United Kingdom: Concern over ‘rapid’ rise of drink and drug abuse among the over-50s
SOARING numbers of middle-aged drinkers and drug addicts are worrying doctors.
Express
By Sarah O’Grady
August 22, 2017
They fear the over -50s ‘baby boomer’ generation is turning into a ‘baby boozer’ epidemic due to a rapid rise of substance abuse.
The numbers of older alcoholics and addicts receiving treatment are expected to treble in the US and double in Europe by 2020.
And health officials are now calling for a coordinated international approach to tackle the growing problem.
Researchers at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Flinders University in Australia, say the issue of people aged 50-plus experiencing problems from drink or drugs is ‘rapidly rising’.
Study co-author Dr Tony Rao, consultant old age psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The clinical complexity of older adults with substance misuse demands new solutions to a rapidly growing problem.
“So far, there has been little sign of a coordinated international approach to integrated care.
“There remains an urgent need for better drug treatments for older people with substance misuse, more widespread training, and above all a stronger evidence base for both prevention and treatment.”
In both the UK and Australia, risky drinking is declining, except among people aged 50 and older, according to latest figures.
There is also a strong upward trend for “episodic heavy drinking” – or bing drinking – in the same age group.
The Government’s recommended alcohol limit is no more than 14 units of alcohol a week for men and women (previously, men were permitted 21).
According to the World Health Organisation, the country with the highest consumption of alcohol per person from the age of 15 is Belarus, with 17.5 litres (of pure alcohol) a year; then come Moldova, Lithuania and Russia.
In Russia over-15s consume 15 litres of pure alcohol per year – the rough equivalent of 155 bottles of wine or 1,500 shots of vodka .
The UK is 25th on the global list with 11.6 litres consumed per adult per year.
However, according to Dr Rao, in England between 2007-08 and 2013-14 the number of hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol rose by 70 per cent for those aged 55 and above.
But the researchers warned that the worrying generational trend is not restricted to alcohol.
In Australia, the largest percentage increase in drug misuse between 2013 and 2016 was among people aged 60 and over, with that age group mainly abusing prescription drugs.
People over 50 also have higher rates than younger age groups for both past year and lifetime illicit drug misuse, particularly cannabis.
Late onset drug misuse is often triggered by stressful life events including retirement, marital breakdown, social isolation or bereavement.
And with chronic diseases and long-term conditions more frequent in older adults, the use of multiple medicines – often over a long time – is common and many patients become dependent, experts say.
With alcohol being the most common substance misused by older people, under-detection of drink problems is of immediate concern.
And this may increase further as baby boomers get older because of their more liberal views towards, and higher use of, alcohol.
Researchers fear a lack of sound alcohol screening to detect risky drinking may result in a greater need for treatment, longer duration of treatment, heavier use of ambulance services, and higher rates of hospital admission.
The study, published in the latest British Medical Journal, suggests that treatment programmes adapted for older people with substance abuse issues were associated with better results than those aimed at all age groups.
But the report pointed out that doctors will need improved knowledge and skills in assessing and treating older people at risk of substance misuse.