Binge drinking has become nearly synonymous with college students, but a study out today shows a significant, worrisome level of binge drinking among those age 50 to 64 as well.
Working with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Duke University researchers report that 22% of men and 9% of women ages 50 to 64 engaged in binge drinking — five or more drinks at a time — within the past month of the survey. The research, based on a survey of 11,000 men and women that took place in 2005 and 2006, is reported today in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The survey also found that 19% of the men and 13% of the women had two or more drinks a day, considered heavy or “at-risk” drinking under American Geriatric Society guidelines for older people.
Dan Blazer, the study’s lead author and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke, says that level of drinking places the older group at more of a health risk than younger counterparts.
“They don’t metabolize alcohol as quickly, they may be on medications, or they may have some health problems that alcohol may contribute to,” Blazer says. “On average, if a young person drinks five beers and an older person drinks five beers, the older person is almost certainly going to have more difficulty.”
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This is crazy! I thought that once we graduated that the idea of binge drinking pretty much ended. I can’t imagine getting wasted as an full fledged adult just from the idea of feeling so stinky in the morning!
Personally, I think drinking has reached ‘epidemic’ status. Binging might be on one end of the scale, but the numbers of folks that indulge on a daily basis has to be staggering.
College kids do get a lot of attention and that’s because they don’t try to be discreet. One of my daughter’s friends upon reaching 21, went out to celebrate her birthday and she drank so much…they had to rush her to the hospital…she had alcohol poisioning.
And the girls that she shares an apartment near campus with celebrated their 21st birthday by stocking the fridge with bottles of alcohol and by purchasing a blender; for a straight month in the evenings after class they partied and mixed drinks.
Now, I have a neighbor who rarely goes out…he’s retired. However, a few times a week he takes a short trip to the ‘ABC’ store…when he returns the package gives him away…
The more mature young adult and the senior adult may manage their drinking habits a bit more discreetly, but this lifestyle is embraced by both the young and the old; and it’s way out of control.