Men were more likely to be unsafe drinkers than women
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London: Older adults of higher socioeconomic status are likely to consume alcohol at unsafe levels, a new UK study has found.
One in five older people who drink alcohol are consuming it at unsafe levels - over 21 units of alcohol for men and 14 units for women each week - according to the study.
The researchers used anonymised electronic health records for 27,991 people aged 65 and over in the Borough of Lambeth in London.
From these records, they identified 9,248 older people who had reported consuming alcohol and of these 1,980 people drank at unsafe levels.
They found unsafe drinkers were more likely to be male, younger and have higher socioeconomic status. Men were more likely to be unsafe drinkers than women - 46 per cent of people in the study were male, but they were 60 per cent of the drinkers and 65 per cent of the unsafe drinkers.
"As the Baby Boomer generation become seniors, they represent an ever increasing population of older people drinking at levels that pose a risk to their health," said Tony Rao, lead author from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London.
"This study shows the need for greater awareness of the potential for alcohol related harm in older people, particularly those of higher socio-economic status, who may suffer the consequences of ill health from alcohol at an earlier age than those in previous generations," Rao said.
The median alcohol consumption was 6 units per week for all over-65s who reported drinking.
However, the top 5 per cent of alcohol drinkers reported consuming more than 49 units per week for men and more than 23 units per week for women.
"This research highlights that as GPs we need be more aware of the risk of older people, especially men, drinking excessively," said Mark Ashworth from the Division of Health and Social Care Research at King's College London.
"Reducing alcohol misuse is important to prevent premature death and serious negative health effects, such as alcoholic liver disease, which are big burden on our health system," said Ashworth.
"Alcohol excess carries additional risks in the older population such as falls and confusion," Ashworth said.
Alcohol drinkers were also more likely to be ethnically White or Irish, while people from Caribbean, African or Asian ethnicities were less likely to drink.
"Based on our findings, the elderly who were most at risk were those from the white British population rather than from an ethnic minority, and those who were wealthier and better educated rather than those from a more deprived background," Ashworth said.
The study was published in the journal BMJ Open.
( Source : PTI )
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