COSIG CONFERENCE BROCHURE.pdf - Drexel University College ...

COSIG Co-Occurring Disorders Conference, Hershey PA, May 15-17, 2006
Specific Barriers to Women
• Have less insurance coverage and
pension (not being able to afford treatment
when necessary).
• More likely to live in poverty.
• Drink less in public places and are less
likely to drive so they may not reveal a
problem to others.
• Prescribed and consume more
psychoactive drugs and are more likely to
be long-term users.
Barriers to Minorities
• More vulnerable to late-life drinking
problems.
• Live in urban areas with busy health-care
programs so their problem may be less
likely to be detected among clinicians.
• Language barriers
Homebound Adults
• Identification and treatment harder to
detect.
• No means of transportation or
handicapped accessibility.
•Isolation
• Health problems that limit mobility (heart
disease, etc.) and daily living.
• Isolated socially so abuse may be
undetected and dependence may
increase.
Alcohol and Age-Related Changes
• Decrease in body water (alcohol is water
soluble) so concentration in blood system
is greater.
• Increased sensitivity and decreased
tolerance.
• Decrease in metabolism of alcohol in the
gastrointestinal tract (stomach is less
actively involved in metabolism so there’s
an increased strain on the liver).
Health Problems from Alcohol
• Increased Risk for hypertension, cardiac
arrhythmia.
• Increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
• Cirrhosis and liver diseases.
• Decreased bone density.
• Gastro Intestinal Bleeding.
• Depression, Anxiety, and Mental Health
problems.
• Malnutrition.
• Sleep Disturbances
• Alcohol-Related Dementia (ARD)
Problems with Classifying
• DSM-IV-may not apply to elderly because
of lower legal, social, or psychological
problems (their usually retired with limited
family responsibility).
• Tolerance may be set too high for older
adults because of their altered sensitivity
to alcohol (may take less to produce the
effects it would on younger adults).
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