Psychiatria pre prax 5–6/2010

Dependencies in old age

The issue of dependence in old age does not belong among the topics that would be in the limelight of the AT specialists or gerontopsychiatrists. Nevertheless, in the clinical practice we meet the patients suffering from addiction, and these patients and the results of their treatment are often a source of embarrassment rather than job satisfaction. They are the ill people, who are usually in contact with their general practitioner, but psychiatrists get into the game only when things go wrong. The authors in the article size up the situation within this area and demonstrate the typical examples by means of the short casuistic presentations.

Keywords: dependence in old age, alcohol dependence, hypnotics, anxiolytics, pathological gambling.