6.0
4.3
2.6
Total Rate
American Indian Asian/Pacific
Black
(Suppressed in
Islander
(Suppressed in
Grant County (Suppressed in Grant County
due to small
Grant County
due to small
numbers)
due to small
numbers)
numbers)
NM
Grant County
Source: BRFSS, 2012
12
Hispanic
White
Figure 6: Heavy drinking (past 30 days) by county, adults 18+,
New Mexico, 2012
San Miguel
10.6
Lincoln
8.3
Grant
7.8
Chaves
7.8
Santa Fe
7.5
McKinley
6.9
Dona Ana
6.7
County
Lea
6.3
Eddy
5.9
Sandoval
5.8
New Mexico
5.5
Valencia
5.5
Bernalillo
5.4
Los Alamos
5.3
Colfax
5.0
Quay
4.8
Torrance
4.2
Curry
4.0
San Juan
4.0
Socorro
3.8
Sierra
3.6
Cibola
3.4
Taos
3.0
Otero
2.0
Rio Arriba
1.5
Luna
1.3
Roosevelt
0.0
US
6.1
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
Percent of Adults
Source: BRFSS, 2012
*Data for Union, Mora, Hidalgo, Harding, Guadalupe, De Baca, and Catron
counties data are suppressed due to small numbers
13
Youth Early Alcohol Initiation
Alcohol use by persons under age 13 is a major public health problem. Youth who drink alcohol
are more likely to experience academic, social, and physical health problems. Youth who start
drinking before age 15 years are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse
later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years. Grant County was ranked
10th, with rates above both the state rate and the national rate.
14
Figure 7: First drink before age 13, by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
Catron
39.9
Valencia
33.1
Mora
33.0
Taos
30.5
Sierra
29.5
San Miguel
29.2
Lea
28.9
Guadalupe
28.4
Otero
27.9
Grant
27.9
Luna
27.6
Colfax
27.5
Quay
27.1
Socorro
26.4
County
Eddy
26.1
Santa Fe
25.5
Cibola
23.9
Roosevelt
23.8
Bernalillo
23.4
Rio Arriba
23.0
Dona Ana
22.6
NM
22.3
Lincoln
21.1
Sandoval
20.5
Curry
20.5
McKinley
19.5
Hidalgo
19.4
Torrance
18.4
Los Alamos
18.1
San Juan
17.3
De Baca
15.1
US
18.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Percent of High Schoolers
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
15
Controlled Substance Prescription Consumption
Prescription drug use and abuse has been an increasing trend both nationwide and in New
Mexico. More than 3 million prescriptions for controlled substances are reported to the NM
PMP each year. Controlled substances are a special class of prescription drugs that are
considered substantially more dangerous than other prescription drugs. This section of the
report is drawn from these data.
Opioids
Opioids are powerful pain relievers. Opioids have a significant risk of causing overdose death.
Examples are morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone. Because opioids vary widely in strength,
a factor is applied to each opioid prescription to compute the morphine milligram equivalent
(MME) quantity of that prescription. This allows computing a measure of the total amount of
opioids dispensed taking into account the different strengths of the drugs. Table 1 shows a few
examples of common opioid prescriptions and their respective MME for reference.
Table 1. Examples of common opioid prescriptions and the morphine milligram equivalent
(MME) quantity for the prescription
Prescription
Fentanyl transdermal, 25 mcg per patch, each patch used for three days
Oxycodone, 15 mg, four times per day
Tramadol, 100 mg, four times per day
Methadone, 10 mg, two times per day
Acetaminophen/hydrocodone, 325 mg/5 mg, four times per day
16
Total daily MME
60.0
90.0
40.0
60.0
20.0
As seen in Figure 8, more opioids were dispensed in Grant County per patient that the overall
rate for New Mexico. Grant County was fourth highest in the state for rates of opioid
dispensation per patient. As Figure 9 shows, not only did Grant County have high rates of opioid
prescription MME, but it is surrounded by other counties that also had a high rate of
consumption.
Figure 8: Opioid morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per patient,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2013
Annual MME per patient
6000
5623
5000
4000
3512
3000
2000
1000
0
NM
Grant County
Source: New Mexico Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), 2013
17
Figure 9: Opioid morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per patient by county,
New Mexico, 2013
Source: PMP, 2013
18
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety drugs. Benzodiazepines are frequently involved in overdose
deaths, but they are very rarely the only drug involved. In these data, the benzodiazepine-like
drugs, which are insomnia drugs like Ambien, are included in the benzodiazepine category. Like
opioids, benzodiazepines vary in strength, so a factor is applied to each prescription to compute
the valium milligram equivalent (VME). Grant County was again higher than the New Mexico
average. Grant County was 5th highest in New Mexico for benzodiazepine dispensation per
patient.
Figure 10: Benzodiazepine valium milligram equivalent (VME),
Grant County and New Mexico, 2013
3500
Benzodiazepine valium milligram
equivalents per patient
3077
3000
2500
2401
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Grant County
NM
Source: PMP, 2013
19
Figure 11: Benzodiazepine valium milligram equivalents (VME) per patient by county,
New Mexico, 2013
Source: PMP, 2013
20
Prescribing Patterns
There are several prescribing practices that are associated with increased risk of overdose death and are
targeted by prevention efforts. These include high dose opioid prescriptions, and certain drug
combinations (e.g. opioids plus benzodiazepines). Also of concern are patients receiving prescriptions
from multiple providers or filling prescription at multiple pharmacies in a small period of time (“doctor
shopping”). For the purposes of this report, high dosage of opioid was defined as 120 MME/day per
patient and co-prescription of opioids and benzodiazepines was defined as percent of opioid patients
receiving any benzodiazepine prescription. “Doctor shopping” was defined as receiving prescriptions
from five or more providers or filling prescriptions from five or more pharmacies.
Of these prescribing practices, the 2013 PMP data indicate that prescriptions for high doses of opioids
may be an area of concern for Grant County. 8.4% of patients receiving opioid prescriptions received
prescriptions for greater than 120 MME. Nearly 16% of patients receiving opioid prescriptions received
prescriptions for both opioids and benzodiazepines in the same month, and 3.5% of patients in Grant
County filled prescriptions at multiple pharmacies or from multiple prescribers.
21
Figure 12: Patients prescribed over 120 morphine milligram equivalents (MME)
per day by county, New Mexico, 2013
Roosevelt
12.9
Rio Arriba
10.4
Taos
10.3
San Miguel
9.9
Hidalgo
8.7
Catron
8.7
Grant
8.4
Curry
8.4
Otero
8.3
Sierra
8.2
Santa Fe
8.2
Eddy
8.2
County
Luna
8.0
Harding
7.8
San Juan
7.7
Mora
7.6
Torrance
7.5
Bernalillo
7.5
New Mexico
7.4
Sandoval
7.3
Dona Ana
6.8
Lincoln
6.6
Chaves
6.6
Valencia
6.5
Socorro
5.8
Los Alamos
5.5
Quay
5.4
Lea
5.2
Colfax
5.2
Guadalupe
4.1
Cibola
3.9
McKinley
3.7
De Baca
2.9
Union
2.0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Percent of Patients with Opioid Prescriptions
Source: PMP, 2013
22
14
Figure 13: Patients with prescriptions of opioids and benzodiazepines by county,
New Mexico, 2013
Sierra
24.5
Mora
23.6
De Baca
23.3
Lincoln
21.1
San Miguel
20.9
Harding
20.6
Colfax
18.8
Socorro
18.0
Luna
17.9
Rio Arriba
17.4
Hidalgo
17.4
Los Alamos
17.2
Santa Fe
17.0
Taos
16.3
Otero
16.2
County
Grant
15.9
Quay
15.6
Torrance
15.2
Dona Ana
15.2
Valencia
15.0
Lea
15.0
Bernalillo
15.0
New Mexico
14.9
Eddy
14.6
Sandoval
14.2
Guadalupe
14.0
Chaves
13.9
Union
13.7
Roosevelt
12.4
Cibola
12.3
Curry
11.3
San Juan
10.1
Catron
9.4
McKinley
8.3
0
5
10
15
20
Percent of Patients with Opioid Prescriptions
Source: PMP, 2013
23
25
30
Figure 14: Patients using multiple practitioners by county,
New Mexico, 2013
Harding
10.3
Rio Arriba
7.4
Socorro
6.1
San Miguel
5.9
Torrance
5.7
Guadalupe
5.7
Sandoval
5.4
Mora
5.3
Bernalillo
5.3
Quay
4.9
McKinley
4.9
Sierra
4.8
Santa Fe
4.8
Otero
4.7
New Mexico
4.7
County
Valencia
4.5
San Juan
4.3
Taos
4.1
Dona Ana
4.0
Chaves
4.0
Eddy
3.9
Lincoln
3.8
Los Alamos
3.5
Grant
3.5
Hidalgo
3.1
Cibola
3.0
Lea
2.8
Luna
2.7
Curry
2.7
Union
2.6
De Baca
2.4
Colfax
2.4
Roosevelt
2.2
Catron
1.8
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
Percent of controlled substance patients
Source: PMP, 2013
24
12.0
Illicit Drugs
Youth Marijuana Use
New Mexico marijuana use rates among high school students have held relatively steady
over recent years (New Mexico Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile, 2014). Statewide,
marijuana use tends to be higher among American Indians than for Hispanics or Whites.
Grant County ranks below New Mexico rates for marijuana use.
25
Figure 15: Marijuana use (past 30 days) by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
Cibola
39.2
Valencia
39.0
San Miguel
38.2
Taos
36.9
Rio Arriba
32.8
Socorro
32.3
McKinley
32.2
Bernalillo
32.2
Santa Fe
31.3
Sierra
28.8
Lincoln
28.3
New Mexico
27.8
Dona Ana
26.4
Sandoval
26.2
County
Luna
25.7
Torrance
24.7
Otero
24.6
Grant
24.1
Colfax
24.0
San Juan
23.7
Lea
22.5
Guadalupe
22.4
Eddy
22.2
Los Alamos
20.6
Curry
20.0
Quay
19.2
Mora
19.0
Catron
18.7
Hidalgo
12.7
Roosevelt
11.9
De Baca
6.3
US
23.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small numbers
26
Youth Cocaine Use
Since 2003, New Mexico has consistently had a higher rate of youth cocaine use than for the
United States. Statewide, there was not a significant difference between use by sexes, although
rates were higher as students aged, and were higher statewide for African Americans and
Asian/Pacific Islanders. Grant County had rates of cocaine use below the overall rate for New
Mexico for 2013, but higher than the United States overall rate.
27
Figure 16: Cocaine use (ever) by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
Valencia
16.8
San Miguel
15.5
Dona Ana
13.5
Cibola
12.9
Bernalillo
12.5
Eddy
12.2
Luna
12.0
Lincoln
11.9
Santa Fe
11.8
Guadalupe
11.5
Sandoval
11.1
County
Rio Arriba
10.9
New Mexico
10.3
Lea
10.3
Socorro
10.1
Otero
10.1
McKinley
10.1
Curry
10.1
Taos
9.1
Grant
9.0
Los Alamos
8.3
Colfax
8.0
Torrance
6.8
Catron
6.7
Mora
6.1
Hidalgo
5.9
San Juan
5.8
Sierra
4.5
Quay
4.4
Roosevelt
3.5
De Baca
3.0
US
5.5
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
28
Youth Prescription Drug Use
Grant County youth had higher rates of taking prescription drugs without a prescription than
either New Mexico or the United States youth. Statewide, there was no significant difference
for sex or age, although African Americans were more likely to report use that Hispanics or
Whites.
29
Figure 17: Prescription drug use (ever) by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
Valencia
25.7
Sierra
25.4
San Miguel
25.0
Quay
21.3
Luna
20.6
Bernalillo
19.8
Cibola
19.6
Socorro
19.4
County
Eddy
18.9
Colfax
18.9
Guadalupe
18.8
Dona Ana
18.8
Sandoval
18.4
Otero
18.4
Grant
18.3
Santa Fe
18.1
Taos
17.5
Torrance
17.3
Lea
17.3
Lincoln
17.2
Rio Arriba
16.7
McKinley
16.7
New Mexico
16.3
Catron
12.4
Curry
12.2
De Baca
12.0
Roosevelt
11.6
San Juan
11.0
Mora
9.6
Los Alamos
9.5
Hidalgo
8.9
US
17.8
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to
small numbers
30
30.0
Youth Injectable Drug Use
Nationally and statewide, there was not much variation in reported lifetime use of
injectable drugs. New Mexico consistently has rates higher than the national rate. Young
males were more likely to report use than young females, and Black/African American and
Asian/Pacific Islander students were more likely to report use as well. For 2013, Grant
County ranked below the New Mexico overall rate.
31
Figure 18: Injectable drug use (ever) by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
San Miguel
9.2
Valencia
8.6
Santa Fe
6.5
Luna
5.6
Lincoln
5.2
Cibola
5.2
Mora
4.4
Rio Arriba
4.3
Curry
4.3
Sandoval
4.0
Lea
4.0
Bernalillo
3.8
Otero
3.7
Socorro
3.6
County
Dona Ana
3.6
Eddy
3.4
Los Alamos
3.3
Taos
3.2
New Mexico
3.1
Colfax
2.7
Catron
2.6
Sierra
2.4
Quay
2.3
McKinley
2.3
San Juan
2.2
Grant
1.9
Torrance
1.8
Roosevelt
1.6
Hidalgo
1.5
De Baca
1.4
Guadalupe
0.5
US
1.7
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
32
Youth Methamphetamine Use
New Mexico rates for methamphetamine use among youth have been consistently higher
than national rates. There was no statistical difference between sexes in usage, but
Black/African American and Asian/Pacific Islanders students were more likely to report use.
There was no statistical difference in grade level. Grant County students had higher rates of
methamphetamine use than the United States students , but lower than those of New
Mexico overall.
33
Figure 19: Methamphetamine use (ever) by county, grades 9-12,
New Mexico, 2013
Valencia
10.5
San Miguel
9.3
Lincoln
8.9
Santa Fe
7.1
Otero
6.7
Cibola
6.7
Socorro
6.4
Bernalillo
6.2
Sandoval
6.0
County
Eddy
5.6
Catron
5.4
Rio Arriba
5.3
Luna
5.3
Dona Ana
5.3
Curry
5.3
Lea
5.2
New Mexico
5.0
Taos
4.9
Hidalgo
4.8
Los Alamos
4.6
Colfax
4.2
McKinley
4.0
Quay
3.9
Grant
3.8
Sierra
3.1
San Juan
2.8
Mora
2.7
Torrance
2.6
Guadalupe
2.5
De Baca
1.4
Roosevelt
1.3
US
3.2
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Harding, Union, and Chavez counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
34
Consequences
Hospitalizations for Alcohol and Other Drugs
Hospitalization data can help create a more complete picture of the burden of substance abuse
in New Mexico. Hospitalizations for alcohol and other drugs encompass a number of diagnoses.
These include: alcohol withdrawal, alcohol dependence syndrome, alcoholic cirrhosis of liver,
fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning, drug dependence, neonatal abstinence syndrome
(NAS), and drug poisoning. Table 2 shows the number of hospitalizations for alcohol and other
drugs in any diagnosis field. This means that if a patient’s primary complaint is not specific to
substance abuse (e.g. injury) but the physician feels that substance use or misuse was involved,
the hospitalization will also be included in the count below. In addition, hospitalization data
were measured in terms of hospital discharges, not individual patients. So a patient could be
included multiple times in the counts below. In 2012, there were 306 hospitalizations among
Grant County residents where substance abuse was diagnosed.
Table 3 shows the percent of hospitalizations involving alcohol and other drugs where services
were received in a hospital within Grant County among five Southwestern counties in New
Mexico: Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, and Sierra. Grant County is a major service area for
Catron and Hidalgo counties for substance abuse related hospitalizations. However, residents of
Luna and Sierra counties do not primarily seek services in Grant County.
35
Table 2: Number of hospitalizations involving alcohol and other drugs
by county of patient residence, New Mexico, 2012
County
Bernalillo
Catron
Chaves
Cibola
Colfax
Curry
De Baca
Dona Ana
Eddy
Grant
Guadalupe
Harding
Hidalgo
Lea
Lincoln
Los Alamos
Luna
McKinley
Mora
Otero
Quay
Rio Arriba
Roosevelt
Sandoval
San Juan
San Miguel
Santa Fe
Sierra
Socorro
Taos
Torrance
Union
Valencia
Total
Number
6898
23
894
364
133
411
12
1463
668
306
41
1
22
448
209
69
208
629
58
477
66
949
91
642
1532
424
1855
164
206
371
102
28
533
20297
Source: NMDOH HIDD, 2012
36
Table 3: Number of hospitalizations involving alcohol and other drugs (AOD)
by county of patient residence, select Southwestern counties, New Mexico, 2012
County of
Patient
Residence
Catron
Grant
Hidalgo
Luna
Sierra
Number of AOD
hospitalizations receiving
services in Grant County
11
251
16
4
1
Total Number of
AOD
Hospitalizations
23
306
22
208
164
Source: NMDOH HIDD, 2012
37
Percent of AOD
hospitalizations receiving
services in Grant County
47.8%
82.0%
72.7%
1.9%
0.6%
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
NAS is a constellation of conditions that occur in a newborn who was exposed to addictive
illegal or prescription drugs while in utero. NAS hospitalizations are inpatient hospitalizations
with any diagnosis of drug withdrawal syndrome in a newborn born to a drug-dependent
mother, but do not include fetal alcohol syndrome.
Figure 20: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) hospitalization rates,
Hospitalizations per
1,000 live births
Grant County and New Mexico, 2011-2012
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
6.9
6.5
Grant County
New Mexico
Source: NMDOH HIDD, 2012
As can be seen in Figure 20, there was little substantive difference between the rate for New
Mexico overall and the rate for Grant County for 2011 and 2012. These were the most recent
years for which data are available.
38
Alcohol-Related Death
The consequences of excessive alcohol use constitute a heavy burden in New Mexico. New
Mexico is ranked first in the nation for alcohol- attributable death and thus alcohol is a concern
for all areas of the state. 1 in 6 deaths among working age adults (20-64 years) in the state is
attributable to alcohol. The negative consequences of excessive alcohol use are not limited to
death, but also include domestic violence, crime, poverty, and unemployment, as well as
chronic liver disease, motor vehicle crash and other injuries, mental illness, and a variety of
other medical problems. There are two principal components of alcohol-related death: deaths
due to chronic diseases (such as chronic liver disease), which are associated with chronic heavy
drinking; and deaths due to alcohol-related injuries, which are strongly associated with binge
drinking.
39
Figure 20: Total alcohol-related deaths,
Grant Coun, New Mexico, and the United States, 2008-2012
60
56.0
52.3
Rate per 100,000
50
40
30
27.7
20
10
0
US
NM
Grant County
Sources: NMDOH Bureau of Vital Records Health Statistics (BVRHS) death
files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI; SAES
Figure 20 (using combined mortality data from 2008-2012) indicates that the difference
between Grant County and New Mexico rates were not statistically significant. Grant County
ranked 12th in New Mexico in total alcohol-related deaths, with twice the national rate of 27.9
deaths per 100,000 population (for 2006-2010 combined).
40
Figure 21: Total alcohol-related deaths by county,
New Mexico, 2008-2012
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
Rio Arriba
Quay
Cibola
Socorro
San Miguel
San Juan
Hidalgo
Taos
Torrance
Sierra
Grant
Mora
Catron
Guadalupe
Santa Fe
County
120.0
116.0
110.3
McKinley
New Mexico
Chaves
Valencia
Bernalillo
Colfax
Otero
Eddy
Sandoval
Luna
De Baca
Lea
Dona Ana
Curry
Lincoln
Union
Roosevelt
Los Alamos
Harding
100.0
8.9
80.5
76.9
76.2
70.9
68.8
63.4
61.7
57.5
57.1
56.0
55.6
55.4
53.7
52.8
52.3
51.0
50.4
49.0
46.5
45.4
44.9
43.4
42.8
40.1
39.7
36.4
35.4
34.3
32.6
30.0
25.8
Rate per 100,000
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI; SAES
41
140.0
Alcohol-Related Chronic Disease
Chronic heavy drinking is often associated with alcoholism or alcohol dependence, and can
cause or contribute to a number of diseases, the most common of which is alcoholic liver
cirrhosis. For the past 15 years, New Mexico’s death rate from alcohol-related chronic disease
has consistently been first or second in the nation, and 1.5 to 2 times the national rate. This
means that alcohol-related chronic disease is a concern everywhere in New Mexico. A
comparison between Grant County and New Mexico by race/ethnicity is difficult since
population numbers for certain groups in Grant County are small; although the rates among
American Indians and Asian/Pacific Islanders look elevated, it may in fact be due to a very small
percentage of the population in Grant County belonging to these two racial/ethnic groups.
Grant County ranked 12th in New Mexico for alcohol-related chronic disease. This is particularly
notable, because chronic diseases impose not only a substantial monetary cost, but also
severely compromise quality of life and productivity, often during prime adulthood years.
Figure 22: Alcohol-related chronic disease deaths by race/ethnicity,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2008-2012
250
Rate per 100,000
207.0
200
150
129.0
100
50
67.3
24.6
24.6
13.8
4.1
32.0
27.3
17.0 17.0
0
Total Rate
American Asian/Pacific
Indian
Islander
NM
Black
Hispanic
White
Grant County
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC
ARDI; SAES
42
Figure 23: Alcohol-related chronic disease deaths by county,
New Mexico, 2008- 2012
Rio Arriba
60.5
McKinley
58.0
Socorro
43.5
Cibola
42.7
Hidalgo
37.6
Quay
36.3
San Miguel
34.7
San Juan
32.1
Guadalupe
30.6
County
Taos
25.9
Torrance
25.0
New Mexico
24.6
Grant
24.6
Santa Fe
24.1
Bernalillo
23.6
Luna
22.9
Sierra
22.8
Chaves
21.8
Valencia
21.5
Otero
21.1
Colfax
20.2
Sandoval
19.6
Dona Ana
17.7
Curry
17.3
Eddy
15.3
Lea
14.3
De Baca
14.1
Lincoln
13.0
Catron
12.3
Union
12.1
Mora
12.1
Los Alamos
11.0
Roosevelt
10.9
Harding
0.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
Rate per 100,000
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI; SAES
43
Alcohol- Related Chronic Liver Disease
Alcohol-related chronic liver disease is a chronic disease caused by chronic alcohol abuse. It is
the leading cause of alcohol-related death in New Mexico. Over the past 30 years, New
Mexico's chronic liver disease rate has trended upward, while the national rate has decreased.
New Mexico has consistently been at or near the top of the country for chronic liver disease
rates. If the disease progresses to chronic liver disease or cirrhosis of the liver, however, the
cost (both in terms of monetary amount and the decrease in quality of life) is significant.
As can be seen from the graph, Grant County had approximately equivalent rates of chronic
liver disease compared to New Mexico overall.
Figure 24: Alcohol-related chronic liver disease deaths,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2008-2012
50
45.0
45
Rate Per 100,000
40
35
30
25
20
19.0 19.0
15.4
15.2
15
10
9.0
6.0
5
12.0
1.0
0
Total Rate
American
Indian
Asian/Pacific
Islander
NM
Black
Hispanic
White
Grant County
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC
ARDI; SAES
44
Figure 25: Alcohol-related chronic liver disease deaths by county,
New Mexico, 2008-2012
Rio Arriba
41.5
McKinley
40.4
Socorro
31.0
Cibola
29.2
Hidalgo
29.0
San Miguel
20.6
Guadalupe
19.4
San Juan
19.2
Quay
18.5
Taos
17.8
County
New Mexico
15.4
Grant
15.2
Bernalillo
14.8
Chaves
14.3
Santa Fe
14.2
Colfax
13.9
Luna
13.5
Valencia
13.2
Otero
12.2
Sandoval
12.1
Dona Ana
11.1
Curry
10.0
Mora
9.9
Eddy
9.8
Lea
8.9
Sierra
8.5
Lincoln
8.1
Union
7.8
Torrance
7.5
Roosevelt
7.4
Catron
7.1
Los Alamos
6.2
Harding
0.0
De Baca
0.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Rate per 100,000
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC
ARDI; SAES
45
Alcohol-Related Injury Death
Binge drinking is a high-risk behavior associated with many types of injury, including motor
vehicle fatalities, homicide, and suicide. Since 1990, New Mexico’s death rate for alcoholrelated injury has consistently been among the highest in the nation.
In general, total death rates from alcohol-related injuries tend to increase with age. However,
there were substantially high numbers and rates of alcohol-related injury death among young
people (up to 24 years of age) with especially high rates among American Indian and Hispanic
males. Deaths in this age category represent a very large burden of premature mortality. As
can be seen from Figure 26, Grant County rates were somewhat higher than New Mexico’s and
the US, but again, caution should be used in interpreting these figures due to small numbers
among some racial/ethnic populations.
Figure 26: Alcohol-related injury death,
Grant County and New Mexico, 2008-2012
90
81.0
80
Rate per 100,000
70
60
52.8
50
40
30
31.4
27.7
22.5
20
25.8
30.8
29.9
24.1
10.6
10
0
Total Rate
American
Indian
Asian/Pacific
Islander
NM
Black
Hispanic
White
Grant County
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI;
SAES
46
Figure 27: Alcohol-related injury death by county,
New Mexico, 2008-2012
Rio Arriba
55.5
McKinley
52.3
Quay
44.1
Mora
43.5
Catron
43.1
San Juan
36.7
San Miguel
36.2
Taos
35.7
Cibola
34.3
Sierra
34.2
Socorro
32.7
Torrance
32.5
Grant
31.4
County
Eddy
29.6
Chaves
29.2
Valencia
28.9
Santa Fe
28.7
New Mexico
27.7
Colfax
26.3
De Baca
26.0
Hidalgo
25.8
Lea
25.4
Bernalillo
25.4
Otero
24.2
Sandoval
23.8
Guadalupe
23.1
Lincoln
21.3
Union
20.4
Luna
19.8
Roosevelt
19.2
Dona Ana
18.7
Curry
18.1
Los Alamos
14.8
Harding
7.7
US
16.6
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
Rate per 100,000
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI;
SAES
47
Total Drug Overdose
New Mexico has historically had one of the highest drug overdose death rates in the nation.
Drug use can result in overdose death, and is also associated with other societal problems
including crime, violence, homelessness, loss of productivity and spread of blood-borne disease
such as HIV and hepatitis. Poisoning has been the leading cause of unintentional injury in New
Mexico since 2007, surpassing motor vehicle crash, largely as a result of increased unintentional
drug overdose deaths associated with prescription drug use.
During 2012, more than half of drug overdose deaths were caused by prescription drugs.
Medical examiner data indicate that the most common drugs causing unintentional overdose
death were prescription opioids (i.e., methadone, oxycodone, and morphine), heroin,
tranquilizers/muscle relaxants, cocaine, and antidepressants. Use of these drugs is not mutually
exclusive, people will frequently combine them. In New Mexico and nationally, overdose death
from prescription opioids has become an issue of enormous concern as these potent drugs are
widely available.
Figure 28: Total drug overdose deaths,
Rate Per 100,000
Grant County and New Mexico, 2008-2012
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
43.9
31.2
25.4
24.3
20.3
22.5
25.2
14.2
7.3
Totale Rate
American Asian/Pacific
Indian
Islander
NM
Black
Hispanic
White
Grant County
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI;
SAES
48
Figure 29: Total drug overdose deaths by county,
New Mexico, 2008-2012
Rio Arriba
67.7
Mora
61.0
Catron
42.5
Sierra
40.0
Quay
37.2
San Miguel
33.6
Grant
31.2
County
Taos
29.7
Hidalgo
29.4
Bernalillo
28.9
Guadalupe
26.0
Eddy
25.9
Santa Fe
25.1
Valencia
24.7
Torrance
24.7
New Mexico
24.3
Colfax
23.6
Socorro
22.8
Lincoln
22.4
Chaves
22.2
Otero
22.0
Sandoval
18.7
Dona Ana
18.6
San Juan
18.1
Lea
15.9
Los Alamos
15.8
Luna
14.4
Roosevelt
13.8
McKinley
13.8
Curry
10.7
Cibola
10.1
Union
3.2
Harding
0.0
De Baca
0.0
US
12.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
Rate per 100,000
Sources: NMDOH BVRHS death files and UNM-GPS population files; CDC ARDI;
SAES
*Harding and De Baca counties data are suppressed due to small numbers
49
Adult Mental Health
Frequent Mental Distress
Mental health refers to an individual's ability to negotiate the daily challenges and social
interactions of life without experiencing undue emotional or behavioral incapacity. Mental
health and mental disorders can be influenced by numerous conditions including biologic and
genetic vulnerabilities, acute or chronic physical dysfunction, and environmental conditions and
stresses. Figure 30 shows responses to the question "Now thinking about your mental health,
which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the
past 30 days was your mental health NOT good?"
Statewide, for both sexes and all races, adults between 25 and 64 are most likely to experience
frequent mental distress. In New Mexico, American Indian and Alaska Native women and
Hispanic men are the subgroups with the highest prevalence. Grant County was 4th in New
Mexico for frequent mental distress in the past 30 days.
50
Figure 30: Frequent Mental Distress (Past 30 Days) by county,
New Mexico, 2012
Luna
26.2
Socorro
23.9
Colfax
20.7
Grant
19.9
Eddy
17.8
San Miguel
15.9
San Juan
15.6
Curry
15.2
Torrance
14.4
Valencia
14.0
County
Cibola
13.5
Bernalillo
13.4
Roosevelt
13.3
Dona Ana
13.3
New Mexico
13.2
Lea
13.2
Sandoval
12.6
Sierra
11.7
Santa Fe
11.5
Lincoln
11.4
Rio Arriba
10.6
McKinley
10.0
Otero
9.3
Chaves
7.6
Los Alamos
7.0
Taos
6.7
Quay
5.5
Union
Mora
Hidalgo
Harding
Guadalupe
De Baca
Catron
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
Percent of Adults
Source: BRFSS, 2012
*Catron, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Mora, and Union counties data
are suppressed due to small numbers
51
Current Depression
Depression is one of the most prevalent and treatable mental disorders. Major depression is
usually associated with co-morbid mental disorders, such as anxiety and substance use
disorders, and impairment of a person's ability to function in work, home, relationship, and
social roles. Depression is also a risk factor for suicide and attempted suicide. In addition,
depressive disorders have been associated with an increased prevalence of chronic medical
conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
The depression questions were last asked in the 2011 BRFSS and that data are presented here.
In New Mexico, current depression was highest among the age-group 25-64 years (11.8%),
slightly higher among females than males across the age range, and higher among Black (12.1%)
and Hispanic adults (10.8%) than White adults (9.7%). Depression was more common among
American Indian females (13.6%) and Hispanic females (13.2%) than among White females
(11.1%).
52
Figure 31: Current Depression by county,
New Mexico, 2011
Sierra
24.0
Quay
22.2
San Miguel
18.5
Colfax
16.5
Los Alamos
15.5
Chaves
14.5
Eddy
14.4
Rio Arriba
13.9
Luna
12.7
Otero
12.6
Torrance
10.7
Bernalillo
10.4
New…
10.3
Lincoln
9.4
Lea
9.4
Doña Ana
9.3
Santa Fe
9.2
Roosevelt
9.1
Coibola
8.8
Socorro
8.6
Curry
8.5
Valencia
8.3
Grant
8.3
San Juan
8.3
Sandoval
8.3
McKinley
8.2
Taos
5.7
Union
Mora
Hidalgo
Harding
Guadelupe
DeBaca
Catron
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Percent of adults
Source: BRFSS, 2012
*Catron, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Mora, and Union counties data
are suppressed due to small numbers
53
Youth Mental Health
Youth Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness
Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness are a risk factor for depression. Students who
reported these feelings of sadness or hopelessness were more likely than other students to
report suicide attempts, cigarette smoking, binge drinking and illicit drug use.
In New Mexico, 10th and 11th grades showed the highest rates. Statewide, girls (40.0%) had
higher prevalence than boys (21.4%). Although Hispanic youth had a slightly higher prevalence
(33.1%) than White youth (26.8%). Figure 32 showed that the prevalence of persistent feeling
of sadness or hopelessness was similar between Grant County and New Mexico.
54
Figure 32: Youth Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness by county,
County
New Mexico, 2013
Sierra
Catron
San Miguel
Luna
Lea
Otero
Quay
Santa Fe
Bernalillo
Cibola
Sandoval
Valencia
Curry
McKinley
Socorro
Taos
Roosevelt
Dona Ana
New Mexico
Lincoln
Colfax
Rio Arriba
Guadalupe
Grant
Eddy
San Juan
Torrance
Los Alamos
De Baca
Mora
Hidalgo
Union
Harding
Chaves
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Percentage of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Chaves, Harding, and Union counties data are suppressed due to small numbers
55
Youth Seriously Considered Suicide
Suicide is a complex behavior, with no single determining cause. Suicidal ideation refers to
thoughts of suicide or wanting to take one's own life. Suicidal ideation is a risk factor for
attempted/completed suicide.
In New Mexico, girls (19.9%) had a higher percentage than boys (11.6%). The prevalence is fairly
similar by race/ethnicity, but slightly higher in 9th and 10th grade compared to 11th and 12th.
56
Figure 33: Youth Seriously Considered Suicide by county,
New Mexico, 2013
County
Sierra
Otero
San Miguel
Catron
Luna
Valencia
Bernalillo
Sandoval
Santa Fe
23.3
20.9
19.3
19
18.7
18
17.9
17.5
17
16.8
16.6
Roosevelt
Cibola
McKinley
Guadalupe
New Mexico
Grant
Lincoln
Los Alamos
Taos
16.1
16.1
15.6
15
14.8
14.7
14.5
14.3
14.3
14.1
Torrance
Dona Ana
Rio Arriba
San Juan
Lea
Eddy
Socorro
Colfax
Curry
14
13.6
13.4
13.2
12.6
12.4
12.2
Quay
De Baca
Hidalgo
Mora
Union
Harding
Chaves
10.4
7.1
6.8
0
5
10
15
20
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Chaves, Harding, and Union counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
57
25
Youth Attempted Suicide
In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death in NM among youth. In the United
States, in 2011 (last year for which information is available), suicide was also the second cause
leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 15 and 24. While girls are more likely
than boys to attempt suicide, boys are more likely than girls to die of suicide. Cultural variations
in suicide rates also exist, with American Indian/Alaskan Native youth having the highest rates
of suicide-related fatalities in New Mexico. A previous suicide attempt is among the strongest
risk factors for completed suicide.
58
Figure 34: Youth Percent of Youth Attempted Suicide by county,
County
New Mexico, 2013
Luna
Valencia
Cibola
San Miguel
McKinley
Sierra
Torrance
Bernalillo
Dona Ana
Rio Arriba
Santa Fe
Curry
Lincoln
San Juan
Taos
Eddy
Lea
Socorro
Roosevelt
Sandoval
Colfax
Otero
New Mexico
Quay
Guadalupe
Catron
Grant
Los Alamos
De Baca
Mora
Hidalgo
Union
Harding
Chaves
14.6
14.0
13.9
13.2
13.1
12.2
12.0
11.7
11.4
11.2
11.0
10.5
10.4
10.3
10.2
10.1
10.0
9.9
9.9
9.7
9.7
9.6
9.4
8.8
8.6
8.4
7.1
6.5
6.4
5.6
4.7
0
5
10
15
20
Percent of Youth
Source: YRRS, 2013
*Chaves, Harding, and Union counties data are suppressed due to small
numbers
59