Moos R H, Mertens J R, Brennan P L
Center for Health Care Evaluation (152), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Palo Alto, California 94304.
J Stud Alcohol. 1993 Jul;54(4):479-87. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1993.54.479.
This study examines the diagnoses and treatment received by a cohort (N = 22,678) of late-middle-aged and older substance abuse patients. More than 23% of substance abuse inpatients admitted to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers in fiscal year 1987 were 55 years of age or older. Most of these patients had multiple health problems. More than 90% had an alcohol-related diagnosis; almost 30% were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder; and more than 80% had a medical disorder. Compared with their younger counterparts, older substance abuse patients were less likely to receive specialized inpatient or outpatient treatment specifically directed toward their substance abuse or psychiatric problems. In general, older substance abuse patients received services oriented more toward medical management than toward rehabilitative substance abuse or psychiatric care. These findings imply a need to develop treatment programs tailored to the characteristics and substance abuse problems of older patients, and to encourage more use of specialized outpatient aftercare services by these individuals.
本研究调查了一组（N = 22678）中老年药物滥用患者所接受的诊断和治疗情况。1987财年入住退伍军人事务部（VA）医疗中心的药物滥用住院患者中，超过23%的患者年龄在55岁及以上。这些患者大多存在多种健康问题。超过90%的患者有与酒精相关的诊断；近30%的患者被诊断患有精神疾病；超过80%的患者患有躯体疾病。与年轻的药物滥用患者相比，老年药物滥用患者接受专门针对其药物滥用或精神问题的住院或门诊治疗的可能性较小。总体而言，老年药物滥用患者接受的服务更多地侧重于医疗管理，而非康复性药物滥用或精神护理。这些发现表明，有必要制定针对老年患者特征和药物滥用问题的治疗方案，并鼓励这些患者更多地使用专门的门诊后续护理服务。
