Background and Purpose: Addiction is regarded as a disorder of brain function. The current paper aimed at investigating the substance use disorders characteristics among elderly people.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlation study, 200 elderlies referred to Amol Addiction Treatment Clinics were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. The data collection tool was the demographic questionnaire, and alcohol, smoking, and substance involvement screening test (ASSIST) developed by the WHO. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential tests, such as independent t-test and ANOVA using SPSS Software (V.21).
Results: All study sample elders (100%) consumed opioids, 65% tobacco products, 31% alcoholic beverages, and 26.5% sedatives or sleeping pills. There was a significant correlation between mean of tobacco products consumption and gender (P=0.001), income (P=0.030), and job (P<0.001). There was also a significant correlation between the mean of cannabis consumption and gender (P=0.013), and income (P=0.011). Also there was a significant correlation between mean of sedatives consumption and job (P=0.039); as well as a significant correlation between the mean of alcoholic beverages consumption and marriage (P=0.037). However, there were not documented any significant relationship between education, housing status, number of children, death of loved ones, and the severity of substance use disorders
Conclusion: Recognition of factors affecting substance use disorders among older people seems necessary.