title: Alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders among older adults in India: a literature review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With changing attitudes to alcohol and an increasing life span in India, the prevalence of alcohol use and misuse in successive cohorts of older people is likely to increase. In this paper, we attempt to review the most recent evidence covering alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders in the Indian elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, PsycINFO and Indmed databases were searched using relevant keywords. Papers meeting eligibility criteria were selected through a sequential process of screening title, abstract and full text. Data were extracted into Excel sheets.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a dearth of pan-national studies. There were several methodological issues with many studies especially related to measurement. A substantial proportion of individuals above the age of 50 years are current consumers of alcohol and the prevalence is generally higher in urban compared to rural areas. Older women are generally likely to be alcohol abstainers. The general trend appears to be a reduction in current drinking among successive age cohorts over the age of 50. Alcohol consumption in the older adults is associated with educational status, health status, chronic morbidity, employment status, socioeconomic status, auditory/locomotor impairment and asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol use and misuse is a problem among the Indian older adults. With socio-demographic changes that will further increase longevity, this problem is likely to increase and policy-makers need to plan for it. Future research needs to improve validity and reliability in study methodology, as well as add to the current evidence base.
authors: a London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London , UK.
authors: Abhijit
authors: A
authors: Nadkarni
authors: Pratima
authors: P
authors: Murthy
authors: Ilana B
authors: IB
authors: Crome
authors: Rahul
authors: R
authors: Rao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence