Although policy, research, and media coverage predominantly focus on opioid addiction
and overdoses in younger people, older adults are also susceptible to opioid-related
morbidity and mortality.
1
Data suggest that all-cause opioid-related hospitalizations have increased by 34%
as non–opioid-related hospitalizations have decreased by 17% among adults aged ≥65 years
from 2010 to 2015.
2
Yet, the contribution of opioid use disorder (OUD) to this increase and characteristics
of older adults with OUD are unknown.
- Weiss A.J.
- Heslin K.C.
- Barrett M.L.
- et al.
Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Among Patients Aged
65 Years and Older, 2010 and 2015: Statistical Brief 244. Healthcare Cost and Utilization
Project Statistical Briefs 244.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US),
Rockville (MD)2018
2
Without understanding the characteristics of older adults with OUD, including their
discharge settings after OUD hospitalization, it will be challenging to identify risk
factors driving the increased opioid-related morbidity and mortality in older adults,
and to develop interventions to mitigate these harms in this population. We therefore
examined the prevalence, characteristics, and discharge disposition of older Medicare
beneficiaries with OUD hospitalizations.- Weiss A.J.
- Heslin K.C.
- Barrett M.L.
- et al.
Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Among Patients Aged
65 Years and Older, 2010 and 2015: Statistical Brief 244. Healthcare Cost and Utilization
Project Statistical Briefs 244.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US),
Rockville (MD)2018
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References
- Opioid use disorder and its treatment among older adults: An invited commentary.Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019; 27: 346-348
- Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Among Patients Aged 65 Years and Older, 2010 and 2015: Statistical Brief 244. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Briefs 244.Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US), Rockville (MD)2018
- The residential history file: Studying nursing home residents' long-term care histories.Health Serv Res. 2011; 46: 120-137
- The role of primary care in improving access to medication-assisted treatment for rural Medicaid enrollees with opioid use disorder.J Gen Intern Med. 2019; 34: 936-943
- A combined comorbidity score predicted mortality in elderly patients better than existing scores.J Clin Epidemiol. 2011; 64: 749-759
- Prescriptions filled following an opioid-related hospitalization.Psychiatr Serv. 2016; 67: 1262-1264
- Chapter 3F: Medical management of patients taking OUD medications in hospital settings.Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: For Healthcare and Addiction Professionals, Policymakers, Patients, and Families. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD2018
- Barriers to post-acute care for patients on opioid agonist therapy: An example of systematic stigmatization of addiction.J Gen Intern Med. 2017; 32: 17-19
- The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act—What will it mean for the opioid-overdose crisis?.N Eng J Med. 2019; 380: 3-5
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 18, 2020
Footnotes
A.R.Z. was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (R21AG061632), a Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations Advanced Fellowship in Health Services Research and Development, a Brown University Office of the Vice President for Research Seed Award, and an Advance-CTR Pilot Project Program Award (U54GM115677). K.S.T. was supported by a Career Development Award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (CDA 14-422) and a National Institute on Aging award (5P01AG027296). E.J. was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (1R21AG059623-01), Brown University Big Data Collaborative Seed, and an Interagency Personnel Agreement with the Center of Innovation in Long Term Services and Supports in the Providence VA Medical Center.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
This letter was presented at the Addiction Health Services Research conference in Park City, Utah in October 2019.
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Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
