Author: Clay, Steven W

Source: Aging Health, Volume 6, Number 2, April 2010 , pp. 177-189(13)

Publisher: Future Medicine

Abstract:

Although it is often not considered and frequently undiagnosed, addiction disorders are a significant problem in the elderly. Elders are at a higher risk for the consequences of abuse or addiction owing to changes related to aging, multiple medications and chronic illness. The consequences of addiction disorders in this population include delirium, memory loss, suicide, falls and fractures, as well as drug-drug or drug-disease interactions. Abuse or addiction to alcohol or prescription or illicit drugs often presents differently in the elderly, may be inadvertent or prescriber-related and requires a different approach to assessment. Coexisting psychiatric or physical disorders together with addiction need to be considered in the overall functional status of the elderly. Treatment should be individualized based on the patient's needs, readiness for change and available resources, and should vary from brief outpatient intervention to inpatient care. Treatment outcomes for elders are as good as or better than the outcome of younger adults. With an increasing proportion of the population becoming elders and the aging of `baby boomers,' an increase in addiction in this population, including to illicit drugs, is expected in the near future. Education of the public, as well as healthcare professionals, along with reassessment of the prevalence of these disorders in this population using age-appropriate criteria, are needed, since more resources will be required in order to treat these individuals in the near future.

Keywords: addiction; alcohol-related disorder; benzodiazepine-related disorder; dependence; older adult; opioid-related disorder; substance-related disorder; treatment; withdrawal

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/ahe.10.14

Affiliations: 1: Department of Family Medicine, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, OH, USA., Email: clay@exchange.oucom.ohiou.edu

Publication date: 2010-04-01

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• Aging Health leading coverage of current and emerging topics relating to the safe and effective management of therapy in the elderly, all subject to rigorous peer review. The journal focuses on the most important advances and highlights their relevance in the clinical setting. The journal has been designed to deliver essential concise information in an easily assimilable format - vital for the increasingly time-constrained professional.
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