Other mental disorders
Though substance abuse problems are thought of as
young people’s problems, they should not be neglected
in older adults. Substance abuse problems
among the elderly are often overlooked or misdiagnosed.
In Europe, the number of older adults with
such problems will double from 2001 to 2020 (22).
According to IHME 2010 data, the absolute DALYs
for alcohol disorders for people over 60 is about 1.5
million years. This constitutes about 0.3% of total
DALYs for this age group (17). The corresponding
figures for other substance use disorders are 338.000
years and 0.1%. Availability of maintenance treatments
and better health care have contributed to an
increased number of older adults who survive early
onset drug use. Stressful life events such as retirement,
marital breakdown or bereavement, social
isolation, financial problems, mental disorders and
some chronic physical conditions are main contributing
factors to substance abuse. Physiological
changes associated with ageing and increased use
of other medicines, especially sedatives, may make
drinking in lower doses more harmful for older
adults through inducing more liver damage and
causing more accidents and injuries