ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION AMONG OLDER URBAN AMERICAN-INDIANS

Objective: To describe the pattern of alcohol consumption by older urb an American Indians in Los Angeles, California, in 1987-89. Method: Da ta come from a cross-sectional community health survey with a convenie nce sample of 282 nonhomeless American Indians, both male and female. The sample matched the age and sex distribution reported by the U.S. C ensus. During a face-to-face structured interview self-reports of alco hol consumption were gathered for American Indians recognized by their community as elders (mean [+/-SD] age 61.1 +/- 11.1 years). Results: Most elders (73%) did not drink alcohol. More women than men. and more individuals aged 60+ than people under 60 years, abstained. Elders in single generation households tended to consume more alcohol than thos e in multigeneration households. Among the 76 people who reported drin king, significantly more people under age 60 than over age 60 consumed four or more drinks per sitting (p < .01), and those who lived alone were more likely than drinkers living with others to consume alcohol a t least once a week (p < .04). Conclusions: Age seemed to be a salient marker with respect to alcohol consumption, with fewer people 60+ yea rs of age drinking as much or as often as people under this age. Absta iners are not necessarily lifetime teetotalers, but may be former drin kers who have quit, and may still on occasion go on short-term binges. Results of this survey replicate findings from surveys of the general elderly population, suggesting that older urban American Indians are not different from other older people with respect to consumption of a lcohol.