Guest Post: Older Persons and Opioid Addiction

by Blog Admin | Dec 9, 2016 | Addiction & Substance Use, Authors, Community Member, Drugs

It’s probably true that when most of us think about people addicted to drugs, the pictures that pop up are of younger or middle-aged persons, not seniors. Indeed, most people and service agencies focus on addiction as experienced by the younger generations. Often, older addicts are neglected or even ignored. Yet, according to a recent study at the Gerontological Society of America, there was a 78% increase in the number of emergency health visits among older adults who abused prescription or illicit drugs between 2006 and 2012. Abuse of opioids accounted for around 11% of this figure. The study was carried out among over 71,000 seniors, with more than 50% aged 65 to 74 years. According to researchers, almost half of the emergency room visits came from people 75 years and above.