Alcohol use among older hospital patients: findings from an Australian study

Data on alcohol use were obtained from structured interviews with hospital patients aged 65 and over. The cross-sectional sample (sex by age by region) was drawn from three hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Multivariate statistics and chi-square tests of proportion were used to analyse the data. Significant main effects were found for sex and age. The majority (65%) of the sample had consumed alcohol in the past year. Males were more likely than females to be current drinkers and also had a higher mean weekly alcohol intake than females. There was a significant fall in alcohol consumption with age. More males (25%) than females (6%) were found to be hazardous/harmful users of alcohol, and those in the 65-74-year age group had a higher incidence of problem alcohol use (20.8%) than those aged 75-84 (9.8%) and over 85 (4.9%). The results suggest a comparatively high incidence of problem alcohol use among older hospital patients and indicate the need for consumer education.