In recent years, records have suggested that deaths involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone), most likely illicitly made fentanyl, are fueling the increase in overdose deaths (IMF). The 25-to-34-year-old age group had the highest number of opioid overdose deaths (12,537), a 4% rise from 2018, and a 921 percent increase since 1999. Currently, 73 percent of preventable opioid deaths occur among people aged 25 to 54, and the number of deaths among people aged 55 and over is fast increasing.
A new study that examined 20 years of fatal opioid overdose data in individuals 55 and older discovered that between 1999 and 2019, opioid-related overdose deaths in U.S. adults aged 55 and older climbed exponentially, from 518 deaths in 1999 to 10,292 deaths in 2019: a 1,886 percent increase. An “older adult” stereotype can include early-bird deals, dentures, and matinée theater tickets.
A new Northwestern Medicine study that looked at 20 years of fatal opioid overdose data in persons aged 55 and over presents a very different picture. Between 1999 and 2019, opioid-related overdose deaths among persons 55 and older in the United States climbed rapidly, from 518 deaths in 1999 to 10,292 deaths in 2019: a 1,886 percent increase.
It’s a significant question what was going on with that demographic that wasn’t happening on with other populations. It’s reminiscent of the start of the third wave of the opioid epidemic, when fentanyl began to appear in the usual drug supply. Older Black men are more likely to use illicit drugs, whereas other populations are more likely to use prescription drugs.
Maryann Mason
“Many of us believe that drug abuse is primarily a problem among teenagers. However, the number of fatal opioid overdoses among older persons is skyrocketing “Maryann Mason, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, confirmed this. JAMA Network Open will publish the findings.
“Many are Baby Boomers who used recreational drugs in their youth and, unlike earlier generations, have continued to use into their older age,” said senior author Lori Post, the Buehler Professor of Geriatric Medicine and professor of emergency medicine and medical social sciences at Feinberg. “That kind of contradicts our notions of the ‘older adult.’ We don’t consider them to be recreational drug users, but it’s a rising issue.”
Over a 20-year period, 79,893 people in the United States aged 55 to 80 died from opioid overdoses, with over half of them being between the ages of 55 and 64, according to Mason. According to the report, the annual total death rate per 100,000 persons aged 55 and older ranged from 0.9 in 1999 to 10.7 in 2019 and grew annually from 2000 on.
Ageism, according to Post, is one of the factors contributing to the rise in fatal opioid overdoses among older folks, stating that doctors frequently do not screen for drug misuse during meetings with older people because it “doesn’t fit the idea of what it means to be old.”
“They’re unnoticeable,” Post explained. “We’re talking about grandmothers and grandfathers using narcotics to the point of overdosing. We do not take them seriously. Not as victims of domestic violence, physical or sexual assault, or drug addiction. That must change.”
According to the study, African-American men have suffered the greatest increase in opioid overdose mortality among older persons since 2013. By 2019, the opioid overdose fatality rate among non-Hispanic Black or African-American males aged 55 and up was 40.03 per 100,000 population, which was four times higher than the general opioid fatality rate among people of the same age.
“It’s a significant question what was going on with that demographic that wasn’t happening on with other populations,” Mason explained. “It’s reminiscent of the start of the third wave of the opioid epidemic, when fentanyl began to appear in the usual drug supply. Older Black men are more likely to use illicit drugs, whereas other populations are more likely to use prescription drugs.”
Mason further stated that, as compared to other subpopulations of older persons, Black men are more likely to have suffered trauma, lack access to health insurance and health care, distrust health care professionals, and are undertreated for pain.
Other variables, according to the report, may be contributing to the exponential surge among older persons. They could include social isolation and depression; exposure to medically prescribed opioids for chronic illnesses like arthritis and cancer, which worsens with age; and diminishing cognitive function, which may impede with taking opioids as recommended. Furthermore, the body’s ability to metabolize opioids declines with age, making people more susceptible to overdose.
“We need to educate services that cater to older individuals, such as food delivery or housekeeping, about these potential difficulties and how to spot indicators of drug overuse, such as confusion, falls, and asking for medication too frequently or off cycle,” Post said. Mason emphasized that tackling the social determinants of health that cause drug consumption in the first place is necessary to address the disproportionate rates among Black men.
