Alcohol use and problems among older women and men: A review

Abstract

2 5 8 Introduction Alcohol use and abuse amongst older people is an increasingly important area to understand. In many western societies the proportion of older people has increased profoundly and will continue to increase in the future. Availability of alcoholic beverages has increased (Osterberg & Karlsson 2002) and the social acceptability of women’s drinking has increased in many societies (Bloomfield et al. 2005). The baby boomer generation (those 55 and older) are drinking more than their mothers in Europe (Bloomfield et al. 1999). Even if the prevalence of problem-drinking remains constant, an increase in the absolute numbers of problem drinkers can be expected. Female predominance in the older no longer limits the extent of alcohol problems. Researchers in the 1960s and 1970s were convinced that alcohol abuse was rare among older adults in general (Atkinson & Ganzini 1994), and almost nonexistent in older women. Even in the 1990’s, some researchers and clinicians alike widely believed that alcohol use disorders among this age group did not merit the attention given to drinking and drug abuse among younger adults (Bucholz et al.1995). In contrast, others discussed in detail personal, interpersonal and social–environmental factors that could increase older women’s risks of problem drinking (Wilsnack et al. 1995). Relatively little research has been undertaken and our knowledge remains limited. We need to enrich and deepen our knowledge and our understanding of the phenomenon. If Salme ahlStrom