Older Adults & Addiction

Substance use in older adults is under-recognised, rapidly growing, and intersects with polypharmacy and frailty. The session covers late-onset substance use disorders, prescription opioid use patterns in older adults, alcohol misuse epidemiology in the elderly (binge drinking rising fastest in age 65+), polypharmacy interactions including benzodiazepines and opioids, geriatric screening tools (SMAST-G, MAST-G), and age-adapted treatment approaches. Discussion addresses MAT in older adults including renal dosing of buprenorphine, alcohol use after bariatric surgery in older patients, cannabis use among older adults in medical-cannabis programmes, falls risk in patients on MOUD, and end-of-life addiction-medicine care models.