Compared with alcohol consumption among earlier cohorts, that among recent cohorts declined more slowly with increasing age, suggesting that negative health effects of alcohol could increase in the future.

The Park City Math Institute 2016 Summer Undergraduate Faculty Program met for the purpose of composing guidelines for undergraduate programs in data science. The group consisted of 25 undergraduate faculty from a variety of institutions in the United States, primarily from the disciplines of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. These guidelines are meant to provide some structure for institutions planning for or revising a major in data science.

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Aims-To examine whether a multifaceted intervention among older at-risk drinking primary care patients reduced at-risk drinking and alcohol consumption at 3 and 12 months. Design-Randomized controlled trial.Setting-Three primary care sites in southern California.Participants-Six hundred thirty-one adults aged ≥ 55 years who were at-risk drinkers identified by the Comorbidity Alcohol Risk Evaluation Tool (CARET) were randomly assigned between October 2004 and April 2007 during an office visit to receive a booklet on healthy behaviors or an intervention including a personalized report, booklet on alcohol and aging, drinking diary, advice from the primary care provider and telephone counseling from a health educator at 2, 4 and 8 weeks.Measurements-The primary outcome was the proportion of participants meeting at-risk criteria, and secondary outcomes were number of drinks in past 7 days, heavy drinking (4 or more drinks in a day) in the past 7 days and risk score.. Conclusions-A multifaceted intervention among older at-risk drinkers in primary care does not reduce the proportions of at-risk or heavy drinkers, but does reduce amount of drinking at 12 months.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the combined influence of alcohol use and comorbidity on 20‐year mortality in older adults (average age 66 at the time of the baseline survey). DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of a national probability sample–based cohort study. SETTING: Data sources were the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (NHANES I), 1971–1974, and the NHANES Epidemiologic Followup Survey, 1992. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand six hundred ninety‐one adults aged 60 and older who provided data on alcohol use. MEASUREMENTS: The prevalence of at‐risk drinking in older adults in the United States and the 20‐year all‐cause mortality risk associated with it. At‐risk drinking status was determined from amount of alcohol consumed and comorbidities, using a previously validated method. RESULTS: The prevalence of at‐risk drinking in the United States between 1971 and 1974 in older adults was 10% (18% of men, 5% of women). The majority of at‐risk drinkers were identified as such because of their use of alcohol in amounts deemed risky in the presence of relevant comorbidities (69%) (e.g., drinking 2–3 drinks per day and having gout or anxiety or taking a medication for pain). In men, at‐risk drinking was associated with higher mortality rates than not‐at‐risk drinking (hazard ratio=1.20, 95% confidence interval=1.01–1.41); abstinence was not associated with greater mortality. In women, neither abstinence nor at‐risk drinking was associated with greater mortality rates. CONCLUSION: In this first, large population‐based study of older adults examining the mortality risks of alcohol use and comorbidity, at‐risk drinking was associated with greater mortality rates in men. These findings suggest that a lower threshold of alcohol use should be recommended for older adults with specific comorbidities to reduce mortality risks.