Öz
Disorders related to substance use in elderly
individuals are one of the most noticeable problems in recent years. In a study
about substance use conducted in 2015, 17.3% of the approximately 1,500,000
patients who applied for treatment due to substance use disorders were found to
be 50 years of age or older. Many causes, such as the combination of many
chronic diseases in elderly people, the use of multiple drugs, changes in
kidney and liver functions, significantly increase the deleterious effects of
substance use and make the problem much more complicated. Although there are
many screening tests to detect substance-related disorders in young
individuals, many of the same tests are not valid for elderly individuals. Alcohol
is currently the most commonly used substance, benzodiazepine, opiate group
drugs, marijuana use is increasing day by day. Treatment is also an important
issue and needs to be assessed carefully as well as the detection of a problem
in elderly individuals. In a study it was predicted that treatment related to
substance use in elderly individuals would increase by 250% and affect 4.4
million people by 2020. Therefore, substance-related disorders in elderly
individuals should be investigated in detail and new researches on this subject
are needed.