Drug-Alcohol Interactions in Older U.S. Adults

To characterize the extent and nature of drug-alcohol interactions in older U.S. adults.

Cross-sectional.

Community.

Nationally representative population-based sample of community-dwelling older adults (N = 2,975).

Regular drinkers were defined as respondents who consumed alcohol at least weekly. Medication use was defined as the use of a prescription or nonprescription medication or dietary supplement at least daily or weekly. Micromedex was used to determine drug interactions with alcohol and their corresponding severity.

One thousand one hundred six (41%) of the participants consumed alcohol regularly, and 567 (20%) were at-risk for a drug-alcohol interaction because they were regular drinkers and concurrently using alcohol-interacting medications. More than 90% of these interactions were of moderate or major severity. Antidepressants and analgesics were the most commonly used alcohol-interacting medications in regular drinkers. Older adult men with multiple chronic conditions had the highest prevalence of potential drug-alcohol interactions.

The potential for drug-alcohol interactions in the older U.S. adult population may have important clinical implications. Efforts to better understand and prevent the use of alcohol-interacting medications by regular drinkers, particularly heavy drinkers, are warranted in this population.