This puts older adults at higher risk for falls, car crashes, and other injuries that may result from drinking. Research suggests that women may be more susceptible than men to the adverse effects of alcohol. For older adults, clues to a possible alcohol problem may include memory loss, depression, anxiety, poor appetite, unexplained bruises, falls, sleeping problems, and inattention to cleanliness or appearance. If you are concerned about your own drinking patterns or those of a loved one, talk to a health care provider. In support of improving patient care, CME/CE activities offered have been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. We invite healthcare professionals to complete a post-test to earn FREE continuing education credit (CME/CE or ABIM MOC).
- Alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harms are also increasing among this population, and at a faster rate for women than men.
- This continuing education opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA.
- We invite healthcare professionals to complete a post-test to earn FREE continuing education credit (CME/CE or ABIM MOC).
- The resources below can help alert you and your patients to important potential risks.
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As a result, older adults could develop alcohol-related problems at lower drinking amounts than younger people. To earn AMA, AAPA, ANCC, ACPE, or ABIM MOC credit, review this article, then use the link below to log into or create a CME University account. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form.
Download the free 20-page booklet, “Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol & Your Health”.
We provide links to resources to help you mitigate these risks, including a consensus-developed list of potentially serious alcohol-medication interactions in older adults. Beyond the examples noted above, alcohol has the potential to interact negatively with many other commonly prescribed medications. The resources below can help alert you and your patients to important potential risks. If you are an older adult who consumes alcohol, it is important to talk to your doctor to determine if you may be taking medications that could interact with alcohol or have a health condition that could be made worse by consuming alcohol. Alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harms are also increasing among this population, and at a faster rate for women than men. Alcohol misuse refers to drinking in a manner, situation, amount, or frequency that could cause harm to the person who drinks or to those around them.
If you have additional questions about CME/CE certification, please contact the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) at email protected. In the United States, a “standard drink” (also known as an alcoholic drink equivalent) is defined as any beverage containing 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol. NIAAA supports and conducts research on the impact of alcohol use on human health and well-being.
Prevalence of Past-Year Drinking
Similarly, many adults experience problems with the duration and quality of their sleep as they age. These problems may lead some older adults to self-medicate with alcohol in an attempt to improve their sleep. Drinking to help with poor sleep, however, can actually make sleep problems worse. In addition, due to changes in the body, such as reduced muscle mass and body water, some older adults may reach higher blood alcohol concentrations than younger people after consuming the same amount of alcohol.
People Ages 12 and Older
In closing, combining alcohol with certain medications, particularly those older adults national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism niaaa with sedative effects, can increase the risk of adverse events, including falls, driving accidents, and fatal overdoses. The more alcohol a patient consumes, the greater the risk for alcohol and medication interactions. Universal screening, careful prescribing choices, and patient education can help minimize the risks of combining alcohol with certain medications. Asking patients about their alcohol use provides opportunities to discuss potential interactions with medications, to advise changes in their drinking if indicated, and to connect them with further resources as needed. Fortunately, educating patients about the risks of combining medications with alcohol may help them avoid negative outcomes. Here, we describe briefly how alcohol and medications can interact, and we provide a few examples of common medications that could interact negatively with alcohol.
Learn about U.S. guidelines for drinking
Alcohol misuse includes binge drinking and heavy alcohol use as well as consumption at lower levels for some individuals. Although some older adults may have enjoyed a certain amount of alcohol on a regular basis for years without any apparent problems, they might notice that they now feel the effects of alcohol are more pronounced and come on more quickly. As people age, changes in their bodies, as well as in their physical and mental health, may cause alcohol to affect them differently than when they were younger and put them at greater risk for negative consequences. Understanding how alcohol affects the health of older adults can help them and their health care providers make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
This continuing education opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care. Many people enjoy a drink now and then when socializing with friends and family. Knowing your personal drinking pattern can help you understand if alcohol will affect your health.
- In addition, online interaction checkers allow one to search easily for interactions between alcohol and most medications.
- Universal screening, careful prescribing choices, and patient education can help minimize the risks of combining alcohol with certain medications.
- Knowing your personal drinking pattern can help you understand if alcohol will affect your health.
- Drinking to help with poor sleep, however, can actually make sleep problems worse.
- Similarly, many adults experience problems with the duration and quality of their sleep as they age.
- Beyond the examples noted above, alcohol has the potential to interact negatively with many other commonly prescribed medications.
Whether and how alcohol affects a medication’s safety and effectiveness should be noted on the medication’s prescribing label. Labels for medications are available from the DailyMed website provided by the NIH’s National Library of Medicine as well as from Drugs@FDA. In addition, online interaction checkers allow one to search easily for interactions between alcohol and most medications. For reviews of interaction checkers for healthcare professionals, see this 2016 article, which compares the accuracy and completeness of five common software programs, and this 2021 article, which compares the scope, completeness, and consistency of eight drug interaction resources. These interactions could cause the medications to not work properly or make them dangerous or even deadly. For example, medications used to treat anxiety, pain, or sleep problems have sedating effects that could further increase the risk of falls, injuries, and overdoses, as well as memory impairments, when combined with alcohol.
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov. Older people are more sensitive to the sedative (sleep-inducing) effects of alcohol, as well as its effects on balance, coordination, attention, and driving skills.
