Older Americans indulging in the sauce

By Sheilah Downey (sheilahd@foodconsumer.org)

A "surprising number" of older Americans are binge drinkers and the problem is going undetected by their doctors, says a new study from Duke University.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that 22 percent of men and nine percent of women aged 50 to 64 are binge drinkers. Bingeing is described as taking more than five drinks at a time in the past month, according to the study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

"A surprising number of older Americans are engaging in drinking patterns that are putting their health at risk, yet these problems go unrecognized," said Dr. Dan Blazer, the study's lead author and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke.

Nineteen percent of men and 13 percent of women aged 50 to 64 indulge in "at risk" drinking -- two or more drinks a day, according to a press release.

In the group 65 and over, said researchers, binge drinking was reported in 14 percent of men and 3 percent of women, and "at risk" drinking was found among 13 percent of men and 8 percent of women.

"With this study we've learned that adults, especially those in their fifties, are carrying a heavier drinking burden into late life," said Blazer.

Doctors mostly focus on the traditional binge drinkers -- college students -- and aren't detecting drinking problems in the over 50 crowd for two reasons, said researchers.

"Middle age and older adults may be easy to miss for at-risk or binge drinking because most clinicians are focused on excessive drinking behaviors among young people, such as those in college," Blazer said. "They also don't show the typical signs of alcohol dependence."

Blazer said the trend can mean greater problems for baby boomers as they age and the body's natural defenses are weakened. Binge drinking can cause stroke, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, neurological damage and poor diabetes control.

The study also found that binge drinking was more common among those with higher incomes and people who use tobacco and illicit drugs.

Overall, 66 percent of men and 55 percent of women in the age group reported using alcohol in the past year.

Being separated, divorced or widowed was associated with at risk and binge drinking among men.

Non-medical use of prescription drugs was associated with binge drinking in women.

The study was a nationally represented survey that looked at nearly 11,000 men and women over age 50 who were asked the usual number of drinks they consumed on a drinking day in the past month. The survey was taken in 2005 and 2006.

Li-Tzy Wu was the study's co-author. Research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.