Recent Blog Articles

Have lupus? What to know about birth control

Screening at home for memory loss: Should you try it?

Travel tummy troubles: Here’s how to prevent or soothe them

Easy, delicious summer veggie meals will help stretch your food budget

Tracking viruses: The best clues may be in the sewer

Promising therapy if PSA rises after prostate cancer surgery

Strong legs help power summer activities: Hiking, biking, swimming, and more

Should you try intermittent fasting for weight loss?

Why are you taking a multivitamin?

Could eating fish increase your risk of cancer?
Staying Healthy
Older adults are drinking more alcohol
News briefs
Heavy alcohol drinking, abuse, or dependence among older adults is rising at unprecedented rates, suggests a study published online Aug. 9, 2017, by JAMA Psychiatry. The authors analyzed information about alcohol use among 43,000 adults ages 18 or older during 2001–02 and then compared it with information about alcohol use among 36,000 adults during 2012–13. In virtually all age, race, and socioeconomic groups, high-risk drinking and alcohol abuse and dependence increased over the decade. Among all age groups, the increase tended to be greater in people who were less affluent, less well educated, and members of racial minority groups. Although during both time periods adults ages 65 and older had lower rates than younger people, the increase in high-risk drinking (65%) and alcohol abuse (107%) was greatest in this older age group.
The study authors emphasize that older adults are at higher risk for disability, illness, and death from many alcohol-related chronic diseases, falls, and injuries. Your best bet: if you drink alcohol, limit it to one drink per day if you're a woman, and one or two if you're a man.
Image: © cyano66/ThinkstockDisclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
Free Healthbeat Signup
Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!