Poly-Substance Use of Nicotine, Alcohol, and Cannabis Among Adults Aged 50 and Older with Disability: Analysis of...

To explore the association between single-, co-, and poly-substance use of nicotine, alcohol, and/or cannabis among older adults with disabilities.

Using data across 33 states from 2020-2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we investigated substance use for adults aged 50+ years (n = 222,650). We conducted multinomial regression analyses to examine substance use by individual disabilities, any disability, and multiple disabilities.

35.10% of respondents reported at least one disability, while 1.61% reported recent poly-substance use of nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis. All individual disabilities were associated with higher odds of nicotine-cannabis co-use. Having any disability was associated with 149% higher odds of nicotine-cannabis co-use (OR: 2.49, 95%CI: 2.27-2.73) and 33% higher odds of poly-substance use of all three (OR: 1.33, 95%CI: 1.24-1.43) compared to no disability. Disabilities tended to be associated with lower odds of alcohol use, either when used alone (ORs ranged from 0.36 to 0.96) or co-used (ORs from 0.63 to 1.15), except for disabilities of self-care and cognition only.

Understanding of poly-substance use trends among older adults with disabilities, a group often overlooked in substance use research, can inform targeted interventions and evidence-based policies that address their distinct health and social needs.