BGS journal highlights lack of designated service provision for older addicts

Oct 18 2011

There is an increasing prevalence of substance problems in older people but a lack of designated service provision to help treat older addicts highlights an editorial published today in Age & Ageing, the official journal of the British Geriatrics Society (BGS).

In both Europe and North America increasing numbers of older people are misusing legal substances, including prescription and over the counter medications, as well as consuming more than the recommended amounts of alcohol.  Indeed, research shows that the number of people aged over 50 with substance use disorder in the USA is likely to double between 2000 and 2020.  The pharmacokinetic and physiological vulnerability with increasing age makes older people at greater risk from the impact of prescribed medications and other substances.  Even the medicinal use of alcohol may be detrimental to health and social function in older people.  A recent study in Age & Ageing found that older people who used alcohol for medicinal purposes, reported a higher prevalence of forgetting to take daily medication, fractures in adult life and falls in the previous six months.  A key issue is that older people themselves, their families, carers and some healthcare professionals are either unaware of or in denial of substance misuse.

Professor Peter Crome, past President of the BGS, said: "The recent Royal College of Psychiatrists report Our Invisible Addicts, which examined the nature and extent of substance misuse in older people raised questions about service provision.  The Equality Act 2010, makes it a legal obligation for the NHS to provide older people with the same level of healthcare provision, including assessment and treatment, as younger people.  To this end, all healthcare professionals must take addiction in older people more seriously.  Many think that nothing can be done to alter the course of addiction.  This is simply not the case.  In fact, research shows that treatment for older people produces results similar to, and sometimes superior to, younger people."

Services with which older people with substance problems come into contact - including addiction, mental health and general medical services - should be "older-person" friendly.  The editorial clarifies that this should include physical access, referrals, facilities and patient information.  Substance use can contribute to complex presentations in older people, including unexplained falls, changes in eating patterns, weight loss, irritability and agitation.  Furthermore, assessment and discussion of substance use needs to be routine rather than sporadic when older people come into contact with primary or secondary care professionals.  All healthcare professionals in contact with older people should have training in how to use appropriate assessment tools and need to be wary of attributing alcohol and drug misuse to other physical and mental disorders.  Assistance to approach specialists for appropriate treatment interventions can be vital.