Information For Caregivers

Text: "Substance Abuse Among Older Adults" U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

Many Americans who are now young or middle-aged will carry their use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs with them into old age - and they will also live longer. Life expectancy jumped almost 30 years between 1900 and 1989, and it continues to climb. By the year 2050, one out of four Americans over age 65 will be 85 and older. Substance use disorders, if not diagnosed and treated, may ruin the last stage of life for countless Americans.

Anyone who is concerned about an older adult's drinking practices can try direct questions such as " I'm wondering if alcohol may be the reason why your diabetes isn't responding as it should", or "Sometimes a prescription drug can affect how well another medication is working. Let's go over the drugs you're taking and see if we can figure this problem out."

Often drug trials of new medications do not include older subjects, so a clinician has no way of predicting or recognizing an adverse reaction or unexpected psychoactive effect.