Bornstein Sydney, Ciarleglio Adam, Kuo Irene, Magnus Manya
Department of Epidemiology (SB, IK, MM), Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (AC), Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 Dec;33(12):1279-1289. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2025.06.007. Epub 2025 Jun 16.
Important and underappreciated age group differences among opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment discharges from rehabilitation/residential settings in the United States may exist. We aimed to characterize these differences and compare correlates of treatment completion by age.
Using data from the 2015-2019 Treatment Episode Dataset-Discharges (TEDS-D), we described and compared sociodemographic, treatment, and substance use characteristics across different age groups (18-29, 30-49, 50-54, 55-64, and 65+) of OUD treatment discharges from rehabilitation/residential settings. We used logistic regression to determine the age-stratified associations between these characteristics and treatment completion.
We found several age-group differences in demographic, treatment and substance use characteristics and correlates of treatment completion. Notably, discharges in the 55-64 group who were married (versus never married) had higher odds of treatment completion, whereas those in the 18-29 group who were married (versus never married) had lower odds of treatment completion. Among discharges in the 18-29, 30-49, and 50-54 groups, an older age at first opioid use (18-29) was associated with a higher odds of treatment completion compared to a younger age at first opioid use (under 18). Conversely, in the 55-64 group, an older age of first opioid use (30+ versus under 18) had a lower odds of treatment completion.
Our results suggest that there are distinct age differences among younger and older adult OUD treatment discharges from rehabilitation/residential settings in the US. Age-specific approaches should be developed and implemented to improve treatment for older adults.
