Articles and Expertise

Aging and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA): Anyone at any age can have a drinking problem. Great Uncle George may have always been a heavy drinker--his family may find that as he gets older the problem gets worse. Grandma Betty may have been a teetotaler all her life...

Alcohol & Aging (NIAAA): Persons age 65 and older constitute the fastest growing segment of the American population. Although the extent of alcoholism among the elderly is debated, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems are likely to become increasingly important as the elderly population grows...

Alcohol-Medication Interactions (NIAAA): Many medications can interact with alcohol, leading to increased risk of illness, injury, or death. For example, it is estimated that alcohol-medication interactions may be a factor in at least 25 percent of all emergency room admissions (1). An unknown number of less serious interactions may go unrecognized or unrecorded...

American Family Physician - Alcoholism in the Elderly: Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are common but underrecognized problems among older adults. One third of older alcoholic persons develop a problem with alcohol in later life, while the other two thirds grow older with the medical and psychosocial sequelae of early-onset alcoholism. The common definitions of alcohol abuse and dependence may not apply as readily to older persons who have retired or have few social contacts...

Healthy Me: Seniors and Alcohol Use: If you're over 60, you may use alcohol in much the way you did when you were younger. You may have a glass of wine at a meal, a beer or two at a ball game, or a gin and tonic at a party with friends. And if your doctor says it's fine for you to drink, there's nothing wrong with it...

Debra Jay – No More Letting Go. Debra's new book, published by Bantam. The spirituality of taking action against alcoholism and drug addiction.

Invisible Epidemic: It’s being called an “invisible epidemic” by some health care experts – the growing number of senior citizens with out-of-control drinking problems. According to “Inebriated Elders,” an article published in the University of Illinois Elder Law Journal ...

Under the Rug: Substance Abuse and The Mature Woman: This report is the first comprehensive analysis of substance abuse and addiction involving alcohol, prescription drugs and tobacco among the 25.6 million mature American women...

USA Today - More seniors are addicted to prescription drugs: The abuse of prescription drugs has taken place quietly among a segment of the population where you'd least expect it: the elderly. "I call it the silent epidemic," says Ruth Sanchez-Way, director of the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention...

When Seniors Drink: Alcoholism and the Elderly: Since his wife died six months ago, John, age 83, has begun to drink more and more. Lately, he even forgets to shower and change his clothes. He seems angry all of the time and cries a lot. Between 1.1 and 2.3 million senior citizens use alcohol to deal with grief and loneliness...

Addicted in Academe: My drinking began on an academic, or at least a literary, note. Like many good students, I wasn't interested in alcohol while I was in high school, but I was interested in its glamour and its guarantee of a fascinating and sexual adulthood...