- Alcohol has a greater impact on drinkers over 65
- Pensioners who drink heavily are more likely to have falls and forget to take medication than younger people
By
Emma Innes
11:41 EST, 12 April 2013
|
11:43 EST, 12 April 2013
Older drinkers are more likely to suffer from memory loss and unsteadiness than their younger counterparts.
The warning comes after a new study showed than alcohol has a much greater impact on drinkers who are over 65-years-old than it does on teenagers.
Pensioners who drink heavily are more likely to have falls, accidents and to forget to take their medicine, according to a paper published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Older drinkers are more likely to suffer from memory loss and unsteadiness than young drinkers are
Researchers tested the impact of alcohol on lab rats and it concluded that the older ones were much more likely to suffer the ill-effects of drinking the than younger ones.
Dr Douglas Matthews, from the Baylor University in Texas, U.S., said: ‘Health implications such as falls, accidents and poor medicine-taking are pretty easy to conclude.
‘The experiment included adult and aged rats. It showed a dramatic increase in ethanol-induced ataxia – loss of co-ordination – in the older rats.’
The findings come at a time when excessive drinking is a serious problem in the UK.
A recent study from University College London revealed that millions of adults fool themselves into thinking they are modest
drinkers when they actually consume enough to be classed as ‘bingers’.
The study found a huge mismatch between the amount of alcohol we say we are consuming and what is actually being bought.
When the two figures are compared, 40 per cent of sales are unaccounted for.
The study suggests that around half the adult population are binge drinkers.
About half the British adult population are binge drinkers, yet most do not admit to over indulging in alcohol
However, only 13 per cent of women and 22 per cent of men admit to being in this category.
According
to the charity Drink Aware, binge drinking is defined as drinking at
least double the recommended daily allowance of alcohol most days of the
week.
Therefore, a woman
who drinks two large glasses of wine a day and a man who drinks three
pints of strong beer a day would both count as binge drinkers.as young as seven are being admitted to hospital with alcohol problems.
Other shocking figures revealed recently that dozens of under-10s have been
hospitalised suffering from mental and behavioural disorders due to
alcohol use.
A
Freedom of Information request to all of England’s 166 NHS hospital
trusts revealed a total of 380 children aged 10 or under were treated
for alcohol intoxication between 2008 and 2012.
Worryingly,
67 of the trusts approached either failed or refused to respond to the
Freedom of Information request, meaning the figures are likely to be
even higher.
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It’s a bit daft to say that pensioners who drink heavily forget to take their medicine, since many (possibly a majority) don’t need to take any medicines; pensioners are often much healthier and fitter than the mollycoddled younger generations, usually because they don’t drink heavily.
John one
,
Cannock,
12/4/2013 19:19
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we oldf olks done care
– eileen. , hull, United Kingdom, 12/4/2013
Hear, hear!
alan
,
uk, United Kingdom,
12/4/2013 19:19
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I’ve been doing this for years – I’m now 66 – and off out any minute now for a few relaxing jars – Aint retirement wonderful – CHEERS!!
Artful Codger
,
Canterbury, United Kingdom,
12/4/2013 19:16
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I should think that anyone with an average level of common sense would arrive at most of these conclusions without resorting to an expensive study….No wonder the country is in so much debt……
Paul
,
Hartlepool,
12/4/2013 19:12
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Now where did I put that bottle…
GHughes
,
Lancashire,
12/4/2013 19:02
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I don’t ever recall seeing am older person falling over drunk, but have seen hundreds of younger people do it. It’s alcohol, too much makes anyone forgetful and fall over, senior citizansa know how to handle drink, youngsters don’t. totally pointless artical DM.
Bunnythecat
,
Surrey, United Kingdom,
12/4/2013 18:55
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Old people need to drink to blot out the disgusting way the UK treat them, after a lifetime of work and paying into the system.
Get us out
,
Lincoln,
12/4/2013 18:51
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“Older drinkers are more likely to become forgetful and fall over than younger people†This is news? Older NON-drinkers are more likely to become forgetful and fall over than younger people, too. Cheers!
chas
,
Dover,
12/4/2013 18:49
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Drinking too much alcohol makes anyone of ANY age fall over and forget things!
Moderate drinking is fine. Who funds this kind of research and can’t they find something more useful and ground breaking to study?
john-stillatworkjust
,
london,
12/4/2013 18:42
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Shorry I have absholutly no inter inter interest in thish shurvey Hic can shumone help me up please
Beachboy
,
Calahonda Spain,
12/4/2013 18:37
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