A meta‐analysis of life course variation in drinking^*

Abstract

Meta-analysis combines results from multiple longitudinal studies to describe life course variation by age and sex for quantity of drinking per typical occasion (20 studies) and frequency of drinking during one month (27 studies). There is cross-study heterogeneity for the Time 1 means of the drinking variables blocking for age and sex. Age distributions for the Time 1 means are similar by gender within nations; in the aggregate, males exceed females in the magnitude of drinking. Dramatic shifts in the standardized mean difference (M2-M1) occur among the young; greater homogeneity and moderate change (declines) occur later in life. Implicated in improving cross-study homogeneity for M2-M1 among the young are interval between measurements, nation, Time 1 per capita consumption (PCC), difference in PCC and the Time 1 mean. Lower unstandardized regression coefficients are found for quantity among youth, but are not consistently homogeneous within nations; the association for frequency becomes increasingly stable with increasing age. Nation and interval are implicated in improving homogeneity. Decline in quantity occurs among the old. M2-M1 produces homogeneously higher regressions for groups of the young who increase quantity v. those who do not. Linkage of the group-level and individual-level findings is discussed.

Twenty-Year Alcohol-Consumption and Drinking-Problem Trajectories of Older Men and Women

“…This is consistent with earlier cross-sectional studies and longitudinal group-level analyses of older adults' drinking patterns (e.g., Adams et al, 1990;Fillmore et al 1991;Moos et al, 2004aMoos et al, , 2004bMoos et al, , 2009). However, the growth characteristics and variability of these individuals' 20-year drinking trajectories also show that as individuals in this sample progressed from earlier to later old age, decline in alcohol consumption and drinking problems was neither swift nor invariable.…”

“…Longitudinal studies also have generally shown that older age predicts lower alcohol consumption as well as faster decline in alcohol use and drinking problems (Glynn et al, 1985;Karlamangla et al, 2006;Levenson et al, 1998;Moore et al, 2005; but see Kerr et al, 2004). Most longitudinal studies confi ned to older (i.e., age ≥ 50) samples also have identifi ed a decline over time in participants' alcohol use and drinking problems (e.g., Adams et al, 1990;Fillmore et al, 1991;Platt et al, 2010). However, some have shown stability or, less frequently, an increase in older adults' alcohol consumption and problematic alcohol use (Glynn et al, 1985;Gordon and Kannel, 1983;Stall, 1986a;Temple and Leino, 1989).…”

Alcohol and tobacco use disorders in a general population: short-term and long-term associations from the St. Louis Epidemiological Catchment Area Study

“…Both overall ECA and NHIS data show that both lifetime and pastyear alcohol abuse/dependence rates increase up to age 29 and then drop thereafter (Bucholz, 1992); similarly, NLAES data show that 18-24-year-olds report the highest rates of alcohol dependence (Grant, 1997). Research also shows age-related declines in alcohol consumption (Fillmore et al, 1991; although see Grant, 1997, who shows a slight increase from age 25 to 34 before a decline) as well as in heavy drinking and problem drinking (Fillmore, 1988). In addition, although TD tends to be least common among those who are younger (under age 24; Anthony et al, 1994), other recent data on smoking show that report of any past-year smoking tends to decrease after age 24 (Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).…”

Changes in wine consumption are influenced most by health: results from a population survey of South Australians in 2013

“…7 For example, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that the prevalence of risky drinking decreases with age. [8][9][10][11][12] There are both positive and negative motives for consuming alcohol, and these include to be social, to create a positive or relaxed mood, to cope, or to conform.…”