Alcohol screening needed for elderly, expert says
Thursday 23rd June 2011
An alcohol screening programme to tackle the problem of drinking among the elderly should be introduced in the UK, according to one expert.
Research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists stated that older people are less able to process alcohol, recommending that the government lower the recommended drinking limit for older people to just 1.5 units per day.
Katherine Brown, head of research and communications at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said that "appropriate screening measures" are needed in order to detect such a problem.
She explained that alcohol problems can be difficult to detect among older people as they are often confused with symptoms of age-related illnesses such as dementia, incontinence, insomnia, falls and confusion.
Awareness of the problem should also be raised among healthcare professionals, Ms Brown notes.
"The government needs to look seriously at effective population-based measures that address the affordability, availability and promotion of alcohol," she said.
"With the ageing population in the UK, it makes sense that this huge public health problem is tackled effectively sooner rather than later."
The Royal College of Psychiatrists' research highlighted that one-third of older people with alcohol problems do not develop them until later life and that this is due to lifestyle changes such as retirement, bereavement or feelings of boredom, loneliness and depression.
On the back of these revelations, recommendations made by The Working Group include that GPs screen every person over the age of 65 for substance misuse as part of a routine health check.
Moreover, the organisation explained that current 'safe limits' are based on the alcohol tolerance of younger adults and do not take into account the physiological and metabolic changes linked to ageing, meaning these limits are too high for older people.
They therefore recommended that the safe limit is cut to 1.5 units per day for males - the equivalent to around half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine. It was also advised that the female limit is dropped to just one unit per day.
Written by Megan Smith
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