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Geriatric Patients on a Substance Abuse Consultation Service

Received August 10, 2000; accepted December 15, 2000. From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD (EW, LD, JD, DG, AC, MH) and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania (DW). Address correspondence to Eric Weintraub, M.D., University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, 22 S. Greene Street, Box 349, Baltimore, MD 21201.

The authors describe the demographic and substance use characteristics of older adults (N=310) evaluated by a hospital-based substance abuse consultation service during a 6-year period and compares them to younger adults evaluated by the service. Older adults were more likely to use alcohol and less likely to be injection drug users and heroin, cocaine, or polysubstance users. Elderly patients were also more likely to be admitted for cardiac or gastrointestinal conditions and less likely to be admitted for infections. We estimated that only 1% of older adults admitted to the hospital were referred for substance abuse consultations. Our results suggest that substance use disorders in elderly patients are underdiagnosed and undertreated in the hospital setting.

Key Words: Addictive Disorders • Consultation Services

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