This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents estimates of the number of people aged 15 to 64 years old with opioid dependence, along with estimates of the prevalence of this group among Scotland’s general population.

Estimates for Scotland and seven NHS Boards (Ayrshire and Arran, Fife, Grampian, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, and Tayside) are provided, broken down by sex (female, male), age group (15 to 34, 35 to 49, and 50 to 64 years) and financial year (2014/15 to 2022/23).

Estimates are presented with 95% credible intervals (CrI) to represent the extent of uncertainty around each finding. All population size estimates over one thousand have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Due to some inconsistency in evidence across data sources, 2022/23 estimates should be interpreted with caution (see Appendix 4 in the main report for further details).

In 2022/23:

• The estimated number of people with opioid dependence in Scotland was 43,400 (95% CrI: 41,900 to 45,100). This represents an estimated prevalence of 1.23% (95% CrI: 1.19% to 1.28%) of 15- to 64-year-olds.
• Among males aged 15 to 64 years, the prevalence of opioid dependence was estimated to be 1.74% (95% CrI: 1.67% to 1.81%). Among females aged 15 to 64 years, it was estimated to be 0.75% (95% CrI: 0.73% to 0.78%).
• The prevalence of opioid dependence was estimated as 0.67% (95% CrI: 0.62% to 0.72%) among people aged 15 to 34 years, 2.39% (95% CrI: 2.32% to 2.48%) among people aged 35 to 49 years, and 0.88% (95% CrI: 0.83% to 0.94%) among people aged 50 to 64 years.
• An estimated 62% of people with opioid dependence received opioid agonist therapy (OAT) at least once during the year, while 75% had received OAT at some point during the five-year period 2018/19 to 2022/23.

Between 2014/15 and 2022/23:

• There was evidence of a small reduction (-5,300 people (95% CrI: -8,100 to -2,600)) in the prevalence of opioid dependence.
• There was a reduction (-8,200 (95% CrI: -9,400 to -7,000)) in the number of people with opioid dependence aged 15 to 34 years and an increase (5,700 (95% CrI: 4,900 to 6,600)) in the number aged 50 to 64 years.