Exploring risky drinking and knowledge of safe drinking guidelines in older adults

Abstract

Background: Risky drinking criteria in older adults lack consistency across the literature. The variable definitions of risk have contributed in part, to widely differing prevalence estimates for risky drinking, ranging from 1% to 15%. Objectives: (1) To identify the prevalence of different types of risky drinking by applying several different criteria, (2) To investigate whether older adults have knowledge of the National Health and Medical Research Council recommended guidelines for safe drinking. Methods: The study population consisted of community dwelling past-year drinkers (n = 292) aged ≥60 years. Participants completed a postal survey on alcohol consumption using the AUDIT-C. Results..