Alcohol use, physical performance, and functional limitations in older men.
OBJECTIVE
To describe associations between recent alcohol intake, physical performance, and functional limitations in older men.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Six U.S. clinical centers.


METHODS
Five thousand nine hundred sixty-two men aged 65 and older.


METHODS
Self-reported functional limitations; problem drinking history (>or=2 positive responses on the CAGE questionnaire); history of sustained excessive drinking (history of consumption of >or=5 drinks/day on most days); and alcohol intake categorized by drinks/week (0=abstainers, n=2,116; < 1=intermittent, n=739); 1 to <7= light, n=1,563; 7 to <14=low-moderate, n=848; 14 to <21 =high-moderate, n=459; and >or=21=heavy, n=237). Grip strength, leg power, chair stand, and walking tests were completed during a standard examination.


RESULTS
After age adjustment, men with low-moderate or high-moderate intake generally performed 3% to 5% better on physical performance tests than abstainers; heavy drinkers performed similarly to abstainers. These associations lessened yet tended to remain significant after multivariate adjustment. Men with low-moderate alcohol intake had the lowest odds of reporting a limitation in instrumental activities of daily living (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.39-0.69) compared to abstainers; similar odds were seen for high-moderate and heavy use. The association between alcohol intake and self-reported physical limitation was U-shaped, with the highest odds of physical limitation in abstainers (OR=1.0, referent) and heavy users (OR=0.88, 95% CI=0.58-1.36) and the lowest odds in low-moderate users (OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.46-0.95).


CONCLUSIONS
Moderate alcohol intake was associated with modestly better physical performance and lower odds of reporting a functional limitation in older men.
Cawthon
Peggy M
PM
Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California 94107, USA. pcawthon@sfcc-cpmc.net
Fink
Howard A
HA
Barrett-Connor
Elizabeth
E
Cauley
Jane A
JA
Dam
Thuy-Tien
TT
Lewis
Cora E
CE
Marshall
Lynn M
LM
Orwoll
Eric S
ES
Cummings
Steven R
SR
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis