{"id":18497,"date":"2025-01-05T18:07:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T17:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=18497"},"modified":"2025-05-11T16:17:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T15:17:48","slug":"rising-trend-of-substance-abuse-among-older-adults-a-review-focusing-on-screening-and-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/01\/rising-trend-of-substance-abuse-among-older-adults-a-review-focusing-on-screening-and-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Trend of Substance Abuse Among Older Adults: A Review Focusing on Screening and Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sima Patra<\/a><\/i>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Sayantan Patra<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Reetoja Das<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Soumya Suvra Patra<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published:\u00a0<\/b>December 31, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

DOI:\u00a0<\/b>10.7759\/cureus.76659<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cite this article as: <\/b>Patra S, Patra S, Das R, et al. (December 31, 2024) Rising Trend of Substance Abuse Among Older Adults: A Review Focusing on Screening and Management. Cureus 16(12): e76659. doi:10.7759\/cureus.76659<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is a large article. To access <\/strong>the full document:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    Abstract<\/h3>\n

    There is undoubtedly an alarmingly rising trend of substance use among older adults. This has necessitated a paradigm shift in healthcare and propelled strategies aimed at effective prevention and screening. Age-related physiological changes, such as diminished metabolism and increased substance sensitivity, make older adults particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of substances. This not only has adverse psychological consequences but also physical consequences like complicating chronic illnesses and harmful interactions with medications, which lead to increased hospitalization.<\/p>\n

    Standard screening tools can identify substance use disorders (SUDs) in older adults. Tools like the Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilty, and Eye-opener (CAGE)\u00a0questionnaire and Michigan Alcohol Screening Test-Geriatric (MAST-G) are tailored to detect alcoholism, while the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) assess abuse of illicit and prescription drugs. Since older adults are more socially integrated, screening should be done using non-stigmatizing and non-judgmental language.<\/p>\n

    Prevention strategies include educational programs, safe prescribing practices, and prescription drug monitoring. Detection of substance abuse should be followed by brief interventions and specialized referrals. In conclusion, heightened awareness, improved screening, and preventive measures can mitigate substance abuse risks in this demographic. Prioritizing future research on non-addictive pain medications and the long-term effects of substances like marijuana seems justified.<\/p>\n

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    Source: https:\/\/www.cureus.com\/articles\/322781-rising-trend-of-substance-abuse-among-older-adults-a-review-focusing-on-screening-and-management?score_article=true#!\/<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sima Patra\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Sayantan Patra\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Reetoja Das\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Soumya Suvra Patra Published:\u00a0December 31, 2024 DOI:\u00a010.7759\/cureus.76659 Cite this article as: Patra S, Patra S, Das R, et al. (December 31, 2024) Rising Trend of Substance Abuse Among Older Adults: A Review Focusing on Screening and Management. Cureus 16(12): e76659. doi:10.7759\/cureus.76659 This is a large article. To access the full document: Click […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,68,62,11,120,40,14,36,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addiction","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-education","category-effects-of-drugs","category-mental-health","category-prevention-research","category-social-affairs","category-treatment-addiction","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}