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Objective: This study examined the major admission etiologies (according to ICD-10 codes), illicit drug use rates and hepatitis seroprevalence of patients 50 age and over admitted to a mental hospital in Elazig, Turkey. Methods: The medical records of 2608 outpatients/inpatient aged ≥50 years admitted to a mental hospital in Elazig between January 01st 2016 and September 30th 2018 were retrospectively examined. Results: Rates of admission etiologies were as follows; for the patient group without any psychiatric diagnosis, followed by recommendation without any medical treatment because of non-specific psychiatric complaints (general examinations, 22.7%), alcohol/sub-stance analyzes (17.6%), bipolar disorders (14.3%), schizophrenia (13.7%) and depression (13.2%).In the 50-59 years age group, the most common reason for admission was alcohol/drug screening for probation and forensic evaluation (20.4%). In the 60−69 and >70 years age groups, depression was the most common admission reason (16.7% and 22%, respectively). Cannabinoids were the most frequently detected substance (11.4% of patients), followed by opiates (3.8%), benzodiazepines (3.5%), amphetamines (2.2%) and cocaine (1.8%). Anti-HBs, HBsAg and anti-HCV were detected as positive by 51.2%, 5.4%, and 1.3%, respectively. Anti-HCV rate of substance-depended patients was significantly higher than in the entire study population. Discussion: This study showed that alcohol/substance analysis was more common among people aged 50 years and older than bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression. It was found that cannabinoids were detected in 11.4% of the drug analyzes in individuals aged 50 years or older and the anti-HCV ratios of patients receiving treatment at the substance addiction center were higher than the other patients. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2019; 20(6.000): 635-641]