According to a recent article, binge drinking isn’t just something that underage teens and college kids engage in. Rather, there is a large number of older adults who indulge in binge drinking as well.

In one of the largest surveys conducted on substance use by researchers at Duke University Medical Center, the report (published in The American Journal of Psychiatry) found the following information to be true:

• 22 percent of men and 9 percent of women aged 50- 64 reported binge drinking (i.e. 5 or more drinks at a time) within the last month.
• The group aged 65 and up reported binge drinking in 14 percent of men and 3 percent of women.
• “At Risk” drinking was found in the 65+ age group with 13 percent of men and 8 percent of women qualifying as ‘at risk’.

According to Dr. Dan Blazer MD, PhD, the study’s lead author and JP Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke,

A surprising number of older Americans are engaging in drinking patterns that are putting their health at risk, yet these problems often go unrecognized.  With this study, we’ve learned that adults, especially those in their fifties, are carrying a heavier drinking burden into late life. [source]

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