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Substance abuse treatment admissions among retired
persons can be examined with data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS),
which collects data on the approximately 1.8 million annual admissions to
substance abuse treatment facilities, primarily those that receive some public
funding. TEDS includes a Minimum Data Set collected by all States and a
Supplemental Data Set collected by some States. “Detailed Not in Labor Force,” a
Supplemental Data Set item, includes the categories of retired, student,
homemaker, disabled, inmate of an institution, and not looking for work. This
information was reported for at least 75 percent of all respondents in 29 States
in 2003,1
allowing this report to compare the 4,400 admissions with the status of
“retired” to the remainder of the 675,000 admissions with known employment
status—employed, unemployed, or one of the other “not in labor force” groups
described above—in these States.
Primary Substance of Abuse
About four in five admissions among retired
persons (80 percent) reported alcohol as the primary substance of abuse2—a
substantially higher proportion than other admissions (44 percent)—in the 29
States reporting retirement status (Figure 1). Retired admissions were
correspondingly less likely to report illicit drugs including opiates (5 vs. 13
percent), cocaine (4 vs. 14 percent), marijuana (3 vs. 18 percent), or
stimulants (1 vs. 6 percent) as their primary substance.
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Figure 1. Primary Substance of Abuse, by Retirement Status: 2003 |
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Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Secondary Substance of Abuse
Only 17 percent of retired admissions reported a
secondary substance of abuse3
compared to 52 percent of other admissions. Those retired admissions reporting a
secondary substance of abuse reported opiates (11 vs. 6 percent) and “other
substances”4
(including over-the-counter medications, barbiturates, or tranquilizers) as that
secondary substance more often than did other admissions reporting a secondary
substance of abuse (18 vs. 6 percent).
Demographic Characteristics
Compared to other admissions, admissions among
retired persons were more often male (79 vs. 68 percent), White (75 vs. 64
percent), or veterans5
(33 vs. 6 percent). Retired admissions were less likely to be Black (15 vs. 23
percent), and about as likely to be in other racial/ethnic groups as other
admissions (Figure 2).
The mean age of retired admissions was 59.7, compared to 32.9 for other
admissions. Among retired admissions, only 10 percent were 44 years of age or
younger, while 15 percent were between 45 and 54 years of age, 37 percent were
between 55 and 64 years of age, and the remaining 38 percent were 65 years of
age or older.
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Figure 2. Race/Ethnicity, by Retirement Status: 2003 |
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Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Source of Referral
Admissions among retired persons were more likely
than other admissions to be referred by general health care providers (16 vs. 7
percent), and less likely to be referred by the criminal justice system (34 vs.
38 percent) or community referral sources (10 vs. 14 percent) (Figure 3).
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Figure 3. Source of Referral, by Retirement Status: 2003 |
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Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Service Setting
Retired admissions and other admissions were
equally likely to receive treatment in ambulatory service settings (62 vs. 64
percent) and in rehabilitation/residential settings (16 vs. 18 percent).6
However, admissions among retired persons were somewhat more likely than other
admissions to receive treatment in detoxification service settings (22 vs. 18
percent).
Socioeconomic Characteristics
A college education was more likely among retired
admissions than among other admissions (36 vs. 22 percent); retired admissions
were correspondingly less likely to have only completed high school (37 vs. 45
percent) or to have not completed high school (27 vs. 33 percent). In contrast
with other admissions, admissions among retired persons were more likely to live
independently (87 vs. 66 percent).7
Retired admissions were also more likely to have some form of health insurance
than other admissions (60 vs. 42 percent), especially private health insurance
(16 vs. 8 percent) and Medicare (12 vs. 1 percent) (Figure 4).8
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Figure 4. Health Insurance, by Retirement Status: 2003 |
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Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
End Notes
1
detailed “not in labor force” status, a Supplemental Data Set item,
was reported for at least 75 percent of all admissions in 29 States in 2003.
These 29 States accounted for 39 percent of all substance abuse treatment
admissions in 2003. In 2003, these States were: AK, AL, CO, DC, DE, HI, IA, KS,
KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, ND, NH, NM, NV, OH, PA, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA,
and WY.
2
The primary substance of abuse is the main substance reported at the time of
admission.
3
Secondary substances are other substances of abuse also reported at the time
of admission.
4
Other substances include phenylcyclidine, hallucinogens, benzodiazepines and
other tranquilizers, barbiturates, other sedatives or hypnotics, inhalants, and
over-the-counter medications.
5
Veteran status, a Supplemental Data Set item, was reported for at least 75
percent of all admissions in 2003 by 21 of the 29 States reporting detailed
“not in labor force”: AK, CO, DC, DE, HI, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MO, NC,
ND, NV, OH, PA, PR, SC, TN, and WY.
6
Service settings are of three types: ambulatory, residential/rehabilitative,
and detoxification. Ambulatory settings include intensive outpatient,
non-intensive outpatient, and ambulatory detoxification.
Residential/rehabilitative settings include hospital (other than
detoxification), short-term (30 days or fewer), and long-term (more than 30
days). Detoxification includes 24-hour hospital inpatient and 24-hour
free-standing residential.
7
Living arrangement, a Supplemental Data Set item, was reported for at least
75 percent of all admissions in 2003 by 25 of the 29 States reporting
detailed “not in labor force”: AK, CO, DC, DE, HI, IA, KS, KY, LA,
MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, ND, NH, NM, NV, OH, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, and WA.
8
Health insurance, a Supplemental Data Set item, was reported for at least 75
percent of all admissions in 2003 by 17 of the 29 States reporting detailed
“not in labor force”: AK, CO, DC, DE, HI, KS, KY, MD, MO, ND, NH, NV, PA,
PR, SC, TX, and UT.
The Drug and Alcohol
Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system
maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the
Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the
demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those
admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily
from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on
treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative
systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records
represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be
admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported
to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse
treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection
systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting,
facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment
resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details.
Approximately 1.8 million records are included in TEDS each year.
The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies,
SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia;
and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI
International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute).
Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to
TEDS through April 11, 2005.
Access the latest TEDS reports at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm
Access the latest TEDS public use files at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm
Other substance abuse reports are available at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov
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| The
DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied
Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be
reproduced or copied without permission from
SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the
Office of Applied Studies are available on-line:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.
For questions about this report please e-mail:
shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov
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This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.
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