Is alcohol consumption in older adults associated with poor self-rated health? Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract

BackgroundIncreases in alcohol related mortality and morbidity have been reported among older people in England over the last decade. There is, however, evidence that drinking is protective for some health conditions. The validity of this evidence has been questioned due to residual confounding and selection bias. The aim of this study is to clarify which drinking profiles and other demographic characteristics are associated with poor self-rated health among a community-based sample of older adults in England. The study also examines whether drinking designated as being “increasing-risk” or “higher-risk” is associated with poorer self-rated health.MethodThis study used data from Wave 0, Wave 1 and Wave 5 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing [ELSA]. Logistic regression analysis, was used to examine the association between drinking profiles (based on quantity and frequency of drinking) and self-rated health, adjusting for gender, age, wealth, social class, education, household composition, smoking and body mass index [BMI].ResultsTwenty percent of the sample reported drinking above the recommended level at wave 0. Rates of poor self-rated health were highest among those who had stopped drinking, followed by those who never drank. The rates of poor self-rated health among non-drinkers were significantly higher than the rates of poor self-rated health for any of the groups who reported alcohol consumption. In the adjusted logistic regression models there were no drinking profiles associated with significantly higher rates of poor self-rated health relative to occasional drinkers.ConclusionsAmong those who drank alcohol, there was no evidence that any pattern of current alcohol consumption was associated with poor self-rated health, even after adjustment for a wide range of variables. The results associated with the stopped drinking profile indicate improvement in self-rated health can be associated with changes in drinking behaviour. Although several limitations of the study are noted, policy makers may wish to consider how these findings should be translated into drinking guidelines for older adults.

Fatores sociodemográficos, comportamentais e de saúde associados à autopercepção de saúde positiva de idosos longevos residentes em Florianópolis, Santa Catarina

“…Positive self-perceived health was also associated with alcohol consumption among the long-lived elderly. Studies [25][26][27][28][29] have also observed an association between higher alcohol consumption and positive health perception, after adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, corroborating the findings of this investigation. Other research showed that the prevalence of negative self-perceived health was higher among those who had stopped drinking, followed by individuals who did not drink 27 .…”

“…Another point of discussion is that older people who consume alcohol do so because they are healthier, and this is the most likely explanation for the association found between alcohol and positive self-perceived health, in addition to social ties. It is also important to mention that there is a difference in the evaluation of alcohol consumption among the studies, since some studies evaluate low, moderate and high consumption 26 , some evaluate only moderate use 29,30 , some evaluate consumption doses 26,26,33 , and lastly, some evaluate frequency of consumption in days 26,33 , months 26 or years 27 , compared to individuals who have never consumed and/or individuals who stopped consuming alcohol.…”

Alcohol use and personality change in middle and older adulthood: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

“…It is thus possible that alcohol fosters Extraversion over time through social factors connected with drinking. Moreover, alcohol drinkers relative to those who never drank or have stopped drinking tend to report a better health status (Frisher et al, ; see also Green & Polen, ), which in turn helps to maintain a more (socially) active lifestyle. Contrary to our expectation, however, moderate alcohol drinking was not significantly associated with change in Conscientiousness or Openness.…”

The role of alcohol in identity construction among LGBT people: a qualitative study

“…Most (27 / 33) respondents reported their consumption was consistent with the ‘lower risk’ weekly drinking benchmark (14 units or less for women, 21 units or less for men; Department of Health , Royal College of Psychiatrists ) commonly used by UK researchers when data were collected (Frisher et al . , Holmes et al . ).…”