Binge drinking and mortality among older adults: Findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey linked to the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database.

BACKGROUND

Binge drinking is a growing public health concern among older adults, yet research has disproportionately focused on younger adults. The relationship between binge drinking and mortality among older adults represents a critical research gap.

OBJECTIVES

(1) To examine the association between binge drinking frequency and mortality among older adults; (2) To identify whether this relationship is attenuated by controlling for various sociodemographic and health factors.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the 2005-2014 Canadian Community Health Survey linked to the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database. The final sample was restricted to adults aged 50 and older who reported consuming an alcoholic drink at least once per month (n = 129,470). A series of Cox regression models was conducted to examine the associations between binge drinking and other potential covariates with the time to all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

Most of the sample did not engage in binge drinking (60.1%), while 21.2% engaged in binge drinking less than once per month, 10.7% engaged in binge drinking one to three times per month, and 8.0% engaged in binge drinking once per week or more. Those who had never engaged in binge drinking in the preceding year had significantly lower mortality risk (HR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.74-0.90; p < .0001) compared to those who engaged in binge drinking once a week or more after sociodemographics and health-related covariates were taken into account.

CONCLUSION

Binge drinking frequency is associated with an increased mortality risk among older adults. Targeted interventions and screening campaigns are needed to address binge drinking among older adults.