{"id":907027,"date":"2026-09-23T20:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/907027\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T20:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:54:12","slug":"opioid-use-disorder-among-adults-doubles-in-ontario-since-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/907027\/","title":{"rendered":"Opioid-use disorder among adults doubles in Ontario since 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of older adults in Ontario living with opioid use disorder (OUD) has more than doubled since 2017, a new study<\/a> out of Toronto\u2019s St. Michael\u2019s Hospital has found.<\/p>\n

In a 43-page report released Wednesday, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN) said the quarterly number of Ontarians age 55 and up with OUD that have interacted with the healthcare system has jumped from 7,116 in mid-2017 to 15,231 by the end of 2025. <\/p>\n

This represents roughly one in 350 older adults in the province. <\/p>\n

The study also showed that opioid toxicity death rates have increased substantially over the last decade. <\/p>\n

Data cited by the researchers showed that there were 1,087 opioid toxicity deaths among older adults in Ontario in 2023 and 2024, which equates to roughly one a day. <\/p>\n

A staggering 75 per cent of those deaths occurred in people between the ages of 55 and 64. <\/p>\n

It also found that only one-third of opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario involved prescribed opioids, although that statistic increases with age. <\/p>\n

\"\"lighter – pipe – drugs A lighter, clean pipe, and tin foil for inhaling drugs (CTV News file image) <\/p>\n

Co-author Bisola Hamzat, a senior epidemiologist with the ODPRN, which is part of St. Michael\u2019s Hospital, said researchers didn\u2019t expect to see such a high number of Ontarians struggling with opioid addiction. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think what we\u2019re seeing is that many people who developed opioid-use disorder during the opioid boom of the past decade are now ageing into that 55-plus age group,\u201d she told CP24 earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that also begs the question around system readiness for an ageing population that has more complex care needs, especially when substance-use services have perhaps been more catered to or designed for a younger population.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A client draws up fentanyl in the consumption room at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto, Tuesday… A client draws up fentanyl in the consumption room at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young Study calls for systemic change<\/p>\n

Hamzat said the reason why researchers launched the study was because they were observing a \u201crise in public health or publicly reported indicators of opioid toxic harms and treatment use among older adults in the province.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity members were worried because we\u2019re seeing an ageing population in Canada as a whole, which also means an aging population of people with an opioid-use disorder,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo we really wanted to just do an analysis to understand gaps in care and support for this population. And really, the broader question is: if there\u2019s an ageing population of people who use drugs, people with an opioid-use disorder, is the system ready and capable to handle this shift?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Hamzat said the goal of the study is to help reduce and prevent opioid-related harms and deaths among older adults in the province, which are primarily due to fentanyl.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tara Gomes, Bisola Hamzat, of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network Tara Gomes, left, and Bisola Hazmat, of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, are photographed at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute in Toronto, Ont. Sept. 9, 2026. (photo by Kevin Van Paassen\/Unity Health Toronto) <\/p>\n

She said researchers will now share their findings with the community, individuals, and agencies most directly impacted, and then with policy makers and government leaders.<\/p>\n

The epidemiologist says it\u2019s imperative that substance-use harm reduction services are prioritized in the province as people age. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo when someone with a substance use disorder does come in, as we\u2019re seeing population age, (staff are) better equipped and prepared to care for that population,\u201d said Hamzat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso just building the clinical infrastructure and pharmacy relations to dispense some treatments within those settings and just making sure people can stay connected to their community supports and addiction specialists, or having people that can help transition or navigate people with substance use histories into long-term care, and make sure their substance use and pain needs are prioritized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Opioids Opioid drugs are pictured in this file photo. <\/p>\n

For this study, researchers analyzed trends over time in healthcare interactions related to OUD, Opioid Agonist Treatment use, non-fatal hospital-treated opioid toxicities, and opioid toxicity deaths among older adults in Ontario between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2025. <\/p>\n

Based on data availability, they also looked at demographic characteristics, circumstances surrounding death, substances contributing to death, prior health history, and healthcare interactions for older adults who were confirmed to have died of an opioid toxicity between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024. Coroner\u2019s records were also linked to their research for opioid toxicity fatalities during that period.<\/p>\n

All data in the study came from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, which is an independent, non-profit research institute that legally collects and analyzes health care and demographic data in Ontario, without consent, for health system evaluation and improvement.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The number of older adults in Ontario living with opioid use disorder (OUD) has more than doubled since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":907028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[712,49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-907027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}