By Mohana Ravindranath
Drinking is harmful to your health at any age. But as you get older, the risks become greater 鈥 even with the same amount of drinks.
Alcohol affects 鈥渧irtually every organ system in the body,鈥 including the muscles and blood vessels, digestive system, heart and brain, said Sara Jo Nixon, the director of the Center for Addiction Research & Education at the University of Florida. 鈥淚t particularly impacts older adults, because there鈥檚 already some decline or impact in those areas.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole different set鈥 of health risk factors for older drinkers, said Paul Sacco, a professor of social work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore who studies substance use and aging. People might not realize that the drinks they used to tolerate well are now affecting their brains and bodies differently, he said.
Alcohol can present new problems in older age 鈥 particularly at 65 and up 鈥 for even light or occasional drinkers. Older adults tend to have less muscle mass and retain less water in their tissues compared with younger people, which can increase blood alcohol concentration, said Aaron White, a senior advisor at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This means it takes fewer drinks for older people to feel intoxicated, and heightens the risk of severe injury from falls.