Alcohol and the elderly: relationships to illness and smoking.
A group of 33 semi-independent living nonagenarian men and a group of 32 65-75 year-old men of similar demographic characteristics, living at the California Veterans' Home, were compared in terms of alcohol use, past and present, and relationships to several somatic, mental and lifestyle aspects including smoking. The younger group had a higher prevalence of alcohol abuse and higher current alcohol intake (P less than 0.004). Higher alcohol intake related to greater smoking of cigarettes in the younger group. Alcohol tended to be related to an increased number of medical illnesses, and to increased use of major medications (P less than 0.005). There was an interactive effect between classes of alcohol use and scores on a mental status examination used to assess cognitive function (P less than 0.05).
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*