People Over 65 Should Limit their Drinking Habits: Royal College of Psychiatrists

Many of the medical groups and the government welfare programs mostly concentrate on alcohol abuse among teenagers and young adults. They often ignore the fact that older people too have some issues regarding substance abuse. However, the experts from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London focused on this point and found that there is a growing problem with substance abuse among older people, whom they describe as society’s “invisible addicts”.

According to the study, the researchers found that older adults aged above 65 tend to abuse alcohol as a result of big changes like retirement, feeling of boredom, depression and loneliness.

The report also says that older people are not able to process alcohol and the drink might also interact with the medicines they may be taking for other ailments. The problem will be even worse if they misuse the prescribed and over the counter medicines which can interact badly with alcohol. Also the changes undergone by the body due to the age makes them less able to cope up with the effects of alcohol.

Unlike in young drinkers the extent of drinking is hidden in case of older people since the majority of the older people drink in their own homes, according to the report.

The report is calling the government to issue advices on limiting or eliminating the drinking habit in older adults.

They also want the general practitioners to screen every person over 65 for substance misuse along with conducting some health campaigns on drugs especially targeting older people.