NEW YORK: People over 50 who are healthy, active, sociable and highly educated are at more risk of harmful drinking than their less well-off peers, according to research. A study of more than 9,000 people has concluded that drinking among the over-50s is a hidden “middle class” phenomenon, which should be targeted with explicit age-specific guidelines on consumption.
“Our findings suggest that harmful drinking in later life is more prevalent among people who exhibit a lifestyle associated with affluence and with a ‘successful’ aging process. Harmful drinking may then be a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people. Consequently, and based on our results, we recommend the explicit incorporation of alcohol drinking levels and patterns into the successful aging paradigm,” said…