Diagnostic subgroups and predictors of one-year re-admission among late-middle-aged and older substance abuse patients.

This naturalistic study uses data based on clinical records to examine treatment utilization and 1-year re-admission rates among three diagnostic subgroups of late-middle-aged and older substance abuse inpatients in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers: inpatients with only an alcohol or drug dependence diagnosis (n = 11,652); inpatients with an alcohol or drug psychosis (n = 3,510); and inpatients with an alcohol or drug disorder and a concomitant psychiatric disorder (n = 5,977). As expected, substance abuse patients in the latter two subgroups received more treatment before, during and following an index episode of care than did patients with only an alcohol or drug dependence diagnosis. From a broad perspective, these results indicate a match between treatment services and patient needs. However, relatively few older substance abuse patients received outpatient mental health aftercare; this was true especially of patients with alcohol or drug psychosis diagnoses. The 1-year re-admission rate in the group overall was higher than that usually reported in younger and mixed-age groups of substance abuse patients. Re-admission was predicted by unmarried status (a predisposing factor) and need, as indexed by several diagnostic and treatment characteristics.