Behavioral Health among Older Adults: Results from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Healthv

https://store.samhsa.gov/product/behavioral-health-among-older-adults-results-2021-2022-national-surveys-drug-use-health/pep24-07-018?utm_source=SAMHSA&utm_campaign=2029a55909-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_04_29_07_47&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-2029a55909-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D Today, SAMHSA released Behavioral Health among Older Adults: Results from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, a new infographic report highlighting substance use and mental health indicators among older adults aged 60 or older in the United States. Older adults make up more than 20 percent of the general U.S. population. Despite their tremendous emotional resiliency, substance use and mental illness are major public health concerns among this group. Among adults aged 60 or older, 1 in 8 used illicit drugs, 1 in 11 had a substance use disorder (SUD), and 1 in 8 had any mental illness in the past year. There were 10.0 million older adults (12.8%) who engaged in binge drinking in the past month, including 2.5 million (3.2%) who engaged in heavy drinking. Although older adult males were more likely than older adult females to have used the substances discussed in the report, and to have had SUDs, older adult females were more likely to have had a major depressive episode or mental illness. Although the percentages of older adults who engaged in nonfatal suicidal behaviors were similar for both genders, the suicide rate among older adult males (30.2 deaths per 100,000 people) was considerably higher than the rate among older adult females (5.6 deaths per 100,000 people). As with the overall U.S. population, substantial percentages of older adults who needed substance use treatment or had mental illness did not receive treatment. Older adults who might benefit from treatment also typically did not perceive that they needed it.