2009-10-14
Elderly Europeans are less likely to drink in ways that are harmful to their health compared to younger adults. But as several EU Member States see markedly increased alcohol related deaths amongst the elderly in recent years and the knowledge among health care personnel about alcohol in relation to ageing is generally poor, better monitoring and education of alcohol consumption amongst the elderly is motivated.
As part of its’ Council of the European Union presidency from July to December 2009, the Swedish Government initiated the production of several reports on alcohol related matters of importance to the EU. “Alcohol consumption among elderly European Union citizens: health effects, consumption trends and related issues”, is one of those reports and describes the alcohol consumption trends among elderly European citizens , related harms, and policy needs. The subject has until recently fallen between the gaps of ageing research, on the one hand, and alcohol and drug research and policy, on the other. As the European population ages, the absolute number of elderly people presenting with alcohol related problems is likely to rise. This will present a public health challenge which must be planned for.
Elderly men drink substantially more alcohol than elderly women, and in ways that are likely to cause harm to themselves or others. They are over-represented in alcohol related hospitalisation and mortality statistics compared to elderly women, and may represent a risk group. However, alcohol related hospital admissions among elderly women in some countries have risen sharply in recent years, especially among women between 60 to 70 years. This could represent a European trend and should be monitored closely.
There is a wide-spread belief that light regular alcohol consumption by the elderly has substantial cardiovascular benefits. However, recent findings highlight significant methodological shortcomings with many of the previous studies which have been the basis of those beliefs. At the same time, general knowledge about the effects of regular alcohol consumption on several cancers, which most often manifest in older years, is poor.
Moderate alcohol consumption can have important psychosocial benefits for the elderly, which should not be overlooked. The balance between psychosocial benefit and detriment is related to the total amount and the pattern of alcohol consumption.
In both primary health care and specialised care centres, staff training in early identification and brief intervention of harmful or hazardous alcohol use is critical, particularly concerning the elderly, who are often frequent users of the health care system. The study concludes that at present, these early identification programmes are rarely implemented in the EU. Harmful alcohol use among the elderly is thus very likely an under-reported problem. The study concludes that the elderly have the same right to adequate health care as younger adults. It is never too late for prevention of harmful alcohol consumption.
The report was recently presented at the EU Alcohol and Health conference 21-22 September in Stockholm, Sweden. For further information, contact Pi Högberg.
updated Wednesday, October 14, 2009
