Alcohol and aging: Considerations for older adults

Drinking alcohol poses various health and safety risks for older adults, such as exacerbating balance problems and increasing fall risk. This is due in part to the physical effects of aging.

Having a couple of drinks with friends or to unwind at the end of the day is a standard practice among many adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that consuming any amount of alcohol poses health risks. However, moderate consumption (up to 2 drinks per day for men and 1 for women) reduces these risks compared with excessive drinking.

But as people age, the risks of alcohol consumption and its effects on the body evolve.

While alcohol consumption can be potentially harmful for individuals of any age, there are particular concerns for older adults.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, older adults who may have drunk regularly during their younger years may notice new effects from drinking as they get older.

Two drinks for a person who is age 75 may lead to a higher blood alcohol concentration than those same drinks might have when the individual was age 50.

This is partly due to physical and mental changes that people naturally experience as they grow older.

These intense effects of alcohol can pose a range of safety concerns for older adults.

Many older adults experience issues with balance due to physical changes such as a loss of muscle mass and diminished range of motion. Adding the heightened effects of alcohol to this equation can increase the fall risk that some older adults face.

According to the CDC, 1 in 4 people over the age of 65 years experiences a fall each year. And falling can have life changing consequences. Lower bone density makes fractures more likely.

Falling is not the only potential safety concern. Alcohol slows reaction time and reduces coordination, exposing older adults to a range of other potential accidents, including automobile accidents.

Alcohol misuse can worsen or contribute to mental health conditions in older adults, such as depression. Some older adults face a variety of life stressors and circumstances that may lead to using alcohol as a coping mechanism.

But using alcohol in this way may have the opposite effect and exacerbate the adverse emotions that a person hopes it might soften.

Additionally, alcohol is a habit-forming substance. Excessive consumption can lead to dependence, and the higher blood alcohol concentrations that people may experience in older age can accelerate the rate of dependence.

Sustained over a long time, alcohol can have a range of adverse health effects on the body.

It can increase the risk of certain types of cancer and damage the liver and brain. It can also worsen conditions such as osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Older adults are already at elevated risk of many chronic health conditions. Finally, alcohol may interact with medications that people take.

Healthcare professionals have associated alcohol with adverse health effects on the brain, liver, and cardiovascular system.

In recent years, scientists have been investigating how alcohol consumption affects aging.

In a study published in 2023, scientists from Northwestern Medicine looked at how different types of alcohol and consumption levels may affect four measures of epigenetic aging. (“Epigenetic” means how genes react to certain environmental and behavioral factors.) They found that routine liquor consumption and binge drinking, in particular, had notable effects on aging.

A 2022 study also looked at the genetic effects of drinking — specifically telomere length — and found that consuming alcohol accelerates aging by damaging DNA.

There is no amount of alcohol that experts consider “safe.”

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that older adults avoid drinking alcohol altogether or limit consumption to 2 drinks per day for men or 1 drink per day for women.

Limiting alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of experiencing its associated health effects.

Many older adults drink alcohol. The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that 57.5% of adults over the age of 65 years drank alcohol in the past year.

But as people age, their bodies change. One of the changes they may experience is an increased sensitivity to alcohol. This means older adults have different risks to consider related to alcohol consumption.

Reduced coordination, balance difficulties, and cognitive impairment have different implications for older adults than they might for younger adults.

There is also a risk of alcohol misuse among older adults — particularly when people consume it as a response to challenging life events or circumstances.