One out of every 10 Medicare beneficiaries over age 65
may drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol.
That's according to new research from Brandeis University
in Waltham, Massachusetts. Head researcher Dr. Elizabeth L. Merrick says that
excessive alcohol consumption in the elderly can have serious side effects,
including increased risk of falls, exacerbation of some medical problems and
possible adverse reactions to medication. Researchers report their findings in
the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
and the American Geriatrics Society recommend that seniors aged 65 and over
have no more than seven drinks a week and not more than three drinks in a given
day. Merrick found that nearly 10% of seniors drink their way past that
benchmark, with older men out drinking women four to one. Merrick and
colleagues assessed 12, 413 Medicare beneficiaries for alcohol consumption
through a 2003 Medicare survey.
These findings come as a British research team found that
those who imbibe even moderate amounts of alcohol experienced increased
blood-pressure woes. The British report was published March 4 in the Public
Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.