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Review

A Day in the Life of Older Adults: Substance Use Facts

In: The CBHSQ Report. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2013.
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Review

A Day in the Life of Older Adults: Substance Use Facts

Margaret Mattson et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Background: Substance use is an emerging public health issue among the nation's older adults. To understand the magnitude of this emerging issue, it is useful to examine the number of older adults on an average day who use substances, visit the emergency department for substance-related issues, or enter substance use treatment. Method: To report estimates for adults aged 65 or older, this report draws from three national data sources collected by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), and the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Results: Although historically, older adulthood is not associated with substance use, the findings in this report reveal that across all of the datasets used in this report, alcohol use emerges as a source of concern, and drug use, particularly marijuana and prescription drug misuse, may also be an area of concern. Conclusion: Highlighting the number of older adults on an average day who use substances, enter substance use treatment, or visit the emergency department for substance-related issues may help draw attention to this emerging issue.

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References

    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed tables. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs2014/NSDUH-...
    1. Colliver, J. D., Compton, W. M., Gfroerer, J. C., & Condon, T. (2006). Projecting drug use among aging baby boomers in 2020. Annals of Epidemiology, 16(4), 257–265. 10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.08.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wu, L. T., & Blazer, D. G. (2011). Illicit and nonmedical drug use among older adults: A review. Journal of Aging and Health, 23(3), 481–504. 10.1177/0898264310386224 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Institute on Aging. (2011, June). Older adults and alcohol: You can get help. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/older-adults-and-alcohol/what...
    1. For NSDUH, the number of older adults who used alcohol or illicit drugs "on an average day" is calculated by summing the weighted past month frequency of use (0 to 30 days) for each respective substance and dividing by 30. Frequency of nonmedical use of prescription drugs in the past month is not collected on NSDUH. The average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per day in the past month among past month users is calculated using a weighted average or mean of the number of drinks reported by past month users. For TEDS, admission totals "on an average day" were calculated by dividing the annual admission total by 365. For DAWN, ED visits "on an average day" were calculated by dividing the annual estimate of visits by 365.

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