ReviewInternational journal of epidemiology2014
Substance use disorders and psychiatric comorbidity in mid and later life: a review.
Review in International journal of epidemiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for adults with substance use disorder that have a co-occurring mental health disorder: an umbrella review and illustrative cost-effectiveness analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Drinking in later life: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies exploring older people's perceptions and experiences.Age and ageing · 2019Pooled it
- Collaborative Care for Psychiatric Disorders in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2017Pooled it
- Research with Older Adult Methadone Clients: The Importance of Monitoring Suicide Ideation.Journal of gerontological social workTrial
- Prevalence, Correlates, and Treatment of Major Depression Among Community-Dwelling Adults Aged ≥50 in the US.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2026Article
- Epidemiology of Cannabis Use Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the U.S.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Temporal trends and projections in Hypertension with Substance Use-related mortality, 1999-2035: Insights from the CDC WONDER database.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2026Article
- Barriers to substance use disorder treatment among Asian Americans in New York City: A qualitative study of provider perspectives.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Refining a Novel Measure of Polysubstance Use: Applying the Cognitive Interview Method with People Who Use Drugs.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Impact of physical activity on sleep in adults recovering from substance use disorders: a protocol for an N-of-1 observational study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Global and regional burden of four drug use disorders in the elderly, 1990 to 2021: an analysis of the global burden of disease study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Features of Residential Counties and Individual Health Conditions for Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Risk Factors for Adverse Cardiac Events in Individuals Prescribed Stimulants Across the Lifespan.Journal of attention disorders · 2025Article
- Links between adolescent binge drinking and midlife alcohol use behaviors by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- Screening for Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions in Primary Care.AJPM focus · 2024Article
- Unravelling the complex causal effects of substance use behaviours on common diseases.Communications medicine · 2024Article
- Mental and physical health characteristics of older and younger adults receiving medication for opioid use disorder.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Female Patients Show a Larger Reduction in Suicidal Ideation in Inpatient Addiction Treatment Than Male Patients: Results of a Single-Center Observational Study.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Trends in Geographic Proximity to Substance Use Disorder Treatment.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Article
- Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms Reported during Midlife: Results from the Monitoring the Future Study among US Adults at Modal Ages 50, 55, and 60.Substance use & misuse · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, adults aged 65 years or older will increase from 516 million in 2009 to an estimated 1.53 billion in 2050. Due to substance use at earlier ages that may continue into later life, and ageing-related changes in medical conditions, older substance users are at risk for substance-related consequences.
methodsMEDLINE and PsychInfo databases were searched using keywords: alcohol use disorder, drug use disorder, drug misuse, substance use disorder, prescription drug abuse, and substance abuse. Using the related-articles link, additional articles were screened for inclusion. This review focused on original studies published between 2005 and 2013 to reflect recent trends in substance use disorders. Studies on psychiatric comorbidity were also reviewed to inform treatment needs for older adults with a substance use disorder.
resultsAmong community non-institutionalized adults aged 50+ years, about 60% used alcohol, 3% used illicit drugs and 1-2% used nonmedical prescription drugs in the past year. Among adults aged 50+, about 5% of men and 1.4% of women had a past-year alcohol use disorder. Among alcohol users, about one in 14 users aged 50-64 had a past-year alcohol use disorder vs one in 30 elder users aged 65+. Among drug users aged 50+, approximately 10-12% had a drug use disorder. Similar to depressive and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders were among the common psychiatric disorders among older adults. Older drug users in methadone maintenance treatment exhibited multiple psychiatric or medical conditions. There have been increases in treatment admissions for illicit and prescription drug problems in the United States.
conclusionsSubstance use in late life requires surveillance and research, including tracking substance use in the racial/ethnic populations and developing effective care models to address comorbid medical and mental health problems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.