Alcohol research has traditionally focused on younger age groups;
consumption patterns and predictors for older people have received only limited
attention. However, the number of older Australians has increased substantially
in recent years, accompanied by unprecedented changes in their alcohol
consumption patterns.
To ascertain the current prevalence of risky drinking
among people over 50 years of age in Australia, we conducted secondary analyses
of nationally representative data collected by the tri‐annual National Drug
Strategy Household Surveys for 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. Between 2004 and 2016 the proportions of risky (from
13.4% to 13.5%) and high-risk drinkers (from 2.1% to 3.1%) increased.
To
facilitate early identification of problem drinking and early intervention,
educating health care professionals about patterns and drivers of alcohol
consumption by older people should be a priority.
Access the paper - Baby boomers and booze we should be worried about how older Australians are drinking (PDF)
