Key result
Nearly one third of general hospital inpatients aged ≥65 years were substance dependent, including 12-month prevalence rates of 10.3% for nicotine, 3% for alcohol, and 20% for prescription drugs.
Why the study?
What is the prevalence of substance addiction in older inpatients?
Cross-Sectional (n=400)
What is the prevalence of substance addiction in older inpatients?
Substance addiction is highly prevalent among older inpatients, highlighting the need for addiction screening in basic geriatric assessments.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Supports screening older inpatients for substance dependence; leaves open whether this improves outcomes.
There is a lack of studies using a structured face-to-face interview focusing on the full spectrum of substance addictions according to ICD or DSM classification systems in older patients. We therefore examined a cohort of 400 randomly selected, at least 65-year-old inpatients of a general hospital concerning addictive disorders using a well-tested structured clinical interview (DSM-IV-TR-based SKID-I). Nearly one third of this cohort was substance dependent: The 12-month prevalence rate for nicotine was 10.3% and for alcohol dependence 3%, with 24.4% and 66.7%, respectively, being severely dependent. These rates were similar to those found in the general German population of persons under 65 year of age. A fifth of the cohort was (mostly mildly) dependent on prescription drugs, remarkably including nonopioid analgesics. One case with a previous dependence on gabapentin was identified. Identification and management of addiction disorders should be considered as part of the basic geriatric assessment.
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Coßmann et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional in Substance addiction (n=400). Substance use vs. General German population under 65 years of age was evaluated on 12-month prevalence of substance dependence. Nearly one third of general hospital inpatients aged ≥65 years were substance dependent, including 12-month prevalence rates of 10.3% for nicotine, 3% for alcohol, and 20% for prescription drugs.
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