Grannies Binge Drinking Now More Than Ever

Folks over age 60, both men and women, are drinking more than the generation that came before them, according to new research.  Men still drink more, but the gender gap is closing.  That means we're seeing the greatest percentages of increases among older women.  

This includes both "current drinkers," those who consume 12 glasses or more of alcohol in a single year, and "binge drinkers," who consume five glasses or more of alcohol in a single day. 

The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research tracked nearly 150,000 Americans for the last twenty years.  Analysts discovered:

1.  Casual Drinking Increased Among Older Americans, Especially Women:  Twenty years ago, 54% of men and 38% of women were current drinkers.  Now that number is 60% for men, a 6% increase, and 48% for women, a 10% increase.

2.  Binge Drinking Increased Among Older Americans, Especially Women:  Twenty years ago, the number of male binge drinkers over age 60 was 20%, now it's 23%.  Twenty years ago, female binge drinkers over the age of 60 accounted for 5%, and now it's up to 8%. 

Study author Rosalind Breslow, an epidemiologist at the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told CBS News the increased drinking among both genders may be a carry-over from their youth. 

"There is a great deal of speculation that baby boomers drank more when they were young and continue to drink more as a group. There is some limited evidence to support this speculation," she said, adding, 

"We did find that more younger boomers, ages 60 to 64, both men and women, were drinking than people of the same age in past generations."

Dr. J.C. Garbutt, medical director of the University of North Carolina Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program, in Chapel Hill commented on the reasons behind the sharper increase among women than men. "One would have to think there are major cultural factors at work, including the greater acceptability for women to drink, family structural changes, and perhaps greater access. But we really don't know so it would be premature to speculate," he said.

Regardless of why older Americans are drinking more, the end result can be catastrophic, particularly when alcohol is mixed with medication, as is common among aging Americans. 

Drinking can harm women more than men.  That's because women don't tolerate alcohol as well as men, and they start to have alcohol-related problems at lower drinking levels than men, Breslow explained.  She pointed out that on average, women weigh less than men, and have less water in their bodies than men do. (Alcohol dissolves in water).

"So, after a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman's blood alcohol concentration will tend to be higher, putting her at greater risk for harm," Breslow said.

Breslow says older people who are healthy and not on medication should have no more than three drinks a day and seven a week.  
Too much drinking increases your chance of being injured or killed.  Alcohol is a factor in:

• 60% of fatal burn injuries, drownings and homicides
• 50% of severe trauma injuries and sexual assaults
• 40% of fatal motor vehicle crashes, suicides and fatal falls

Heavy drinkers have a greater risk of the following health problems:

• liver disease
• heart disease
• sleep disorders
• depression
• stroke
• bleeding from the stomach
• sexually transmitted infections from unsafe sex 
• several types of cancer