Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Older adults are common to have chronic health conditions, and alcohol consumption increases risk of illness and mortality. Reducing and stop consuming alcohol is recommended, especially those who have chronic health conditions. This study used an American national dataset, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2023, to investigate the alcohol consumption among older adults with chronic health conditions. Data were collected from 48 states by random-digit-dialing telephone calls. After removal of missing data, 119,193 non-institutionalized adults aged 65 years and above were included in the analysis. Most of them was female (53.2%) and 91.5% reported to have a health check within 12 months. They were categorized as having no chronic health condition (n = 8,416), one (n = 18,408), two (n = 26,347), and at least three chronic health conditions (n = 66,022). Older adults with one (mean = 5.85) or two (mean = 5.87) chronic health conditions reported a significantly higher mean day of alcohol consumption in past 30 days than those who had no (mean = 5.50) or at least three chronic health conditions (mean = 4.68). Older adults having at least three chronic health conditions consumed a significantly lower portion of alcohol per week (mean = 2.20) than those who had no (mean = 2.52), one (mean = 2.58), and two (mean = 2.64) chronic health conditions. In regression analysis, male (beta = 0.128-0.129), household income >= $50,000 (beta = 0.053-0.125), having college or higher education level (beta = 0.018-0.70), and self-perceived good or better health (beta = 0.043-0.081) were significant factors to increase mean day of alcohol consumption and portion of alcohol drinks. The findings showed that older adults with one or two chronic health conditions reported more alcohol consumption. Old men, high household income, high education level, and self-perceived good health consumed more alcohol. Although previous studies showed that self-perceived good health increased the likelihood to practice healthy lifestyles, our study showed that older adults with self-perceived good health increased alcohol consumption. Hence, the education of alcohol-related harm should be enhanced in regular health checks to increase the older adult’s awareness.
Notes
References:
1. Chowdhury, S. R., Chandra Das, D., Sunna, T. C., Beyene, J., & Hossain, A. (2023). Global and regional prevalence of multimorbidity in the adult population in community settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinical Medicine, 57, 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101860
2. Anderson, B. O., Berdzuli, N., Ilbawi, A., Kestel, D., Kluge, H. P., Krech, R., Mikkelsen, B., Neufeld, M., Poznyak, V., Rekve, D., Slama, S., Tello, J., & Ferreira-Borges, C. (2023). Health and cancer risks associated with low levels of alcohol consumption. The Lancet. Public health, 8(1), e6–e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00317-6
3. Tam, H. L., Chair, S. Y., Leung, I. S. H., Leung, L. Y. L., & Chan, A. S. W. (2023). US Adults Practicing Healthy Lifestyles Before and During COVID-19: Comparative Analysis of National Surveys. JMIR public health and surveillance, 9, e45697. https://doi.org/10.2196/45697
Sigma Membership
Pi Iota at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Public and Community Health, Primary Care, Adults, Older Adults, Alcohol Consumption, Chronic Health Conditions
Recommended Citation
Tam, Hon Lon and Leung, Leona Yuen Ling, "Alcohol Consumption Among Older Adults With Chronic Health Conditions: A National Study" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 141.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/141
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Alcohol Consumption Among Older Adults With Chronic Health Conditions: A National Study
Seattle, Washington, USA
Older adults are common to have chronic health conditions, and alcohol consumption increases risk of illness and mortality. Reducing and stop consuming alcohol is recommended, especially those who have chronic health conditions. This study used an American national dataset, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2023, to investigate the alcohol consumption among older adults with chronic health conditions. Data were collected from 48 states by random-digit-dialing telephone calls. After removal of missing data, 119,193 non-institutionalized adults aged 65 years and above were included in the analysis. Most of them was female (53.2%) and 91.5% reported to have a health check within 12 months. They were categorized as having no chronic health condition (n = 8,416), one (n = 18,408), two (n = 26,347), and at least three chronic health conditions (n = 66,022). Older adults with one (mean = 5.85) or two (mean = 5.87) chronic health conditions reported a significantly higher mean day of alcohol consumption in past 30 days than those who had no (mean = 5.50) or at least three chronic health conditions (mean = 4.68). Older adults having at least three chronic health conditions consumed a significantly lower portion of alcohol per week (mean = 2.20) than those who had no (mean = 2.52), one (mean = 2.58), and two (mean = 2.64) chronic health conditions. In regression analysis, male (beta = 0.128-0.129), household income >= $50,000 (beta = 0.053-0.125), having college or higher education level (beta = 0.018-0.70), and self-perceived good or better health (beta = 0.043-0.081) were significant factors to increase mean day of alcohol consumption and portion of alcohol drinks. The findings showed that older adults with one or two chronic health conditions reported more alcohol consumption. Old men, high household income, high education level, and self-perceived good health consumed more alcohol. Although previous studies showed that self-perceived good health increased the likelihood to practice healthy lifestyles, our study showed that older adults with self-perceived good health increased alcohol consumption. Hence, the education of alcohol-related harm should be enhanced in regular health checks to increase the older adult’s awareness.
Description
The analysis of national dataset showed that most of the older adults had chronic health conditions. More alcohol consumption in terms of day per month and portion per week was reported among those who had one or two chronic health conditions. Health care providers should increase their awareness of alcohol-related harm to slow the progress of having more chronic health conditions among older adults who have had chronic health conditions.