The increase in the number of elderly Baby Boomers has also meant an increase in the number of seniors abusing medication, other drugs, and alcohol. There are many delicate issues that arise in treating the elderly for addiction. However, efforts are now being made to screen and treat instances of elderly addiction in hospitals, nursing homes, and other treatment programs.
Elderly Addiction Statistics
Experts agree that as the population of seniors grows so does the number of those addicted to harmful substances. In 2009, a study was published that found that because of the large size “and high substance abuse rate” of the Baby Boomer generation, the number of Americans over the age of fifty with addiction abuse problems was expected to reach 5.7 million by 2020, double the number from 2006.