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