Drug-Alcohol Interactions in Older U.S. Adults

Objectives To characterize the extent and nature of drug–alcohol interactions in older U.S. adults. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Community. Participants Nationally representative population‐based sample of community‐dwelling older adults (N = 2,975). Measurements Regular drinkers were defined as...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) 2015-11, Vol.63 (11), p.2324-2331
Main Authors: Qato, Dima Mazen, Manzoor, Beenish S., Lee, Todd A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
aging
Alcohol
Alcoholic Beverages - adverse effects
Analgesics - adverse effects
Antidepressive Agents - adverse effects
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drug Interactions
Drug use
Female
Geriatrics
Humans
Independent Living
Male
Middle Aged
Pharmacology
prescription drug abuse and misuse
Side effects
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objectives To characterize the extent and nature of drug–alcohol interactions in older U.S. adults. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Community. Participants Nationally representative population‐based sample of community‐dwelling older adults (N = 2,975). Measurements Regular drinkers were defined as respondents who consumed alcohol at least weekly. Medication use was defined as the use of a prescription or nonprescription medication or dietary supplement at least daily or weekly. Micromedex was used to determine drug interactions with alcohol and their corresponding severity. Results One thousand one hundred six (41%) of the participants consumed alcohol regularly, and 567 (20%) were at‐risk for a drug–alcohol interaction because they were regular drinkers and concurrently using alcohol‐interacting medications. More than 90% of these interactions were of moderate or major severity. Antidepressants and analgesics were the most commonly used alcohol‐interacting medications in regular drinkers. Older adult men with multiple chronic conditions had the highest prevalence of potential drug–alcohol interactions. Conclusion The potential for drug–alcohol interactions in the older U.S. adult population may have important clinical implications. Efforts to better understand and prevent the use of alcohol‐interacting medications by regular drinkers, particularly heavy drinkers, are warranted in this population.
ISSN:0002-8614
1532-5415
DOI:10.1111/jgs.13787