Drug and alcohol deaths are increasing among US adults 65 and older, CDC data shows -- with the rate more than tripling in the past two decades, according to one report.
Rates of deaths from drug overdoses among seniors have more than tripled in the past two decades, according to one report published Wednesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. In 2020, more than 5,000 adults 65 and older in the United States died of a drug overdose. Though drug overdose death rates for older adults tend to be lower than for other age groups – and made up just 0.2% of total deaths among adults 65 and older in 2020 – such deaths have been climbing.
Excessive drinking can have more severe consequences for the body in older age than for younger adults, leading to a higher risk of death, said Peter Hendricks, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior. “As we get older, the way that we metabolize drugs changes, and as a consequence, the effects of alcohol differ as we age,” said Hendricks, who was not involved in the new reports.
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