Over-50s worry doctors with hard drinking and drug use

SUBSTANCE MISUSE among baby boomers is a “rapidly growing problem”, experts have warned.

Researchers warned that risky drinking is in decline, except among those aged 50 and over.

Meanwhile, doctors will need extra skills to cope with baby boomers who misuse prescription drugs and cannabis, according to an editorial published in The British Medical Journal.

Rahul Rao, visiting researcher at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Ann Roche, director of the National Centre for Training and Addiction at Flinders University in Australia, say there is a “strong upward trend for episodic heavy drinking” among people aged 50 and over. One concern is the “increasing proportion” of women drinking in later life, they add.

In particular, the researchers raise concerns about women whose drinking is prompted by retirement, bereavement, change in home situation, infrequent contact with family and friends and social isolation.

The experts said drinking is the most common substance misuse and the under-detection of alcohol problems is of “immediate concern”.

“Alcohol misuse in the older population may increase further as baby boomers get older because of their more liberal views towards, and higher use of, alcohol,” they wrote.

“A lack of sound alcohol screening to detect risky drinking may result in a greater need for treatment, longer duration of treatment, heavier use of ambulance services and higher rates of hospital admission.”

However, this “generational trend” is not just restricted to alcohol, they added. They wrote: “Clinicians will need improved knowledge and skills in assessing and treating older people at risk of misuse of opiate prescription drugs, cannabis, and, increasingly, gabapentinoid drugs used to treat neuropathic pain and anxiety.”

They conclude: “The clinical complexity of older adults with substance misuse demands new solutions to a rapidly growing problem. So far, there has been little sign of a co-ordinated international approach to integrated care.”

Earlier this year, it emerged that alcohol-related hospital admissions in England have increased by 64 per cent in a decade and are at their highest ever level, prompting experts to warn that baby boomers are continuing to risk their health through frequent and excessive drinking.