Screening for problem drinking in the elderly: A study in the elderly mentally ill

✍ Scribed by Helen J. Mears; Claire Spice

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 696 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.930080407

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Abuse of alcohol in the elderly may be commoner than previously thought, but accurate detection is hampered by, among other things, lack of information about the most suitable screening or detection methods in this group. One hundred and ten consecutive admissions to an acute unit for the elderly mentally ill were studied to identify problem drinkers and to examine characteristics of these patients. The prevalence of problem drinking was found to be 19%, one third of whom had been undetected during routine medical assessment. A highly significant difference in consumption of alcohol was found between problem drinkers and the remainder of the group (p<0.001), with consumption of 14 or more units of alcohol per week in males and females being associated with high risk of adverse consequences. Thus, consumption of 14 or more units of alcohol per week may be applied as a useful screening test for problem drinking in the elderly, with sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.98. The pattern of drinking showed a similar distinction with consumption of alcohol on 3 or more days per week being associated with high risk of adverse consequences (p<0.001).