Adherence to Treatment and Outcomes in Older Adults with Substance Use Disorders

The dataset comprises anonymized clinical and sociodemographic data of patients aged 50 years and older who were evaluated at the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Research, Treatment, and Education Center (AMATEM) between June 1, 2021, and June 30, 2025, in both outpatient and inpatient settings. A structured sociodemographic and clinical data collection form was developed and completed using information obtained from patient medical records and the hospital information system, and the dataset was compiled in SPSS format.

The dataset includes variables related to sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, marital status, education, employment, and housing conditions), substance use history (age at first use, primary and additional substances, route of administration, duration and recency of use, and intravenous use), treatment characteristics (outpatient and inpatient treatment history, number and duration of hospitalizations, and pharmacological treatments including agonist and antagonist therapies), psychiatric and medical comorbidities, and risk-related behaviors (self-harm and suicide attempts).

Patients who had completed a minimum follow-up period of 6 months by the end of the data collection period were eligible for follow-up analyses. Based on follow-up duration, evaluations were conducted at two time points: (1) the first 6 months following the initial presentation and (2) the 6–12 months post-presentation period. At each follow-up interval, patients were classified as adherent if they attended three or more outpatient visits, and as non-adherent if they attended fewer than three visits. Demographic and clinical characteristics were subsequently compared between adherent and non-adherent patients within each follow-up period.

It was hypothesized that treatment adherence among older adults with substance use disorders would be higher during the early follow-up period and would vary according to time-dependent clinical and substance-related factors.

All variables have been translated into English, and a codebook is provided describing variable names, definitions, value labels, and measurement levels. The dataset contains no direct or indirect personal identifiers and complies with ethical standards for research involving human participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant institutional review board, and data sharing is restricted to research and educational purposes.