Aging And Addiction

The authors, both experts in the field of addiction treatment and intervention, provide a respectful, definitive guide for recognizing and addressing substance abuse among older adults. Addiction among older adults is a hidden and hushed problem. Signs and symptoms of alcohol or medication abuse can easily be mistaken for conditions related to aging. And even when friends or family members recognize signs of addiction, they often discount the need for intervention or treatment. With an estimated three million older Americans struggling with alcohol and drug misuse and abuse, Aging and Addiction is a much-needed resource. The authors, both experts in the field of addiction treatment and intervention, provide a respectful, definitive guide for recognizing and addressing substance abuse among older adults. Key topics include: understanding the relationship between aging and addiction, finding help for a loved one, and recognizing the treatment needs of older adults.Key features and benefitsauthors are widely recognized experts in the field of addictionaddresses one of the nation's most underestimated, under treated health problemsprovides how-to-help information for family members and friends

This text focuses on the under-recognized and undertreated problem of addiction in later life. The widespread lack of clinical knowledge about this patient population can be traced to several sources: the systematic exclusion of older individuals from clinical trials; their reluctance to seek medical help owing to stigma and shame; the fact that additive disorders may be disguised by concurrent medical conditions; a lack of screening instruments tailored to an older population; and the low sensitivity of standard diagnostic criteria for detecting addiction in middle-aged and elderly adults who do not display the occupational and legal "red flags" seen in younger individuals. This volume provides the reader with a clear sense of the surprisingly high prevalence of alcohol and substance use disorders in older adults. For each of the major classes of addictive substances, both prescribed and illicit, this book highlights the key clinical issues that can complicate successful diagnosis. The authors describe strategies for initial engagement with the patient, including screening instruments, brief interventions which can be adapted to a primary care setting, emerging web-based and mobile technologies, and treatment strategies which are tailored to the age-appropriate needs of older adults, including older women - who have been found to be especially vulnerable to prescription drug misuse. With the aging of the baby boomers, a generation arriving in middle-age with greater exposure to alcohol and drugs than any previous cohort, the need for successful identification and effective treatment of alcohol and substance use disorders in later life has become a clinical imperative. Addiction in the Older Patient, whose editors bring more than 40 years of combined research and clinical experience in the field of addiction treatment, offers a comprehensive introduction to this underexplored and timely topic. This text synthesizes current clinical evidence to support the most effective strategies for discovering and treating addictive disorders in our older patients.

What role did drug abuse play in John F. Kennedy's White House, and how was it kept from the public? How did general anesthetics and aging affect the presidency of Ronald Reagan? Why did Winston Churchill become more egocentric, Woodrow Wilson more self- righteous, and Josef Stalin more paranoid as they aged -- and how did those qualities alter the course of history? Was Napoleon poisoned with arsenic or did underlying disease account for his decline at the peak of his power? Does syphilis really explain Henry VIII's midlife transformation? Was there more than messianism brewing in the brains of some zealots of the past, among them Adolf Hitler, Joan of Arc, and John Brown? Most important of all, when does one man's illness cause millions to suffer, and when is it merely a footnote to history? To answer such questions requires the clinical intuition of a practicing physician and the scholarly perspective of a trained historian. Bert Park, who qualifies on both counts, offers here fascinating second opinions, basing his retrospective diagnoses on a wide range of sources from medicine and history. Few books so graphically portray the impact on history of physiologically compromised leadership, misdiagnosis, and inappropriate medical treatment. Park not only untangles medical mysteries from the past but also offers timely suggestions for dealing with such problems in the future. As a welcome sequel to his first work, The Impact of Illness on World Leaders, this book offers scholars, physicians, and general readers an entertaining, albeit sobering, analysis.

Alcohol and prescription drug abuse affect up to 17% of adults over the age of 60 as per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Due to insufficient knowledge, limited research data, and hurried office visits, health care providers often overlook substance abuse among the elderly. This is made worse by the fact that the elderly often have medical or behavioral disorders that mimic symptoms of substance abuse, such as depression, diabetes, or dementia. This book takes a detailed look at alcoholism and drug addiction in older adults from every angle, with an examination of the specific substance abuse dangers for seniors, barriers to diagnosis, and various treatment recommendations tailored to the older adult. To the millions of people and their loved ones trapped in the vicious circle of addiction, there is a solution to break free from the madness.

Evidence from both local and national surveys suggests that substance misuse and abuse among older adults in the United States is a "hidden epidemic" that poses a major threat to the welfare and quality of life of older drinkers and their families, and has significant public health implications. Based on their findings from a 10-year, NIH-funded study of retirement, aging, and substance misuse, Peter Bamberger and Samuel Bacharach examine the complex web of factors contributing to the precipitation and exacerbation of substance problems among older adults. They discuss the individual and public health implications of such problems, as well as some of the evidence-based steps that may be taken to prevent their emergence and help those in need of assistance for policy-makers and health practitioners. This book provides a single-source review of the latest research assessing the magnitude and costs of older-adult substance abuse, as well as detailed analysis of the epidemiology of older-adult substance abuse. The authors provide an analysis of the efficacy of alternative prevention and treatment strategies, and present scientific evidence in a user-friendly format, highlighting extensive interview data to accompany their statistical results. The illustrations offered by these real life cases not only provide a sense of richness and understanding to a complex issue, but also offer a fitting reminder to the reader that this is an issue affecting people we know and families like our own.

At least 5.6 million to 8 million-nearly one in five-older adults in America have one or more mental health and substance use conditions, which present unique challenges for their care. With the number of adults age 65 and older projected to soar from 40.3 million in 2010 to 72.1 million by 2030, the aging of America holds profound consequences for the nation. For decades, policymakers have been warned that the nation's health care workforce is ill-equipped to care for a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. In the specific disciplines of mental health and substance use, there have been similar warnings about serious workforce shortages, insufficient workforce diversity, and lack of basic competence and core knowledge in key areas. Following its 2008 report highlighting the urgency of expanding and strengthening the geriatric health care workforce, the IOM was asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to undertake a complementary study on the geriatric mental health and substance use workforce. The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands? assesses the needs of this population and the workforce that serves it. The breadth and magnitude of inadequate workforce training and personnel shortages have grown to such proportions, says the committee, that no single approach, nor a few isolated changes in disparate federal agencies or programs, can adequately address the issue. Overcoming these challenges will require focused and coordinated action by all.

Contains papers presented at the 6th annual Coatesville-Jefferson Conference held November 1983 at the Coatesville VA Medical Center. Examines issues related to alcohol and drug abuse among the elderly.