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Chapter 20 - Unhealthy substance use in older adults

from Section III - Care of the elderly by organ system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2016

By
Alison A. Moore ,
Lucia Loredana Dattoma ,
Aaron Kaufman  and
Alexis N. Kuerbis
Edited by
Jan Busby-Whitehead ,
Christine Arenson ,
Samuel C. Durso ,
Daniel Swagerty ,
Laura Mosqueda ,
Maria Fiatarone Singh  and
William Reichel
Jan Busby-Whitehead
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
Christine Arenson
Affiliation:
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Samuel C. Durso
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Daniel Swagerty
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Laura Mosqueda
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Maria Fiatarone Singh
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
William Reichel
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

Older adults are a fast growing population, and the emerging cohort comprises older adults from the baby boomer generation who engage in unhealthy use of substances at higher rates than earlier cohorts. Though older adults use alcohol and illicit drugs at lower rates than younger adults, the sheer numbers of the older adult population and the aging of the baby boomers are expected to drive up the prevalence rates of substance use disorders among older adults. Thus, health care professionals need to know how to identify, assess, and intervene in substance use disorders among aging adults, which may involve unhealthy use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit and non-medical prescription drugs.
Type
Chapter
Information
Reichel's Care of the Elderly
Clinical Aspects of Aging
 , pp. 285 - 297
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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