Study: 'Successful' older adults at risk for alcoholism
Heavy drinking is defined as 15 or more drinks a week for men and eight or more drinks a week for women. Credit: iStock
Are you over 50, healthy, physically fit and feeling financially comfortable? Congratulations -- and beware.
Older adults defined as "successful agers" may also be at higher risk for drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol, according to a new British study. Researchers found that "high-risk alcohol consumption" in later life was more prevalent among people with higher incomes who were in better health and more socially active than their peers. In the United States, the CDC defines dangerous drinking as 15 or more alcoholic beverages a week for men and eight or more a week for women.
Researchers concluded that dangerous drinking may be "a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people." The study was published in BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.
