title: Alcohol, hospital admissions, and falls in older adults: a longitudinal evaluation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are limited data on the impacts of alcohol use in older adults. We aimed to evaluate self-reported hospital admissions and falls against current Australian alcohol consumption guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a longitudinal analysis of data from five Australian cohort studies. The study comprised 16,785 people aged 65 years or older at baseline. Alcohol consumption was categorized using Australian guidelines in standard (10 g) drinks per day as "abstinent," "low-risk" (>0 ≤2), "long-term risk" (>2 ≤4), or "short-term risk" (>4). Separate generalized estimating equations for men and women, controlling for key demographic, and health variables (depression, diabetes, circulatory and musculoskeletal conditions) were used to examine the relationship of alcohol consumption with hospitalization and falls against a reference category of low-risk consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most participants were in the low (10,369, 62%) or abstinent (5,488, 33%) categories. Among women, all alcohol groups had greater odds of admission than low-risk users; among men, only the abstinent group had increased odds. For both genders, depression, diabetes, circulatory and musculoskeletal conditions all increased the odds of admission. For both genders, the unadjusted model showed that abstainers had increased odds of falling, with depression, diabetes, and for women, musculoskeletal conditions also associated with falls in the adjusted model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These outcomes suggest that older women in particular could benefit from targeted alcohol consumption messages or interventions. In relation to falls, other health conditions appear better targets for intervention than alcohol use.
authors: Centre for Mental Health Research, College of Medicine and Health Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Robert.Tait@anu.edu.au
authors: Robert J
authors: RJ
authors: Tait
authors: Davina J
authors: DJ
authors: French
authors: Richard A
authors: RA
authors: Burns
authors: Julie E
authors: JE
authors: Byles
authors: Kaarin J
authors: KJ
authors: Anstey
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors