Binge Drinking a Problem for Older Persons.

Binge drinking in the elderly is underreported and is a cause for alarm, new research suggests.

A national cohort study of more than 4800 adults older than 64 years showed that almost 10% reported binge drinking ― defined as having 5 or more drinks in 1 sitting for men and 4 or more drinks in a single sitting for women ― in the previous 30 days.

The author states, "I actually think this number would be much higher where we are in South Miami. I've worked in the nursing homes there, and you just see it. A lot of the health problems, such as falls, are due to alcohol consumption, and often they're sneaking it in."

The results were presented last week at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 2014 Annual Meeting.