|
Opioid overdose death rates have increased among older people. We’d like to hear from you.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been looking into substance use among older Mainers, and I’d love your help understanding what people are going through.
National data show that the rate of opioid overdose deaths for people 55 and older has increased both nationally and in Maine, according to analysis by KFF, a health policy organization. Between 2013 and 2023, the national rate for this age group increased to 18.8 opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 people, up from 5.6 per 100,000 people.
In Maine, it increased to 22.9 opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 people, up from 6.4, making our rate higher than the national average. It’s important to note the underlying numbers are relatively small. In 2023, 121 people in Maine aged 55 and older overdosed on opioids and died, up from 24 in 2014, according to KFF.
The rising numbers would be of particular concern in Maine because we are the state with the oldest population, and we were hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic. But state data complicates that picture a bit, especially when examining statistics that don’t count deaths. Last year, Mainers aged 64 and older made up 12 percent of nonfatal overdoses, which is lower than their proportion of the total population. The nonfatal overdose data comes from the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine.
And an analysis of MaineCare data by the Substance Use Research and Evaluation Unit at the Catherine Cutler Institute in the University of Southern Maine found that substance use disorder among older adults on MaineCare between 2018 and 2023 remained fairly stable or decreased slightly despite an increase in the number of MaineCare members.
However, eight health officials across different fields have told me anecdotally they are seeing increases in the older patients they serve who are experiencing an opioid addiction.
All of the numbers, however, can't tell the individual stories of older Mainers who are either struggling with opioid use or in recovery from using opioids in older age. I’d love to hear from you. If you are 55 and older and have experience with chronic opioid use, have a loved one who has experienced it, or are a professional with experience working with older Mainers with opioid use disorder, please get in touch with me.
I may ask questions about your personal experience, opioid treatment access or even access to suitable long-term care. As always, I will not use information about you without permission.
You can reach me at rose@themainemonitor.org, (207) 619-3962 or by replying to this newsletter.
|
