DRUG ABUSE AMONG ELDERLY IS ‘HIDDEN EPIDEMIC’, INT’L WATCHDOG WARNS

Fri 26 March 2021:

The issues of increasing drug consumption, drug dependence and drug-related deaths among the elderly in the recent years have gone unnoticed, leading to what can be called a “hidden epidemic,” according to a report by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), published on Thursday.

“People throughout the world are living longer; with a longer life come a number of opportunities and challenges. Among those challenges is the increasing vulnerability of older persons to drug use and drug dependence,” the report said.

The evidence, according to the document, shows a recent surge in drug use and drug-related deaths among older persons, as well as in the number of older patients in treatment for substance abuse, more so than in younger age groups.

“Between 2012 and 2019, past-year use among persons older than 65 increased three times or more for most drugs; for the population as a whole, the increase was more limited,” the report stressed.

Researchers have linked the uptick in drug abuse among the elderly to the ageing of the “baby boomer” generation, who are more open to the idea of substance consumption.

However, as older age groups tend to be ignored in drug studies, there is limited information regarding the causes and consequences issue.

In some cases, drug dependency can be the result of over-prescription of anxiolytics and hypnotics to older persons in nursing homes and hospitals. Hypnotic and psychoactive drugs are commonly prescribed to older patients suffering from sleep or anxiety disorders and dementia. In the US, where people aged 65 and older make up ten percent of the population, they also account for 30 percent of drug prescriptions.

The study concluded that to counter the “epidemic,” new approaches to research, education and clinical practice are required. The IDPC called upon countries and medical facilities to abandon the “single disease model” and base treatments on palliative, geriatric and ethical principles.