Alcoholism and aging. 1. Epidemiology, clinical aspects and treatment

Demographic trends reveal the elderly to be the fastest growing segment of the population. Physicians can therefore anticipate to be faced with a growing number of older patients with alcohol-related problems. It is now being increasingly recognized that alcoholism does not only concern the young population, but can appear for the first time late in life. One third of older alcoholic people 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. In addition, as the number of the elderly increases, clinicians are more faced with patients who began drinking earlier in life and who continue to do so late on life. Furthermore, increasing age is associated with a higher prevalence of chronic disease and use of medication that may interact to amplify the effects of alcohol. Alcohol may cause or worsen chronic illnesses or symptoms such as insomnia, depression, and hypertension. On the other hand, older drinkers are therefore more likely to have adverse consequences of drinking at lower levels of alcohol consumption, and these consequences are likely to be more severe. In this paper, we review the prevalence of geriatric alcoholism, the drinking pattern seen in the elderly i.e., early vs. late onset alcoholism, and we expose the danger of alcohol problems underdiagnosis. In addition, we review the comorbidities associated with alcohol use and finally we discuss treatment options.