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NIH Senior Health, USA has released a report specifically tailored to the topic of alcohol use among older adults (65+). The report explains the health risks involved  such as precautions for people who shouldn’t drink while taking certain prescription medications. The report also includes information on the increase risk of substance abuse and how rehabilitation help can be found for those who develop a problem.

The report revealed that some older adults whose drinking habits have remained consistent over the years, even decades, may find that they develop problems as they get older. This is due to the fact that aging lowers the body’s tolerance for alcohol. Because of this, Dr. Kenneth Warren, acting director of NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, says, “older adults may experience the effects of alcohol, such as slurred speech or lack of coordination, more quickly than when they were younger.”

This is because as the human body gets older its ability to metabolize or break down alcohol becomes slower. Thus it stays in the body longer than it does a younger human body. As a result, this increases an older adult’s sensitivity to the effects of alcohol. For example a senior male of the same weight as a younger male will have a higher percentage of alcohol in his blood after they both consume a glass of wine. One explanation for this, is that the amount of water in the body lowers as we age.

Because an older adult may be more sensitive to the effects of drinking, their risk for alcohol abuse also increases. Alcohol use can also become problematic for older adults if they are taking certain prescription medications or have certain existing health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension/high blood pressure, liver problems, etc, which alcohol use can exacerbate.

The 2010 revised alcohol section of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report included some alarming changes. The guidelines would radically alter the definition of “moderate drinking” by increasing the daily consumption suitable for men and women, despite lack of randomized studies on the health effects of alcohol consumption. Many addiction specialist are protesting this potentially dangerous public health message.

Previous Dietary Guidelines for alcohol consumption outlines the “safest” amount being two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. The 2010 Advisory report proposed guidelines based on average, rather than daily, consumption. And the report defined “moderate” (a.k.a. “safe”) drinking as up to four drinks per day for men and three drinks per day for women (so long as the average limits are not exceeded: 3 days a week or less).

However, specialists worry that by relaxing these guidelines some may increase their drinking to these new levels (doubling daily intake for men and tripling it for women), and find the new guidelines to be neither safe nor desirable from a public health perspective. Currently, four drinks for men and three drinks for women fall just short of amount defined as “binge” drinking. However, epidemiologic studies have found an increased risk for unintentional injuries (car crashes) as well as chronic diseases and substance abuse with these levels of drinking. This is especially true for women. We’ve posted before on this blog the dangers that alcohol pose for women. Click here to read how that second glass of wine can actually have the adverse effects of the first one.

With no evidence supporting that 4/3 drinking guidelines are safer than 2/1, many find these proposed guidelines to be ill-advised with the possibility for adverse social consequences. And they are encouraging those in the drug and alcohol field to speak up against these changes.