Abstract
In view of the situation where an increasing number of old women as well as old men have health problems associated with drinking, some measures should be taken in terms of setting sensible limits of alcoholic intake for these people to keep to, the Report of Kenko (Health) Nippon 21 for 2011 warned. It also suggested that further studies be made to amass necessary data in order to introduce effective measures and give a right assessment to the situation.
The present study was carried out with the aim of providing fundamental pieces of information usable in primary prevention of alcohol-related health problems among the aged. For this purpose, we looked into the drinking habits as well as the numerical data of vital and liver functions tests of old people in a rural area in Yokote, Akita Prefecture. A total of 448 old people (206 men, 242 women) were involved in this study. Nineteen items out of 25 in the Kihon-Checklist, which was designed to reduce the need for nursing care, revealed notable decreases in vital functions in those men who took in over 21 grams of alcohol per day. Of those men specially categorized as individuals who are 65 and older and who are regarded as very likely to need nursing care in the near future, 88.9% took in 21 grams of alcohol. In women, there was no relation between drinking habits, BMI and liver functions. However, it was found that daily alcoholic consumption was greater in those specially categorized group of women at high risk for institutional care than in the other women.
Our study made it clear that drinking habits, which were found to bear on liver and vital functions, could serve as a yardstick for judging whether the old people are at high risk for institutional care. We concluded that it is necessary to spread the knowledge about the adverse effects of alcohol among the elderly and advise them to act their age and drink in moderation even before they enter advanced age.
