Foster, John ORCID: 0000-0002-7662-8203 and Patel, Swatee (2019) Prevalence of simultaneous use of alcohol and prescription medication in older adults: Findings from a cross-sectional survey (Health Survey for England 2013). BMJ Open, 9:e023730. pp. 1-9. ISSN 0959-8138 (Print), 1756-1833 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023730)

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Abstract

Title:
Prevalence of simultaneous use of alcohol and prescription medication in older adults: Findings from a cross-sectional survey (Health Survey for England 2013).

Objectives:
To investigate the concurrent use of ‘at-risk’ (AR) drinking (>10 units of alcohol per week) and prescription medications, while controlling for socio-demographic, and health related factors, amongst older adults (aged 65-89).

Design:
Cross-sectional survey.

Setting:
Data from Health Survey of England (HSE), 2013.

Interventions:
None.

Participants:
General population survey of 2169 adults aged 65-89 years.
Primary Outcome Measures:
AR drinking, (>10 units per week). Secondary outcome was AR drinking defined as more than 14 units of alcohol per week limit (the cut off used by the Department of Health for at-risk drinking).

Results:
Twenty seven percent (n=568) of the sample were AR drinkers. Factors associated with alcohol consumption were gender, age, social class, marital status, rurality of dwelling, deprivation index, self-reported general health, cigarette smoking, BMI, exercise level, health and well-being scores’ and number of prescription drugs. Logistic regression analysis showed that males were more likely to be AR drinkers (OR 3.44, 95% CI 2.59 to 4.57, p<0.0001) than females. Each year increase in age, lowered the probability of AR drinking by a factor of 0.95 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.98, p<0.0001). Using prescription drugs reduced AR drinking by a factor of 0.92 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.93, p=0.033), after controlling for age, sex, and rurality of dwelling. No other predictors were significant. Similar results were obtained for AR drinking of >14 units per week.

Conclusion:
AR drinking is more likely in older men than women. The odds of AR drinking lessens, as individuals age, and using prescription drugs also reduces AR drinking.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Alcohol, Older People, Epidemiology, National Survey
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Health & Society Research Group Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Health Sciences (HEA)
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2021 21:02
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/23809

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