Alcohol & Aging
With the approaching Memorial Day Weekend, it is a safe bet that many people will be celebrating the unofficial start of summer! And for many, this celebration will include summer-fun cocktails and ice-cold beer! That said, it is important to understand the effects (or potential effects) of alcohol as we age.
WOMEN & RISK FACTORS
One thing to keep in mind, is that people may react differently to alcohol as they get older. Sometimes this means that older people can feel "high" without increasing the amount of alcohol they drink. This can make them more likely to have accidents, including falls and fractures and car crashes.
Another thing to keep in mind is that older women are more sensitive than men to the effects of alcohol. Women, in general, have a higher risk for problems than men. When a woman drinks, the alcohol in her bloodstream typically reaches a higher level than a man’s even if both are drinking the same amount. This is because women’s bodies generally have less water than men’s bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol is more concentrated in a woman’s body than in a man’s. As a result, women are more susceptible to alcohol-related damage to organs such as the liver.
ALCOHOL & MEDICATIONS
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to alcohol and aging is the side effects that alcohol can cause when mixed with certain medications.
Many medicines — prescription, over-the-counter, or herbal remedies — can be dangerous or even deadly when mixed with alcohol. Many older people take medications every day, making this a special worry.
Before taking any medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist if you can safely drink alcohol. Here are some examples of problems caused by mixing alcohol with some medicines:
If you take aspirin and drink, your risk of stomach or intestinal bleeding is increased.
When combined with alcohol, cold and allergy medicines (the label will say "antihistamines") may make you feel very sleepy.
Alcohol used with large doses of acetaminophen, a common painkiller, may cause liver damage.
Some medicines, such as cough syrups and laxatives, have high alcohol content. If you drink at the same time, your alcohol level will go up.
Alcohol used with some sleeping pills, pain pills, or anxiety/anti-depression medicine can be deadly.
Learn more about alcohol’s interactions with prescription drugs.
EFFECTS OF BINGE DRINKING
According to an article in TIME, a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that, from 2015-2017, more than 10% of adults 65 and older said they had binge drank—defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting for men, or four or more for women— in the past month, up from about 7% in 2006.
It’s not entirely clear why this is happening among older adults. But the new study did find certain lifestyle and demographic factors that were associated with heavy drinking in older age. Marijuana use, which is also growing more common among Baby Boomers, was linked to binge drinking.
Research provided by HealthDay states that many studies of moderate drinking have tried to connect how it affects health and mortality. “But most haven't looked at patterns of drinking,” explained study author Charles Holahan, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
When Holahan and colleagues examined drinking styles of moderate drinkers -- for example, if they spread their alcohol consumption out more evenly over time or if they drank less often but in heavier amounts -- they discovered death rates were higher in binge drinkers.
"Among older moderate drinkers, we found that those who binge have double the odds of dying within the next 20 years compared to those who do not binge," Holahan said.
