Older Adults in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Trials: A Systematic Review
European Psychiatry April 1, 2024 N. Kabir, B. Anderson, Lisa Bouchet et al. 1 citation
Older adults are severely underrepresented in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies. A systematic review of 36 studies with 1,400 patients found that only 19 participants were aged 65 or older, less than 1.4% of the total. Detailed safety data for 10 of these older adults showed no serious adverse events; only mild-to-moderate side effects such as anxiety, gastrointestinal upset, and hypertension occurred during dosing sessions. The evidence, though limited, suggests that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is safe and well tolerated in older adults and should be more rigorously studied for treating psychiatric conditions in this population.