Substance Use in Older Adults DrugFacts | National Institute on Drug Abuse
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 1 million adults aged 65 and older have a substance use disorder, with the proportion of older adults seeking treatment for substance use disorders increasing from 3.4% to 7.0% between 2000 and 2012.
Are older adults impacted differently by alcohol and drugs?
Little is known about the effects of drugs and alcohol on the aging brain, but older adults may be more likely to experience mood disorders, lung and heart problems, or memory problems as a result of aging.
Prescription Medicines
Prescription medicines, nonprescription drugs, and dietary supplements are frequently mixed together, exposing older adults to potentially addictive medications at a higher rate than younger people. 25% of patients over 50 who misuse prescription opioids or benzodiazepines express suicidal ideation.
Opioid Pain Medicines
Prescription opioid medications are used by 4-9% of adults 65 and older for pain relief, and the proportion of older adults who use heroin has more than doubled. Some people who misuse prescription opioids switch to heroin, which is often a cheaper form of pain reliever.
Marijuana
In 2015-2016, 9% of adults aged 50-64 reported using marijuana in the previous year, up from 7.1% in 2012-2013, and use of cannabis by adults 65 and older increased dramatically from 0.4% in 2006 and 2007 to 2.9% in 2015 and 2016.
Medical Marijuana
The benefits of medical marijuana must be weighed against the risks, especially for people with other health conditions or who take prescription medications. The marijuana plant has not been approved as a medicine in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Risks of Marijuana Use
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), marijuana can interact with a variety of prescription drugs and exacerbate pre-existing health problems.
What percentage of elderly patients use 10 or more medications?
The practice of prescribing multiple medications to individual patients (dubbed “polypharmacy” in the scientific literature) has reached epidemic proportions, with more than four out of ten older adults taking five or more prescription medications per day, a figure that has tripled in the last two decades, and nearly 20% taking ten or more.
How many medications does the average 80 year old take?
The following statistics on medication use among elderly patients in the United States are eye-opening: elderly patients account for more than one-third of all prescription drugs used in the United States; the ambulatory elderly fill between 9 and 13 prescriptions per year (including new prescriptions and refills); and the average elderly patient is taking nine prescriptions per year (including new prescriptions and refills).
What percentage of seniors are on prescription drugs?
People aged 65 and up make up 12% of the population in the United States, but they use 34% of all prescription medications and 30% of all over-the-counter medications.
Why do old people take so many medications?
Because they are more likely to have more than one chronic medical disorder, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or arthritis, older people take more drugs than younger people. Most drugs used by older people for chronic disorders are taken for years.
What is the most common medication problem in the elderly?
Warfarin is one of the most common causes of medication-related hospitalizations in older adults, so extra care should be taken in monitoring warfarin effect (via the prothrombin blood test) and checking for interactions when a new drug is prescribed to reduce the risk of serious problems.
What is the most common inappropriately prescribed drug to the elderly?
The most commonly prescribed medications with high risk adverse events are diphenhydramine and amitriptiline, while propoxyphene and doxazoxin are the most commonly prescribed medications with low risk adverse events.
How many medications is too many?
Taking too many prescription medications, however, can be dangerous. Polypharmacy is defined as taking more than five medications, and it increases the risk of side effects, drug interactions, and hospitalizations.
How many seniors require hospitalization due to medication problems?
A total of 1.3 million emergency department visits are caused by adverse drug events each year, with approximately 350,000 patients requiring hospitalization for further treatment after emergency visits for adverse drug events.
What happens if you take too many medications?
Overdosing occurs when you take more than the recommended amount of a drug or enough to cause harm to your body’s functions. Overdosing can result in serious medical complications, including death.
Which country spends the most on prescription drugs?
The United States spent more on medication per capita than any other country in 2018, spending over $330 more per capita than any other country, owing to the rising cost of many prescription medications, which has put many Americans out of work, regardless of their insurance status.
How many medications does the average 60 year old take?
Worse, doctors may not be aware of all the medications their patients are taking. According to research, the average older adult takes four or more prescription drugs per day, but a staggering 39 percent of seniors take five or more per day.
How much money does the average American spend on medications?
Americans spend more on prescription drugs than anyone else in the world u2014 on average, $1,200 per person per year u2014 and while they do take a lot of pills, it’s the high prices that really set the US apart from the rest of the world.
Are the elderly overmedicated?
Senior overmedication has been linked to falls, kidney failure, and even heart attacks, as well as misdiagnoses for conditions ranging from depression to dementia. Elderly people account for one-third of all prescription-related deaths.
How does gender affect drug effectiveness?
Women are more sensitive to and effective at beta blockers, opioids, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and traditional antipsychotics, and they are 50 to 75 percent more likely than men to have an adverse drug reaction.
What do old people drink?
Revera residents, like senior living residents in general, enjoy classic drinks like rum and Coke and other spirits. “They love what they love, and they’ve had many years to develop their favorites,” says John Curtis, Revera’s national director of culinary services.