Natural opioid use in elderly in India: a case series

Introduction: Substance use among elderly is an emerging mental health problem and requires modification in management approaches. Systematic literature on natural opiates especially among elderly in India has been rather limited.

Materials and methods: This retrospective chart review included 24 elderly subjects (aged 60 and above) seeking outpatient treatment at a tertiary care de-addiction center in North India. Information pertaining to socio-demographic profile, clinical characteristics, and treatment seeking was extracted from the records.

Results: All the subjects were male with a mean age of 64.3 (±5.0) years. Most common substance used was doda (poppy husk) with a mean duration of dependence of 33.1 (±11.8) years. Six subjects (25.0%) had used other forms apart from natural forms of opiates. Most common reason for initiation of opiate use was to increase work efficiency (n = 9, 37.5%). Dependence on another substance (apart from opiate and tobacco) was present in seven subjects (29.2%). Majority of patients never sought any treatment previously despite using the substance for long duration.

Conclusion: Natural opioid use among elderly has a distinct profile, especially in Indian setting where its use has sociocultural sanction. There is a need for research on management of elderly natural opioid users which may pose an important clinical challenge in the future.