Australian Alcohol Guidelines Fact Sheet - Alcohol and Older People

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Guidelines for older men

Older men should consider:

• drinking less than 4 standard drinks a day on average;
• drinking less than 6 standard drinks on any one day;
• having at least one or two alcohol free days a week.

* older people on medication may need to further reduce or stop their drinking (see below)

Guidelines for older women

Older women should consider:

• drinking less than 2 standard drinks a day on average;
• drinking less than 4 standard drinks on any one day;
• having at least one or two alcohol free days a week.

* older people on medication may need to further reduce or stop their drinking (see below)

Tolerance for alcohol

The body’s tolerance for alcohol decreases with age. This is because when alcohol is absorbed, it is distributed throughout the body’s total water content, but the volume of total body water decreases with age, so a given amount of alcohol produces a higher blood alcohol concentration. This effect is relevant to people aged over about 70 or 75, although there is considerable variation from person to person. In addition, there may be a reduced capacity for the nervous system to tolerate alcohol.

Falling

Falls are an increasing risk with advancing age, and this risk is also increased by intoxication, with
potentially serious and disabling consequences.

Driving

Driving may be influenced by the effects of ageing, particularly visual loss and slowed reaction time. Again any risk in this area can be increased by alcohol, and by the increase in blood alcohol concentration, with the potential to affect others as well as the driver.

Medication and diagnosis

Older people often take regular medication, which may interact with alcohol to cause unpleasant or dangerous side effects. The risk is considerably greater when a number of medications are involved.

Alcohol dependence in older people can be mistaken for a number of medical or psychiatric conditions common among older people, such as depression, insomnia, poor nutrition and frequent falls. Consequently alcohol-related problems may go undiagnosed or be treated inappropriately.

Health benefits

There is strong evidence that low risk drinking reduces the risk of heart disease in people from middle age onwards (from about 40-45 years of age for males and 45-50 for females). This protection comes from drinking relatively small amounts of alcohol, approximately 1 to 2 standard drinks per day for men and less than 1 per day for women.

Older people who drink alcohol are advised to consider drinking less than the levels recommended in the guidelines for the general population. People who choose not to drink alcohol should not be urged to drink to gain any potential health benefit.

For more information contact John Noble, Media Unit on 0413 890 241.

Principal Source: Australian Alcohol Guidelines: Health Risks and Benefits (2001); NHMRC