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Alcohol Drinking Declines As People Age; Elderly
Show Faster Decline
Feb. 23, 2005 As we age we drink less alcohol, or
at least that is what a new study reports. The research also claims that
in their study the people born in earlier years showed a faster decline
than those born in more recent years, suggesting that negative health
effects of alcohol could increase in the future.
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For example, people born in 1925 decreased their
drinking an average of 11 percent for each decade of aging while those
born in 1935 reduced their drinking about 9 percent each decade.
It demonstrates a pattern that health experts had
suspected but never proven, Dr. Alison Moore, associate professor of
medicine in the geriatrics division of the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA and the studys lead researcher, said.
We confirmed that with increasing age, people do
drink less, she said. The kicker is that, over time, the earlier group
had a faster decline. People who were born more recently reduce their
drinking less as compared with people who were born earlier.
The study, Longitudinal Patterns and Predictors of
Alcohol Consumption in the United States, is published in the March
2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers used data from the first National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1971-75 (NHANES I) and from
follow-ups conducted between 1982 and 1992. NHANES I survey subjects
comprised a sample of more than 20,000 non-institutionalized,
non-military United States citizens up to age 74. Subjects in the
follow-up were in the 25 to 74-year age range.
The study asked the following questions:
How does drinking behavior (drinking vs.
abstention) change over time?
What are the differences in demographic characteristics among people
with different longitudinal drinking patterns?
How do age, period, and cohort influence alcohol consumption over
time?
What demographic factors predict level of alcohol consumption and rate
of change in alcohol consumption with increasing age?
The researchers found that in general, white,
married males with better education and income, and who smoked, tended
to drink more than others. But the researchers also noted that the
faster age-related decline in alcohol consumption took place among
married males with less education, who smoked and were born in earlier
years.
There are a number of reasons for the overall
age-related decline in drinking, Moore said. For instance, some people
simply stop drinking as they age and others become too ill to drink.
Another reason is people cut down because they dont feel as good when
they drink, or are told by their doctors or pharmacists not to drink
with a particular medication, she said.
One theory that could explain the disparity in
drinking patterns between the earlier and later born groups is that
earlier generations tended to drink more. The culture of drinking has
changed over time. My parents had cocktail hour, Moore said. We dont
have that anymore.
But the later-born generation is healthier and more
accustomed to better healthcare, so they feel safer in drinking more as
they age. I think people in general are healthier than they used to
be, Moore said. Theyre drinking for longer periods because theyre
healthier. However, not all older adults who drink are doing so safely
as with increased age, they are more likely to have conditions that
could be worsened by alcohol use (such as gastroesophageal reflux
disease, depression or insomnia), and to be taking medications that may
negatively interact with alcohol (such as most arthritis medications
that may cause stomach bleeding with alcohol use).
Other researchers from the David Geffen School of
Medicine, in addition to Moore, were Drs. David B. Reuben, professor of
medicine and chief of the geriatrics division; Gail Greendale, professor
of medicine (geriatrics); and Arun Karlamangla, assistant professor of
medicine (geriatrics). Others were data analysts Kefei Zhou and M.
Kallin Carter, and Robert Gould of the UCLA department of statistics.
The Paul B. Beeson
Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Program and the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Mentored Clinical Sciences Career
Development Award, and a National Institute on Aging Mentored Clinical
Scientist Development Award, funded the study.
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