Profile of Elderly Substance Users-seeking Treatment: A Retrospective Analysis from a Tertiary Care Center in North India

Introduction: The substance use among the elderly is a growing enormity and an accurate understanding of the patterns of substances of the elderly is missing in the literature. Therefore, this study explored the sociodemographic and clinical profile of the elderly population-seeking treatment at a tertiary care center in North India. Methods: The present study reviewed the case notes of the elderly registered in the de-addiction center of North India. The cohort for this study consisted of all outpatients aged more than 60 years registered in the study setting from January 2017 to December 2021. The profile of the study subjects including sociodemographic and clinical data was reviewed based on the existing structured pro forma used in the department. Results: The data for a total of 508 treatment-seeking elderly aged more than 60 years were analyzed in which the mean age at the presentation was 65 ± 3.8 years. We identified that tobacco (57.5%), alcohol (52.6%), and opioids (36.2%) were the leading substances used in this setting. We noted a statistically significant association among the study subjects with alcohol, opioid, and tobacco dependence based on the presence or absence of a co-occurring medical illness. Conclusion: The present retrospective chart review identified that tobacco, alcohol, and opioids were the leading substances used among treatment-seeking elderly in this setting. Estimating the magnitude of substance use among the elderly is crucial to predict the imposed burden of the illness and ascertain the treatment and prevention strategies for controlling the magnitude of the problem.