Written by Dominic Yetman, Dailymail.Com
19:02 March 31, 2024, updated 19:03 March 31, 2024
- Doctors warn of demographic time bomb as hedonistic baby boomers continue their drinking habits into old age
- This group now accounts for well the most alcohol-related deaths of any age group
- People aged 55 to 64 now drink more alcohol than their parents, and doctors are concerned about the increasing burden on medical services as the population ages.
- And the long-term effects of increased drinking during the pandemic are expected to last for years to come
As drinking takes its toll on the “drug-abusing generation,” aging baby boomers are realizing that carefree youth are catching up with them.
Alcohol-related deaths among people over 55 increased by 237 percent between 1999 and 2020, and the stress of the pandemic is making the situation even worse.
The wealthy are at least as vulnerable in this crisis, their social status ignored, and analysts say the country is facing a public health crisis as boomers flood emergency rooms. I'm warning you that there is.
Dr. George Korb of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says, “If baby boomers are consuming alcohol at the same levels as previous generations, the sheer size of the population means that alcohol-related The harm will increase significantly.”
“Drinking rates among this age group have only increased by 15.7 percent, but the actual number of people drinking has increased by 80.2 percent.”
Alcohol consumption in the United States peaked in 1980, when the boomer generation was at its peak.
But instead of cutting back, older Americans seem to be reinforcing bad habits from their youth, with binge drinking among this age group increasing by 40% in the 15 years ending in 2018.
And women are rapidly closing the gap with men in both alcohol consumption and binge drinking.
Alcohol consumption among older men increased by 0.7% annually from 1997 to 2014, while among women it increased by 1.6% annually.
“Boomers are the drug-using generation,” Keith Humphries, a psychologist and addiction researcher at Stanford University, told the New York Times.
“Women have been the driving force for change in this age group.”
He said baby boomer women entered the workforce in large numbers at a time when drinking was central to the culture and people had more disposable income.
“Contrary to stereotypes, drinking rates are higher among those who are middle class or above educated,” he explained.
“Women who are currently retired are more likely to drink alcohol than their mothers and grandmothers.”
More than 178,000 Americans died from alcohol in 2021, an increase of nearly one-third in just two years.
Of these, 38% were over 65, but experts fear the true toll of the pandemic is yet to be felt to the extent that the effects of lockdown drinking are felt.
As coronavirus restrictions took hold, the number of deaths directly attributable to alcohol, emergency department visits, and alcohol sales per capita skyrocketed.
A May 2020 survey found that 1 in 10 older adults drank more alcohol each week than before, and respondents who reported feeling lonely or had symptoms of anxiety or depression were more likely to drink less alcohol than before. It was found that the probability of an increase was doubled.
And people who suffer from all three of loneliness, anxiety, and depression are 3.8 times more likely to drink alcohol.
“Many stressors affected us, including loneliness and worries about illness,” Dr. Korb said.
“They point out that people are drinking more to cope with that stress.”
And experts worry that older boomers may not be aware that their bodies can't handle alcohol as well as they once did.
“The same amount of alcohol has even more dire consequences for older adults,” said Dr. David Oslin of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.
“As we get older, we think more slowly, our reaction times slow, our cognitive abilities decline, our cardiovascular and kidney disease worsens, and if we drink alcohol for many years, we are more likely to develop certain types of cancer. .”
And he worries that older people, under the influence of the drugs they must take to deal with age-related symptoms, are relenting to drinking.
Combining painkillers and sleep aids with alcohol can cause excessive sedation, and waiting a few hours before taking them may not be enough.
“These drugs are in your body all day long, so if you drink alcohol, there will be an interaction,” he added.
But Medicare, on which many seniors depend, does not provide the same coverage for substance use disorders as it does for other medical conditions, making it difficult for many to access help.
“Age is actually the best predictor of a positive test,” Dr. Oslin says.
“Treatment doesn't necessarily mean abstinence. We work with people to reduce their drinking.”