Depression and alcohol use among the Dutch residential home elderly: Is there a shared vulnerability?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether data from an older population sample would support the co-occurrence between depression and (problematic) alcohol use found in the general population and in clinical samples. Additionally, important predictors concerning these phenomena are identified in this population, by interviewing 156 inhabitants of five residential homes (mean age 84 years), using several questionnaires. The results showed that there is no link present between depression and alcohol use in this very old, mostly female population. Our results found a relation between the personality traits extraversion and openness to experience with both depression as well as alcohol use. Neuroticism was only related to depressive symptoms. Chronic diseases was related to non-alcohol use and parental problem drinking was found to be a risk factor for late life problem drinking. Future studies should aim at developing screening instruments for alcohol use in this population and, because of the importance of the personality traits, aim at developing or adapting of psychotherapeutic interventions fit for this population.

Substance Use and Abuse Among Older Adults: A State of the Art

“…Risk-full drinkers appear to be more often depressed (Blow et al, 2000, Graham & Schmidt, 1999Oslin et al, 2005), while moderate drinkers have fewer levels of depressive symptoms (Blow et al, 2000, Graham & Schmidt, 1999Kirchner et al, 2007;Lang et al, 2007, Merrick et al, 2008. A relationship between alcohol and depression was however not found in very old nursing home residents (Steunenberg et al, 2008) and older Baptists (Musick, 2000).…”

“…Ruchlin 1997 Everyday drinkers are more likely to being male, white, higher educated, living in the city centre and less likely to be in less than in excellent health, having diabetes, and believing that drinking has negative health consequences. Schuckit 1978 Compared to younger alcoholics, older alcoholics had relatively more stable lives in early years and had developed alcoholrelated problems in later years Sheahan 1995 Alcohol use is not related to falls Steunenberg 2008 Depression and alcohol use are not related in this very old, mostly female population. Alcohol use was related to extraversion and openness to experience.…”

How Gender and Religion Influence Alcohol Use in Elderly Korean Immigrants

“…However, because this was a cross-sectional study, causality cannot be determined. Heavy drinking may be a risk factor for depression among older men (Saunders et al, 1991); depression and alcohol use may share a similar vulnerability to other correlating factors, such as individual dispositional factors (Steunenberg, Yagmur, & Cuijpers, 2008), or alcohol may be used in selfmedicating for depression (Berger & Adesso, 1991).…”

Screening for Drinking Problems in the Elderly in Singapore Using the CAGE Questionnaire

“…The tendency to use alcohol as a form of self-medication 5,17 appears to largely account for the relationship between these 2 variables. On the other hand, the presence of chronic diseases has been associated with alcohol abstention, 24 likely due to the risk of potential drug-alcohol interactions. 16,24 A review on alcohol use among the elderly by Reid et al 25 yielded mixed evidence on the relationship between alcohol use and disability.…”

“…On the other hand, the presence of chronic diseases has been associated with alcohol abstention, 24 likely due to the risk of potential drug-alcohol interactions. 16,24 A review on alcohol use among the elderly by Reid et al 25 yielded mixed evidence on the relationship between alcohol use and disability. For instance, the percentage of studies demonstrating harm, no association, or benefit of alcohol use with respect to functional disability was 38%, 46% and 16%, respectively.…”