Patterns of alcohol use and misuse among elderly rest home residents in Christchurch

Aim. To determine the prevalence of alcohol use and misuse among elderly re st home residents in Christchurch. Methods. A cross-sectional prevalence survey was conducted among 175 reside nts aged 65 years and over, randomly selected from 30 rest homes in Christc hurch, in 1998. Hazardous patterns of alcohol consumption in the past twelv e months were determined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test ( AUDIT) questionnaire, and alcohol dependence in the past 12-months and life time was determined by a structured clinical interview using DSM-IV criteri a. Results. Of 246 eligible participants, 175 (71.1%) residents were interview ed, 115 women and 60 men, mean age, 82.6 years (SD=7.8) compared with 83.2 years (SD=6.3) for non-participants. The prevalence of hazardous patterns o f; alcohol consumption in the past twelve months by the AUDIT (cut-off scor e 8) was 5.1% (95% CI=1.8-8.4). According to DSM-TV criteria, the prevalenc e of lifetime alcohol dependence was 20.5% (95% CI = 13.5-27.6) and for the past twelve months was 0.5% (95% CI = 0-1.7). The prevalence of lifetime a lcohol dependence was significantly higher in men 36.7% (95% CI = 23.2-50.1 ) than women 12.2% (95% CI = 5.6-18.8) (p=0.0001). Conclusions. In spite of advanced age, a small proportion of elderly rest h ome residents consumed quantities of alcohol that put them at risk of futur e damage to physical or mental health. Lifetime prevalence of alcohol depen dence was comparable to the general population estimates and was higher in men than women.