title: Prevalence of at-risk drinking among older adults and associated sociodemographic and health-related factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recognition of alcohol-related health problems in the elderly is challenging. Alcohol use also tends to be a hidden issue. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and at-risk drinking patterns in community-dwelling older adults and their associations with socio-demographic and health-related factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were collected with a postal questionnaire from a random sample of 2100 elderly people (≥ 65 years) living in the medium-sized city of Espoo, Finland. The response rate was 71.6% from the community-dwelling sample. We defined the amount of at-risk drinking as 1) consuming >7 drinks per week or 2) >5 drinks on a typical drinking day or 3) using >3 drinks several times per week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the respondents, 8.2% (N=114) were at-risk drinkers. At-risk drinking was associated with younger age and male sex, higher level of education, good income, living with a spouse, and current smoking. In addition, good functioning was associated with at-risk drinking. Although frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption declined with age, of our respondents nearly one-fifth of men aged 71-80 years and one-tenth of men aged 81-90 years could be classified as at-risk drinkers. At-risk drinkers had comorbidities and multiple medications as often as non-risk group. A significantly larger proportion of the at-risk drinking group relative to the non-risk group admitted falling or injuring themselves (5.3% vs. 0.7%) or forgotten to take their medications because of the use of alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At-risk drinking is prevalent among older adults, particularly among males, despite prevalent comorbidities and multiple medications. At-risk drinking is associated with adverse events such as a tendency for injuries.
authors.affiliation: Services for the Elderly, City of Espoo, Finland. s.immonen@kolumbus.fi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Immonen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valvanne
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Pitkala
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
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