How the risks of drinking increase in older age

Drinking is harmful to your health at any age. But as you get older, the risks become greater—even with the same amount of drinks.

- Mohana Ravindranath

Alcohol affects "virtually every organ system in the body," including the muscles and blood vessels, digestive system, heart and brain, said Professor Sara Jo Nixon, director of the Center for Addiction Research & Education at the University of Florida. "It particularly impacts older adults because there's already some decline or impact in those areas."

There is "a whole different set" of health risk factors for older drinkers, said Professor Paul Sacco, who teaches social work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and studies substance use and aging. People might not realize that the drinks they used to tolerate well are affecting their brains and bodies differently, he added.

Alcohol can present new problems in older age, particularly at 65 and older, for even light or occasional drinkers.

Older adults tend to have less muscle mass and retain less water in their tissues compared with younger people, which can increase blood alcohol concentration, said Dr. Aaron White, a senior adviser at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). This means it takes fewer drinks for older people to feel intoxicated, and heightens the risk of severe injury from falls.

According to Prof. Nixon's research, older people also show deficits in working memory at lower blood alcohol concentrations than younger drinkers. In another study she worked on, some older adults in driving simulations showed signs of impairment after less than one drink.