Klein S, Iber F L
Department of Nutrition, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois 60141.
Nutrition. 1991 Mar-Apr;7(2):75-9.
Although most free-living people over age 55 yr use alcohol occasionally, both the fraction of people drinking and the magnitude of individual alcohol consumption decrease with every decade of age. Overall, approximately 5% of drinkers over age 55 yr use alcohol at excessive levels, i.e., sufficient to interfere with health or social functioning. As age increases, the fraction of drinkers with alcohol-caused central nervous system disease and cirrhosis increases, indicating increased sensitivity to alcohol injury. Beyond age 70 yr, new-onset alcoholism is more common than long-standing alcoholism. Malnutrition in the elderly alcoholic person is rare; it usually is caused by multiple factors, including alcohol displacing nutrient-rich diet factors, disease, limited availability of food, or altered metabolism increasing nutrient requirement. The recognition of alcohol and malnutrition problems in the elderly is more difficult than in younger people.
虽然大多数55岁以上的自由生活人群偶尔饮酒，但饮酒人群的比例以及个人饮酒量均随年龄每增长十岁而下降。总体而言，55岁以上的饮酒者中约5%过量饮酒，即饮酒量足以影响健康或社会功能。随着年龄增长，患有酒精所致中枢神经系统疾病和肝硬化的饮酒者比例增加，这表明对酒精损伤的敏感性增加。70岁以后，新发酒精中毒比长期酒精中毒更为常见。老年酗酒者营养不良的情况罕见；通常是由多种因素引起的，包括酒精取代富含营养的饮食成分、疾病、食物供应有限或代谢改变导致营养需求增加。识别老年人的酒精和营养不良问题比年轻人更困难。
