Substance Abuse in Older Adults: How Common Is It?

Older adults, like younger adults, benefit from individual therapy sessions while in recovery for substance abuse, and therapy can be personalized to the client’s individual needs. The health consequences of drug abuse vary, depending on the type of drug used and the method of drug consumption. Little research has been done on the impact of substance abuse on older adults. As a result, they are often prescribed for chronic and acute pain conditions, which older adults experience more often than younger adults. These changes create stress, and people may abuse drugs and alcohol to cope with that stress. Among comorbid SUD, alcohol and tobacco are used commonly together among older adults10; being a smoker increases the likelihood of being an at-risk drinker.71 Little else is known about the use patterns among older adults and the use of multiple substances simultaneously.

Breaking Barriers to Recovery

• Although some stigma still surrounds mental health disorders, public attitudes are shifting considerably, and younger adults often have favorable views of mental health treatment.
• Reducing these neurotransmitters has been linked with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues, increasing one’s risk for substance abuse or addiction.
• This process can cause uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms, which is why many people begin their recovery with medical detoxification.
• Recreational use of cannabis is legal in 24 states plus the District of Columbia, and an additional 14 states allow it for medical use.
• If you or an older adult you care about is struggling, dial or text 988 now to speak with a Lifeline counselor.

The helpline at AddictionResource.net is available 24/7 to discuss the treatment needs of yourself or a loved one. This helpline is answered by Treatment X LLC, an addiction treatment provider with treatment facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. For instance, because older adults metabolize drugs more slowly than young people, those who undergo medical detox may need to remain in this treatment phase longer than other participants. These programs recognize that various demographics face specific challenges and stressors, and they provide treatment that addresses those issues. Rehab centers often offer specialized programs, such as addiction treatment for LGBTQ people, veterans, and young adults.

The Impact of Prescription Drugs​

According to the CDC, alcohol was an underlying cause of death for 11,616 adults aged 65 and over in 2020. Although alcohol caused very few deaths in this age group, the rates have increased in recent years. In fact, the number of older adults dying from alcohol-related causes rose by 18.2 percent between 2019 and 2020. They found that the prevalence of misuse of prescription stimulants among women aged 35 to 64 was significantly lower than it was among men of the same age (13.7% versus Oxford House 22.0%).

Symptoms of Substance Abuse

NIDA states that 65% of people ages 65 and older report high-risk alcohol consumption. Social isolation is a risk factor for substance abuse, as people may use substances to compensate for feelings of disconnection. The exact link between these issues remains unclear, but many researchers believe that people with mood disorders often use substances as a form of self-medication. Facilities specializing in substance use treatment for older populations, such as Ashley’s addiction recovery programs, provide the necessary expertise to help seniors navigate recovery safely and effectively.

• Make sure your primary doctor has a list of all the medications you take, even over-the-counter ones.
• SUD experts generally agree that addiction is a mental health disorder, much like depression, anxiety disorders, and similar conditions.
• Your health insurance company will only pay for services that it determines to be “reasonable and necessary.” The treatment center will make every effort to have all services preauthorized by your health insurance company.
• This increase is believed to be partially endorsed by the baby boomer generation, born between 1946 to 1964, who had significant exposure to alcohol and drugs at a younger age.

Lack of Awareness Among Caregivers

Some research suggests that e-cigarettes might be less harmful than cigarettes when people who regularly smoke switch to vaping as a complete replacement. However, research on this is mixed, and the FDA has not approved e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. There is also evidence that many people continue to use both delivery systems to inhale nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug. Overall, just over a quarter of people with prescriptions for ADHD medications reported misusing them.

• It can be challenging for seniors to remember when and how much of each of their medications to take, especially when their minds are fuzzy and they take multiple drugs for relatively long periods.
• Yet, even as the number of older adults suffering from these disorders climbs, the situation remains underestimated, underidentified, underdiagnosed, and undertreated.
• When seniors lack meaningful relationships or become socially isolated, it can lead to feelings of loneliness, which increases their risk for developing mental health issues like depression – all of which can contribute to higher rates of substance abuse.
• Similarly, another DSM criterion – spending a lot of time on activities necessary to obtain and use a substance or recover from its effects – is irrelevant to older adults.
• As in younger adults, being white, male, divorced or widowed, and disabled, and having lower educational attainment, increases the prevalence of SUD (Chhatre et al., 2017).
• Family members and physicians need to educate seniors on proper medication usage and side effects so they can avoid any potential misuse down the line.

There is an impression that alcohol or substance abuse problems cannot be successfully treated in older adults, there is the assumption that treatment for this population is a waste of health care resources. Treatment options for elderly alcohol abuse or drug addiction vary depending on the level of medical care needed. They may include educational and preventative services and support, medical detox, and outpatient or inpatient treatment. Admittedly, studies on the effects of treatment of substance abuse in older adults are few and far between, which is why it is crucial to find specific ways to engage the senior. The use of prescription and substance abuse in older adults OTC medications combined with alcohol significantly increases the probability of addiction-related health problems for the elderly. Physiological changes that occur with aging, such as reductions in body mass, liver and kidney function, and body water, result in higher concentrations of drugs and alcohol for longer periods of time.

You deserve excellent care and a rewarding life in recovery.

• Almost 20% of men and just over 6% of women in this age group are binge drinkers.
• This and other limitations were put into place to manage who was prescribing the medications and the length of time patients were allowed to use such drugs as a means of curbing potential addiction.
• Substance abuse in older adults differs from that of younger people in several critical ways.
• Recognizing these symptoms early can help individuals access proper care before addiction worsens.
• With age, one departs from these roles naturally in the vast majority of cases, such as through social isolation due to age-group peer mortality or retirement.

Although useful as an indicator of lifetime problem use, it lacks information about frequency, quantity, and current problems important for intervention. Brief screening instruments can assess the level of risk caused by alcohol and drugs. Some screening tools are adaptations of instruments created for younger adults, and others have been designed for older adults. Interview screening tools or global selfreport measures are less intrusive or burdensome to the older adult than blood or urine tests.