A profile of alcohol and prescription drug abuse in a high-risk community-based elderly population

Substance abuse among the elderly is relatively common but often remains undetected or ignored by health and social workers. Psychosocial and health factors related to the aging process are the major contributors to alcoholism and other drug abuse. It is estimated that between two and ten percent of individuals over the age of 60 suffer from alcoholism. This article profiles alcohol and prescription drug abuse among the geriatric clientele of Elderly Services of Spokane (ESS), a division of the Spokane (Washington) Community Mental Health Center. In addition to traditional channels, ESS uses a unique gatekeeper network to identify high-risk, community-based elderly. Elderly persons referred by gatekeepers are regarded as "hidden" elderly and at highest risk; notably, 37 percent of ESS clients are referred via this mechanism. Case management records of 1668 ESS clients were reviewed for a history of alcoholism, and a total of 161 persons (9.6 percent) were diagnosed with either primary or secondary alcohol abuse. Fifty subjects (about five percent of the average active ESS caseload) were referred for prescription drug abuse. Misused prescription drug classes were sedative-hypnotics, antianxiety agents, and analgesics. Diazepam, codeine, meprobamate, and flurazepam were the top four agents, and 92 percent of the subjects were found to have a duration of prescription drug abuse in excess of five years. A 60 percent correlation between prescription drug abuse and previous or active alcoholism was found. Additional characteristics of the geriatric study population are discussed in detail, including specific psychosocial factors, source of referral, age, gender, living situation, marital status, psychiatric history, and presence of polypharmacy.