ABSTRACT
Owing to longer life expectancy and the ageing of the population there are more elderly people in the UK. Alcohol and drug misuse in elderly people is a common but underrecognised problem with significant negative impact on the physical and psychological health and quality of life. Recent surveys show that older people do indeed experience significant alcohol and drug problems which may be largely underdiagnosed and undertreated (Crome and Day 1999). There is limited data on the prevalence of illicit substance misuse in the elderly despite the likely imminent emergence
j Describe the prevalence and pattern of substance misuse amongst the elderly.
