While covid-19 has gotten nearly all the attention, the UN today warned of an “invisible epidemic”: the increasing use of drugs among the over-65sA phenomenon that has been little studied and that will increase worldwide due to the aging of the population.
This is the central theme of the report released today in Vienna by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), a United Nations body that monitors compliance with anti-drug treaties.
“Drug use is increasing faster among the over-65s than among the youngest,” INCB chairman Cornelis de Joncheere of the Netherlands said at a press conference.
“People are living longer and a related challenge is increasing vulnerability to drug use,” he added.
SOCIAL STIGMA
Elderly people who use drugs, in addition to high social stigma, suffer more cases of premature death, depression, suicide and early development of degenerative diseases.
The report warns that more than 700 million people in the world – 9% of the total population – are over the age of 65 and that this number will double by 2050. Although rich countries are most affected, the trend is also occurring in developing countries.
Data in the United States and Europe, where there are currently more studies, indicates an increase in treatments and deaths from narcotics among people over 65, whether due to illegal drugs or other legal substances, such as painkillers or sedatives that are often obtained irregularly.
The use of most drugs among the elderly in the United States has tripled over the past decade, and they are the first to use some substances, such as painkillers, tranquilizers, benzodiazepines, and sedatives.
In Germany, drug use was higher among the population over 40 than among the youngest between 2006 and 2015. And in that country, such as France, Spain and the United Kingdom, there has also been a greater increase in cannabis use among the over-65s in recent years than in any other age group.
THERE ARE JUST TREATMENTS
The INCB notes that most treatment programs are aimed at young people and that this new phenomenon needs to be studied further as data is scarce, especially in developing countries.
This increase in drug use is due to several factors, one of which is the aging of the post-war generation of consumers, born between 1946 and 1964, known as ‘baby boomers’.
In addition to long-term users over the age of 65 who continue to use drugs, there are also those who use these substances for the first time to relieve chronic pain from aging or to address other problems such as depression and anxiety.
This second group may be misused or irregularly attempted to obtain prescription drugs in the absence of health insurance or palliative programs to treat a disease.
People over 65 also have specific problems, such as polypharmacy, that is, the use of five or more drugs per day, which, along with uncontrolled substance use, can have serious health consequences.
DO NOT RISE MENTAL HEALTH
The INCB has also asked states not to neglect mental health and especially detoxification programs during the covid pandemic, as those taking part in them are particularly vulnerable.
The experts at this agency are making this call after learning that psychiatric therapies and addiction treatment have been suspended or interrupted in more than 40 countries because of the covid.
INCB recalls that people attending these programs are particularly vulnerable to loneliness and isolation as a result of detention measures and restrictions imposed to control the virus.
MEDICATION SHORTAGE
This UN body is also expressing concern about the shortage of certain drugs under international control, such as painkillers and tranquilizers, due to the high demand resulting from the pandemic.
“The growing demand for the treatment of patients with covid-19 has led to more shortages and has interrupted certain treatments,” de Joncheere explains to Efe.
Those painkillers, such as codeine, fentanyl, morphine, and oxycodone, are most commonly used in wealthy countries such as the United States, Germany, Austria, and Canada.
Although the report has no data for 2020 regarding painkiller use, there was huge inequality in the world before the pandemic.
In 2019, 80% of the world’s population in developing countries used less than 13% morphine for palliative treatment, while 87% was used in rich countries.