The category of people for whom alcohol consumption is considered the most dangerous has been named

According to Dr. George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the increase in alcohol consumption among people age 65 and older is a major concern given the greater health consequences of alcohol use among older adults.

According to Dr. Koob, the percentage of older adults who drink is increasing every month, especially among women. And older people who drink do so more often than people under 65, he added.

“The baby boomer group (those born between 1946 and 1964) is changing the landscape of older drinking in the United States in two key ways,” says George Koob. “First, they have always tended to drink more and also use other drugs than their predecessors, so the percentage of older people who drink is increasing.”

The second method is based on numbers, CNN notes. The baby boomer generation is large, so the number of people who abuse alcohol, develop alcohol use disorders and die from it is growing, an expert said.

“The rapid increase in the number of people over 65 who drink may increase the burden on our health care system,” Dr. Koob said.

The conversation around alcohol is changing as more people turn to alternatives to alcohol to maintain healthy lifestyles, but the culture is largely shaped by young people, Koob said.

“Given the historical role of alcohol in everyday life… older people may be less aware of the dangers of alcohol,” he said.

The first thing older people should know, Koob says, is that at age 70, a person won’t react to alcohol the same way they did at age 30.

“As we age, the body changes, and these changes make us more susceptible to some of the harmful effects of alcohol use,” he said.

As we age, the enzyme that breaks down alcohol decreases, according to Dr. Stephanie Collier, director of education for the department of geriatric psychiatry at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. She added that older people’s reaction to drinking will be much stronger because their metabolism will slow down.

As a person ages, a person’s body’s water content also decreases, which contributes to higher blood alcohol concentrations, so the same dose of alcohol taken at a younger age has a much greater impact years later, Koob said.

These changes in how alcohol affects the body have serious implications for healthy aging, Koob says.

The effect of alcohol on indicators such as driving ability, reaction time, memory and balance is stronger in older people than in younger people, the scientist added.

Balance is a particularly serious issue, Koob said, given that the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and older are falls while intoxicated, and research shows that falls while intoxicated tend to be more severe.

Combining alcohol and medications is also risky, Dr. Collier notes, and nearly 90% of older adults take at least one medication regularly.

“One study found that older adults were more likely to experience respiratory depression than younger adults after combining alcohol and opioids,” Dr. Koob points out. “This is concerning given that opioid overdose causes death primarily due to respiratory depression.”

Alcohol can also weaken the body’s ability to fight infection, which is even more concerning after the Covid-19 pandemic has had such a profound impact on the elderly population, Koob added.

Unfortunately, drinking alcohol in large quantities is harmful to your health, Collier says. She recommends that her patients not drink at all or switch to non-alcoholic beer if this is part of their habit.

If this seems like a challenge, she recommends trying quitting alcohol for one to two weeks and seeing how you feel.

“If you reduce your alcohol consumption and feel better, your body is telling you something,” states George Koob.

Alcohol use disorders or drinking problems may be more difficult to identify in older adults who may be retired, live alone or socialize less because the signs are less obvious, Koob said.

According to Stephanie Collier, current dietary guidelines for Americans recommend no more than two drinks per day for men and one for women. But less is more, Cube added.

“We think people of any age could benefit from taking a step back and looking at their current relationship with alcohol,” he said. “We also believe that developing alternatives to drinking for relaxation, socializing and stress management can lead to reduced drinking and improved health.”