The relationship between alcohol problems and health functioning of older adults in primary care settings

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship betw een alcohol use and health functioning in a sample of older adults screened in primary care settings. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Thirty-seven primary care clinics . PARTICIPANTS: Older adults in = 8578; aged 55-97) with regularly scheduled appointments in primary care clinics were screened. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were categorized based on alcohol consumption le vels as abstainers, low-risk drinkers, and at-risk drinkers (women: 9 or mo re drinks/week; men: 12 or more drinks/week). Dependent variables were eigh t SF-36 health functioning scales. RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of participants were abstainers, 31% were low-ri sk, drinkers, and 7% were at-risk drinkers. ANCOVAs found significant effec ts of drinking status on General Health, Physical Functioning, Physical Rol e Functioning, Bodily Pain, Vitality, Mental Health, Emotional Role, and So cial Functioning, controlling fur age and gender, with low-risk drinkers sc oring significantly better than abstainers. At-risk drinkers had significan tly poorer mental health functioning than low-risk drinkers. Few significan t gender differences were found on SF-36 scales. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults who are at-risk drinkers may not present with pou r physical health functioning. Future studies are needed to determine the r elationship between drinking limits for older adults and other areas of phy sical and psychosocial health.