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Drinking Guidelines for Older Men and Women Should
Be Same, Says Researcher
But, current government guidelines do recommend only
one drink per day for all elderly
Nov. 5, 2004 New research says something less
than half of the people over 55 drink too much and suggests alcohol
consumption guidelines should be the same for older men and women.
Although, government guidelines for the elderly are the same one drink
per day.
Among adults who drank too much, men were more
likely than women to experience problems such as ruptured relationships,
or difficulties with day-to-day activities, says Dr. Rudolf H. Moos, who
has written often of drinking by older Americans.
This new report suggest that drinking guidelines,
many of which currently allow men more drinks per week than women,
should be equally stringent for both.
The American Geriatrics Society defines dangerous
drinking for older adults as more than one drink per day, or more than
seven drinks per week, or more than three drinks on any occasion.
"The guidelines for alcohol use should be no more
liberal for older men than for older women," study author Dr. Rudolf H.
Moos told Reuters Health. But, it is unclear which guidelines he is
using.
Guidelines put forth jointly by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
define moderate drinking as no more than one drink a day for most women,
and no more than two drinks a day for most men.
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Another Report by Dr. Moos |
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Ten-year patterns of alcohol
consumption and drinking problems among older women and men
Rudolf H. Moos, Kathleen Schutte,
Penny Brennan & Bernice S. Moos
ABSTRACT
Aims: This study focused
on changes in 10-year patterns of alcohol consumption among
older women and men, late-life and life history predictors of
drinking problems, and gender differences in these predictors.
Design, setting, participants: A
sample of 1,291 late-middle-aged community residents who had
consumed alcohol in the past year or shortly before was surveyed
at baseline and 1 year, 4 years and 10 years later.
Measurements: At each
contact point, participants completed an inventory that assessed
their alcohol consumption, drinking problems and health-related
and life context factors. Participants also provided information
about their life history of drinking.
Results: Over the 10
years, the proportion of individuals who consumed alcohol
declined. Among individuals who continued to drink, women and
men showed comparable declines in alcohol consumption, minor
concomitants of alcohol consumption and drinking problems. In
addition to the amount of alcohol consumption, smoking, friends'
approval of drinking and avoidance coping consistently predicted
late-life drinking problems. With respect to life history
factors, heavy drinking, drinking problems and increased
drinking in response to life events were related to a higher
likelihood of late-life drinking problems; obtaining help from
family members and friends and, among men, participation in
Alcoholics Anonymous, were related to a lower likelihood of
problems.
Conclusion: Older women
and men show comparable declines in alcohol consumption and
drinking problems. Specific late-life social context and coping
variables, and life history indices, are risk factors for
late-life drinking problems among both women and men. |
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A standard drink is generally considered to be 12
ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled
spirits. Each of these drinks contains roughly the same amount of
absolute alcohol--approximately 0.5 ounce or 12 grams. The National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends a limit of fourteen
drinks per week for men, and seven for women.
The existence of separate guidelines for men and
women reflects research findings that women become more intoxicated than
men at an equivalent dose of alcohol, says the government recommendation
on guidelines. This results, in part, from the significant difference
in activity of an enzyme in stomach tissue of males and females that
breaks down alcohol before it reaches the bloodstream. The enzyme is
four times more active in males than in females (5). Moreover, women
have proportionately more fat and less body water than men. Because
alcohol is more soluble in water than in fat, a given dose becomes more
highly concentrated in a female's body water than in a male's.
And, the say, Since the proportion of body fat
increases with age, recommend is a limit of one drink per day for the
elderly.
Moos and his colleagues asked 1,291 drinkers
between the ages of 55 and 65 how much they typically drank, then
re-contacted them 10 years later to see if their drinking patterns had
changed.
The investigators also asked people if they had had
any problems related to their drinking, such as family members or
friends telling them they were worried about how much they drank, or if
alcohol had interfered with their functioning, by causing them to fall
or neglect other activities for instance.
People who said alcohol had created at least two
problems in their lives were considered to have a drinking problem. The
researchers report their findings in the American Journal of Public
Health.
Moos and his team found that, depending on which
guideline they used, between 23 and 50 percent of women drank more than
they should, as did between 29 and 45 percent of men.
"A moderately high proportion of older women and
men may engage in potentially unsafe patterns of alcohol use," said
Moos, who is based at the VA Health Care System in Menlo Park,
California.
Among people who exceeded any of the guidelines,
men were more likely to have problems than women.
Previous research has suggested that men are more
likely to drink in unhealthy ways, such as drinking quicker, drinking
outside of meals, downing every drink they are served, and drinking more
in a shorter period.
"Thus, even though they consume a comparable number
of drinks, men may engage in alcohol use behaviors associated with
higher levels of alcohol consumption, resulting in more harmful alcohol
use consequences," Moos and his team write.
They conclude that alcohol consumption guidelines
for older adults -- both men and women -- should be no more than seven
drinks per week and no more than three drinks "per heavy-use occasion."
This study was published in the American Journal
of Public Health, November 2004.
Parts of this story came from a report by
Reuters Health
click here to their story.
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