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Heavy Drinking as a Risk Factor for Depression and Dementia in Elderly Men

Findings from the Liverpool Longitudinal Community Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Paul A. Saunders ,
John R. M. Copeland ,
Michael E. Dewey ,
Ian A. Davidson ,
Christopher Mcwilliam ,
Vimal Sharma  and
Caroline Sullivan
Paul A. Saunders*
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry & Institute of Human Ageing, Royal Liverpool Hospital, PO Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX
John R. M. Copeland
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry & Institute of Human Ageing, Royal Liverpool Hospital
Michael E. Dewey
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry & Institute of Human Ageing, Royal Liverpool Hospital
Ian A. Davidson
Affiliation:
Royal Liverpool Hospital
Christopher Mcwilliam
Affiliation:
Leighton Hospital, Crewe
Vimal Sharma
Affiliation:
Walton Hospital, Liverpool
Caroline Sullivan
Affiliation:
Liverpool Rotational Training Scheme
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

A random community sample of subjects aged 65 and over was re-interviewed after three years by psychiatrists using the GMS and HAS. The relationship between drinking history and current psychiatric morbidity was examined. Men with a history of heavy drinking for five years or more at some time in their lives were found to have a greater than fivefold risk of suffering from a psychiatric disorder at the time of the interview. Among this group past alcohol consumption was significantly higher for those with a current psychiatric diagnosis compared with those who were well. This association between heavy alcohol consumption in earlier years and psychiatric morbidity in later life is not explained by current drinking habits.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 159 , Issue 2 , August 1991 , pp. 213 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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