Elderly and Hispanic? Put down that alcohol!

If you’re a Hispanic male and considered a senior citizen, new data suggests you might be among the surprising number of elderly people who binge drink.

According to a recent presentation from at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) 2014 Annual Meeting, the number of seniors who binge drink in the United States has previously been underestimated, and as many as 10 percent of people over the age of 64 participate in this dangerous habit.

“I was very surprised by some of these results, especially that 466 elderly people were binge drinking,” lead author Roopali B. Parikh, MD, told Medscape Medical News.

The 466 elderly patients who were binge drinking came from a poll of 4800 adults over the age of 64. Binge drinking, as defined by the study, meant almost 500 participants 5 or more drinks in 1 sitting for men and 4 or more drinks in a single sitting for women over the last 30 days.

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“I actually think this number would be much higher where we are in South Miami. I’ve worked in the nursing homes there, and you just see it. A lot of the health problems, such as falls, are due to alcohol consumption, and often they’re sneaking it in,” added study co-investigator, Yusef Canaan, MD.

Study authors indicate that binge drinking among the elderly has been seriously underrepresented in the media, and while binge drinking on its own carries a number of potential health consequences, doctors and family members should be particularly concerned about seniors because of this part of the population tends to be on a number of medications.

Those most at-risk for binge drinking over the age of 64 include men, Hispanics, and those who have a veteran status. Hispanics had more than double the rate of senior binge drinking compared to other ethnicities (5.2 percent versus 2.2 percent), and approximately 64 percent of men in the study binge drank compared to approximately 45 percent of women.

Individuals who were of low economic status and those without college educations also had an increased likelihood of binge drinking later in life.

The health risks for seniors who binge drink

Binge drinking isn’t a healthy habit regardless of age, and seniors are no exception. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), binge drinking not only increases alcohol-related accident risks, like falling or car crashes, it poses a threat to the body’s organs over time.

Heavy drinking can cause:

• Cardiomyopathy – Stretching and drooping of heart muscle.
• Arrhythmias – Irregular heart beat.
• Stroke.
• High blood pressure.
• Steatosis, or fatty liver.
• Alcoholic hepatitis.
• Fibrosis.
• Cirrhosis.
• Cancer of the breast, throat, liver, mouth, and esophagus.

In addition to these health consequences, mixing alcohol and medication offers a completely different risk set for seniors.