Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1992 Oct;43(10):975-84.

Alcoholism in older persons: a review of the literature.

Source

Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21218.

Abstract

Alcohol abuse and dependence in elderly persons is of growing social concern. The most consistent findings of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are that the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption is higher in elderly men than in elderly women, as is the prevalence of alcohol-related problems. Most studies show a decrease with age in consumption and alcohol-related problems among heavy drinkers. Longitudinal studies show no changes in consumption among light drinkers. Elderly persons with lower incomes consume less alcohol than those with higher incomes. Hospitalized and outpatient populations have more problem drinkers, and the elderly alcoholic is at greater risk for medical and psychiatric comorbidity. About one-third to one-half of elderly alcoholics experience the onset of problem drinking in middle or late life. Outcomes seem to be better for those who have late-onset drinking and may be improved for those treated in same-age rather than mixed-age groups.

PMID:: 1398581; [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Publication Types, MeSH Terms

Publication Types

MeSH Terms

LinkOut - more resources

Medical

Alcoholism - MedlinePlus Health Information

Supplemental Content

Save items

Related citations in PubMed

Review Treatment for alcohol-related problems: special populations: research opportunities. [Recent Dev Alcohol. 2003]
Review Treatment for alcohol-related problems: special populations: research opportunities.
Gomberg ES. Recent Dev Alcohol. 2003; 16:313-33.
Review Older women and alcohol. Use and abuse. [Recent Dev Alcohol. 1995]
Review Older women and alcohol. Use and abuse.
Gomberg ES. Recent Dev Alcohol. 1995; 12:61-79.
Late onset alcoholism. [Eur Psychiatry. 2003]
Late onset alcoholism.
Wetterling T, Veltrup C, John U, Driessen M. Eur Psychiatry. 2003 May; 18(3):112-8.
Comparison of alcohol dependence in subjects from clinical, community, and family studies. [Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1994]
Comparison of alcohol dependence in subjects from clinical, community, and family studies.
Bucholz KK, Helzer JE, Shayka JJ, Lewis CE. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1994 Oct; 18(5):1091-9.
Review Aging and alcohol use disorders: diagnostic issues in the elderly. [Int Psychogeriatr. 1990]
Review Aging and alcohol use disorders: diagnostic issues in the elderly.
Atkinson RM. Int Psychogeriatr. 1990 Spring; 2(1):55-72.

See reviews... See all...

Cited by 6 PubMed Central articles

Longitudinal trends in hazardous alcohol consumption among women with human immunodeficiency virus infection, 1995-2006. [Am J Epidemiol. 2009]
Longitudinal trends in hazardous alcohol consumption among women with human immunodeficiency virus infection, 1995-2006.
Cook RL, Zhu F, Belnap BH, Weber K, Cook JA, Vlahov D, Wilson TE, Hessol NA, Plankey M, Howard AA, et al. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Apr 15; 169(8):1025-32. Epub 2009 Mar 6.
The readiness to change and insight in alcohol dependent patients. [J Korean Med Sci. 2007]
The readiness to change and insight in alcohol dependent patients.
Kim KM, Kim JS, Kim GJ, Kim SS, Jung JG, Kim SM, Pack HJ, Lee DH. J Korean Med Sci. 2007 Jun; 22(3):453-8.
Alcohol consumption among older adults in primary care. [J Gen Intern Med. 2007]
Alcohol consumption among older adults in primary care.
Kirchner JE, Zubritsky C, Cody M, Coakley E, Chen H, Ware JH, Oslin DW, Sanchez HA, Durai UN, Miles KM, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Jan; 22(1):92-7.

See all...

Related information

Related Citations
Calculated set of PubMed citations closely related to the selected article(s) retrieved using a word weight algorithm. Related articles are displayed in ranked order from most to least relevant, with the “linked from” citation displayed first.
Cited in PMC
Full-text articles in the PubMed Central Database that cite the current articles.
Cited in Books
NCBI Bookshelf books that cite the current articles.

Recent activity

Clear Turn Off Turn On

Alcoholism in older persons: a review of the literature.
Alcoholism in older persons: a review of the literature.
Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1992 Oct ;43(10):975-84.

PubMed
[The condition of the ileostomized patient after total coloproctectomy].
[The condition of the ileostomized patient after total coloproctectomy].
Arch Mal Appar Dig Mal Nutr. 1962 Dec ;51:1507-20.

PubMed
Experimental comparison of the effects of three treatment programs for homeless ...
Experimental comparison of the effects of three treatment programs for homeless mentally ill people.
Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1992 Oct ;43(10):1005-10.

PubMed
Genetical linkage between the loci for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficie...
Genetical linkage between the loci for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and colour-blindness in American Negroes.
Ann Hum Genet. 1962 Nov ;26:107-22.

PubMed
Ursodeoxycholic acid therapy in cystic fibrosis-associated liver disease: a dose...
Ursodeoxycholic acid therapy in cystic fibrosis-associated liver disease: a dose-response study.
Hepatology. 1992 Oct ;16(4):924-30.

PubMed

Your browsing activity is empty.

Activity recording is turned off.

Turn recording back on

PubMed

Result Filters

Display Settings:

Send to: