Older Alcoholics Need to Drink More than Younger Ones
Wrinkles and gray hairs are not the only thing you have to worry about now as you age. If you have a drinking problem, the older you are, the more you are going to drink to get the same effects as when you were younger.
Common belief and previous research has led us to believe that we drink less as we age, but a new study has discovered that older adults who are in a certain category—those who have an alcohol dependency—drink more than do their younger counterparts who have the same dependency.
Results of Study
The study was performed by researchers at The Ohio State University using data collected in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, which polled more than 43,000 people between the years 2000 and 2001. They found that older drinkers, those over the age of 60, may have built a tolerance for alcohol through continuous years of alcohol consumption. This tolerance forces them to drink more to achieve similar results. Here is what the study revealed:
• Those over the age of 60, who have an alcohol addiction, on average, drink more than 40 alcoholic drinks per week.
• Those younger than 60, who have the same addiction, on average, drink between 25 and 35 alcoholic drinks per week.
• Those over the age of 60, who have an alcohol addiction, on average, binge* drink 19 times per month.
• Those younger than 60, who have the same addiction, on average, binge drink 13 to 15 times per month.
[*binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks a day for men or four or more drinks a day for women]
Addiction is a Progressive Disease
The physiological effects of aging combined with continued high levels of drinking contribute to this need to drink more. Binge drinking is thought to be an activity that occurred at college frat parties or among revelers in their 20s, but older people binge drink as well. It occurs for those over 60 and is much worse among alcoholics.
The researchers sought to analyze two categories of drinkers:
1. The “alcohol abuse” category, which were those that had social-related problems due to their alcohol use, such as legal issues and drinking while driving
2. The “alcohol dependence” category which contained those that demonstrated physiological problems due to their alcohol use, such as increased drinking and continued drinking even though they had evident physical health issues due to use.
They found that binge drinking occurred more among all adults who were classified in the “alcohol abuse” category compared to other adults that drank seven or more drinks a week that did not fit either problem categories. What this suggests is that binge drinking could better measure problem drinking than just looking at the total number of drinks someone has per week.
It is not too late to get help for your alcohol addiction no matter what your age. We can help. Please call us at 866-540-5242. Also, see Sober Living by the Sea's treatment program for older alcoholics and drug addicted individuals.
- article by Khoi Nguyen
