In 2002, 66,500 admissions aged 55 or older were admitted to substance abuse treatment facilities in the United States
Alcohol was the most frequently reported primary substance of abuse among older adults in treatment for all years from 1995 to 2002
Primary drug admissions among older adults increased by 106 percent for men and 119 percent for women between 1995 and 2002
The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is an annual compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of substance abuse treatment admissions. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once.
This report examines admissions of adults aged 55 or older from 1995 to 2002. In 2002, this age group comprised approximately 62 million people in the United States. Estimates indicate that the number of adults aged 55 or older will reach 75 million by 2010,1 and that the number of adults aged 50 or older with substance abuse problems will increase from 2.5 million in 1999 to 5.0 million in 2020.2
In 2002, there were 66,500 admissions aged 55 or older to substance abuse treatment (Table 1). The admission rate for adults aged 55 or older was 107 per 100,000, which was considerably lower than the rate of 801 admissions per 100,000 for the population younger than 55.
Trends in Treatment Admissions
Between 1995 and 2002 the number of substance abuse treatment admissions among persons aged 55 or older increased by 32 percent, from 50,200 to 66,500 admissions (Table 1). This increase outpaced the total treatment population increase of 12 percent during the same time period. Adults aged 55 to 59 made up the largest part of the older adult treatment population, increasing from 51 percent of older adults in treatment in 1995 to 59 percent in 2002 (Figure 1).
Table 1. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Primary Substance at Admission: 1995-2002
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Admissions Aged 55
or Older (Thousands)
50.2
51.0
52.1
55.7
57.8
60.8
59.8
66.5
Primary Substance
Percent
Alcohol
86.3
84.8
82.1
80.9
80.9
80.3
79.2
77.5
Opiates
6.8
7.9
9.7
10.3
10.1
10.9
10.8
12.0
Cocaine
2.0
2.2
2.6
3.0
3.3
3.5
4.1
4.3
Marijuana
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.2
Stimulants
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.5
Other
4.2
4.3
4.7
4.7
4.5
4.1
4.5
4.5
Source: 2002 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
Figure 1. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Age Group:
1995-2002
Source: 2002 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
In each year from 1995 to 2002, alcohol was the most frequently reported primary substance of abuse3 for admissions aged 55 or older. The number of primary alcohol admissions among older adults increased from 33,100 men and 7,000 women in 1995 to 39,300 men and 8,700 women in 2002 (Figure 2), increases of 19 percent for men and 24 percent for women. However, the proportion of older admissions reporting alcohol as their primary substance declined over the same time period, from 86.5 percent in 1995 to 77.5 percent in 2002.
Figure 2. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Sex and Primary Substance: 1995-2002
Source: 2002 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
By contrast, primary drug admissions among older adults more than doubled over the same time period, increasing from 6,200 men and 1,600 women in 1995 to 12,800 men and 3,500 women in 2002-a 106 percent increase for men and a 119 percent increase for women.
Demographics
In 2002, admissions aged 55 or older were more likely to be male than were younger admissions (80 vs. 70 percent). Admissions aged 55 or older did not differ substantially from younger admissions in racial/ethnic composition: about 60 percent were White, about one quarter were Black, about 12 percent were Hispanic, and the remainder were other race/ethnicities. The average age of first use of drugs or first alcohol intoxication was 19 for admissions aged 55 or older and 16 for younger admissions.
Referral Source
In 2002, older admissions were more likely than younger admissions to be individually referred or referred to treatment by health care providers, and less likely to enter treatment through the criminal justice system. Among admissions aged 55 or older, 42 percent were self/individually referred compared with 35 percent of admissions younger than 55. Also, 11 percent were referred by health care providers compared with 7 percent of admissions younger than 55. Twenty-six percent of admissions aged 55 or older were referred through the criminal justice system compared with 36 percent of younger admissions. There was little difference between the two groups for the remaining referral sources4, which accounted for 21 percent of older admissions and 22 percent of admissions younger than 55.
Admissions by State
In 2002, the most populous States tended to have the largest numbers of older adults entering substance abuse treatment, but not necessarily the highest admission rates per 100,000 population (Table 2). Admission rates among adults aged 55 or older tended to be highest in northern and northeastern States.
Table 2. States with Largest Numbers and Highest Rates of Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Rank: 2002
State
Number
State
Rate per
100,000 Aged 55 or Older
New York
15,524
Colorado
534
California
7,087
New York
360
Colorado
4,358
Alaska
343
Florida
3,220
Oregon
268
Oregon
2,114
District of Columbia
255
Maryland
2,083
Maryland
183
Massachusetts
2,071
South Dakota
183
Illinois
1,777
Connecticut
182
Minnesota
1,742
Minnesota
166
Michigan
1,710
Maine
146
Washington
1,626
Vermont
146
Pennsylvania
1,560
Massachusetts
142
New Jersey
1,502
Kentucky
139
Connecticut
1,485
Montana
135
Georgia
1,362
South Carolina
134
Source: 2002 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
End Notes1 U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2002 (122nd Ed.) Washington, DC: GPO. 2 Korper, S. P., & Council, C. L. (Eds.). (2002). Substance use by older adults: Estimates of future impact on the treatment system (DHHS Publication No. SMA 03-3763, Analytic Series A-21). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. 3 The primary substance of abuse is the main substance reported at the time of admission. 4 The remaining referral sources include alcohol/drug abuse care providers, schools, employers/ employee assistance programs, and other community referrals.
The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting, facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details. Approximately 1.9 million records are included in TEDS each year.
The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute).
Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through March 1, 2004.
The DASIS Report is published periodically by the
Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated. For questions about this report please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov
This page was last updated on May 16, 2008.
SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal
Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of
substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health
services in the United States.
This page was last updated on May 16, 2008.
