D rug and A lcohol S ervices I nformation S ystem

The DASIS Report May 5, 2005

Older Adults in Substance Abuse

Treatment: Update

T
he Treatment Episode Data Set admissions. The information comes
(TEDS) is an annual compila- primarily from facilities that receive
tion of data on the demographic some public funding. TEDS records
characteristics and substance abuse represent admissions rather than indi-
problems of substance abuse treatment viduals, as a person may be admitted to
treatment more than once.
In Brief This report examines admissions of
adults aged 55 or older from 1995 to
● In 2002, 66,500 admissions 2002. In 2002, this age group comprised
aged 55 or older were admitted approximately 62 million people in the
to substance abuse treatment United States. Estimates indicate that the
facilities in the United States number of adults aged 55 or older will
reach 75 million by 2010,1 and that the
● Alcohol was the most frequent- number of adults aged 50 or older with
ly reported primary substance substance abuse problems will increase
of abuse among older adults from 2.5 million in 1999 to 5.0 million in
in treatment for all years from 2020.2
1995 to 2002
In 2002, there were 66,500 admis-
● Primary drug admissions sions aged 55 or older to substance abuse
among older adults increased treatment (Table 1). The admission rate
by 106 percent for men and for adults aged 55 or older was 107 per
119 percent for women 100,000, which was considerably lower
between 1995 and 2002 than the rate of 801 admissions per
100,000 for the population younger than 55.
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
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DASIS REPORT: OLDER ADULTS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT: UPDATE May 5, 2005

Trends in Treatment Table 1. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Primary Substance at

Admission: 1995-2002
Admissions
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Between 1995 and 2002 the
Admissions Aged 55
number of substance abuse treat- or Older (Thousands) 50.2 51.0 52.1 55.7 57.8 60.8 59.8 66.5
ment admissions among persons
Primary Substance Percent
aged 55 or older increased by 32
percent, from 50,200 to 66,500 Alcohol 86.3 84.8 82.1 80.9 80.9 80.3 79.2 77.5
admissions (Table 1). This increase Opiates 6.8 7.9 9.7 10.3 10.1 10.9 10.8 12.0
outpaced the total treatment popu- Cocaine 2.0 2.2 2.6 3.0 3.3 3.5 4.1 4.3
lation increase of 12 percent during 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
the same time period. Adults aged
Other 4.2 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.1 4.5 4.5
55 to 59 made up the largest part
of the older adult treatment popu- Source: 2002 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

lation, increasing from 51 percent

of older adults in treatment in 1995 Table 2. States with Largest Numbers and Highest Rates of
to 59 percent in 2002 (Figure 1). Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Rank: 2002

In each year from 1995 to 2002, Rate per 100,000

State Number State Aged 55 or Older
alcohol was the most frequently
New York 15,524 Colorado 534
reported primary substance of
California 7,087 New York 360
abuse3 for admissions aged 55 or Colorado 4,358 Alaska 343
older. The number of primary Florida 3,220 Oregon 268
alcohol admissions among older Oregon 2,114 District of Columbia 255
adults increased from 33,100 Maryland 2,083 Maryland 183
men and 7,000 women in 1995 Massachusetts 2,071 South Dakota 183
Illinois 1,777 Connecticut 182
to 39,300 men and 8,700 women
Minnesota 1,742 Minnesota 166
in 2002 (Figure 2), increases of 19 Michigan 1,710 Maine 146
percent for men and 24 percent Washington 1,626 Vermont 146
for women. However, the propor- Pennsylvania 1,560 Massachusetts 142
tion of older admissions reporting New Jersey 1,502 Kentucky 139
Connecticut 1,485 Montana 135
alcohol as their primary substance
Georgia 1,362 South Carolina 134
declined over the same time
period, from 86.5 percent in 1995
to 77.5 percent in 2002.
Demographics Referral Source
By contrast, primary drug
admissions among older adults In 2002, admissions aged 55 or In 2002, older admissions were
more than doubled over the same older were more likely to be male more likely than younger admis-
time period, increasing from 6,200 than were younger admissions (80 sions to be individually referred or
men and 1,600 women in 1995 to vs. 70 percent). Admissions aged referred to treatment by health care
12,800 men and 3,500 women in 55 or older did not differ substan- providers, and less likely to enter
2002—a 106 percent increase for tially from younger admissions in treatment through the criminal
men and a 119 percent increase for racial/ethnic composition: about justice system. Among admissions
women. 60 percent were White, about aged 55 or older, 42 percent were
one quarter were Black, about 12 self/individually referred compared
percent were Hispanic, and the with 35 percent of admissions
remainder were other race/ethnici- younger than 55. Also, 11 percent
ties. The average age of first use of were referred by health care
drugs or first alcohol intoxication providers compared with 7 percent
was 19 for admissions aged 55 or of admissions younger than 55.
older and 16 for younger admis- Twenty-six percent of admissions
sions. aged 55 or older were referred
May 5, 2005 DASIS REPORT: OLDER ADULTS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT: UPDATE

through the criminal justice system

Figure 1. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Age Group:
compared with 36 percent of
1995-2002
younger admissions. There was
little difference between the two 70
groups for the remaining referral 60
sources4, which accounted for 21
50
percent of older admissions and 22

Percent
percent of admissions younger than 55. 40

30

Admissions by State 20

In 2002, the most populous States 10

tended to have the largest numbers
0
of older adults entering substance 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
abuse treatment, but not neces- 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+
sarily the highest admission rates
per 100,000 population (Table 2).
Admission rates among adults aged
Figure 2. Admissions Aged 55 or Older, by Sex and Primary
55 or older tended to be highest in
Substance: 1995-2002
northern and northeastern States.
50
End Notes
Admissions in Thousands

1
U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Statistical abstract 40
of the United States: 2002 (122nd Ed.) Washing-
ton, DC: GPO.
2
Korper, S. P., & Council, C. L. (Eds.). (2002). 30
Substance use by older adults: Estimates of
future impact on the treatment system (DHHS 20
Publication No. SMA 03-3763, Analytic Series
A-21). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, Office of 10
Applied Studies.
3
The primary substance of abuse is the main
substance reported at the time of admission.
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
4
The remaining referral sources include alcohol/
drug abuse care providers, schools, employers/ Male Primary Alcohol Male Primary Drug
employee assistance programs, and other com- Female Primary Alcohol Female Primary Drug
munity 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 ad-
missions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records rep-
resent 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 collec-
tion 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.
Access the latest TEDS reports at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm

Access the latest TEDS public use files at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm

Other substance abuse reports are available at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Office of Applied Studies
www.samhsa.gov