Fc. Blow et al., The relationship between alcohol problems and health functioning of older adults in primary care settings, J AM GER SO, 48(7), 2000, pp. 769-774
Citations number
44
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","General & Internal Medicine
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.