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Prevalence of use and alcohol abuse disorders in adults over 65 years: a systematic review

abstract

The aim of this study is to systematically study the prevalence data on alcohol use and abuse
disorders in the elderly. We have selected the prevalence studies in English or Spanish written
between 2008 and 2018 that provide data on the prevalence of alcohol use disorders and that
include people over 65 years of age, the final selection is 30 articles. The studies are found
in very heterogeneous prevalence rates, with measures between 0.7% and 5.2%, which can
reduce methodological differences. This review highlights that there is a negative correlation
between age and alcohol use and abuse disorders. Men suffer more from alcohol use and abuse
disorders than women. It is observed that culture plays a relevant role in alcohol use and abuse
disorders in the elderly. These disorders are increasingly frequent in the elderly population and
it is necessary to update the evaluation systems of the health services to improve the detection
of these problems and apply them to this group.

Keywords:

Alcohol use disorder; prevalence; epidemiology; older people.

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Authors

Andrea Contrisciani - Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Psicología Clínica Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Berta Ausín - Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Psicología Clínica Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid