A Hidden Aspect of the U.S. Opioid Crisis: Rise in First-time Treatment Admissions for Older Adults with Opioid Use Disorder

The opioid crisis has affected Americans from all walks of life. The rate of U.S. adults engaging in non-medical prescription opioid use has declined in recent years, yet the overall rate of illicit opioid use (including heroin and prescription opioids) and opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to rise (Jones, 2017). Older adults may have been overlooked as a potentially vulnerable population during this nation-wide tragedy. Although alcohol remains the most common substance use problem among older adults (Han et al., 2017a), illicit drug use is becoming more common in this population.

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - October 18, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Andrew S. Huhn, Eric C. Strain, D. Andrew Tompkins, Kelly E. Dunn Tags: Full length article Source Type: research