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Increases in Substance Abuse Treatment |
The number of substance abuse treatment admissions among adults
age 55 or older has increased.
In 2001,
there were 58,000 treatment admissions age 55 or older—about
3 percent of the 1.7 million treatment admissions in the Treatment
Episode Data Set (TEDS), according to a new report from SAMHSA's
Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS).
TEDS is an annual compilation of data on admissions for substance
abuse treatment.
Among admissions age 55 or older, alcohol was reported as the
primary substance of abuse more frequently than among younger admissions
(74 percent vs. 44 percent). Cocaine and marijuana were reported
less frequently among older admissions than among younger admissions
(5 percent vs. 13 percent and 1 percent vs. 15 percent, respectively).
Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of older admissions reported abuse
of alcohol alone, with no secondary drug abuse, while less than
one-quarter (23 percent) of admissions younger than age 55 reported
abuse of alcohol alone.
In addition, admissions for age 55 and older were more likely
than younger admissions to enter treatment through self-referral
(41 percent vs. 36 percent) and more likely to receive detoxification
services than younger admissions (36 percent vs. 25 percent).
Older admissions were less likely than younger admissions to be
referred through the criminal justice system (25 percent vs.
35 percent).
For a copy of the DASIS Report, Older
Adults in Substance Abuse Treatment: 2001, contact SAMHSA's
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at P.O.
Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345. Telephone: 1 (800) 729-6686
(English and Spanish) or 1 (800) 487-4889 (TDD). Online, the report
is available on the SAMHSA Web site at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/olderAdultsTX/
olderAdultsTX.htm.
« See
Part 1: Older Adults: Improving Mental Health Services
« See
Part 2: Older Adults: Improving Mental Health Services
See AlsoOlder AdultsRelated
Content:
« From the Administrator:
Mental Health for Older Americans
« Resources for
Older Adults
« Targeted Capacity Expansion Sites
« Countering Stigma
« Prescription Drugs & Alcohol Don't Mix
ChartAll Admissions, 2001 »
Safety Tips
on Medicines & Alcohol »
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