Ageing and Alcohol: Drinking Typologies among Older Adults.

Alcohol consumption and harms among older people are increasing. We examined different demographic characteristics and drinking patterns among an older population. Secondary analyses of nationally representative Australian data; subjects aged 50+ years ( = 10,856). Two-step cluster analysis was performed to identify demographic groups and alcohol consumption behaviours. Three groups were identified: Group 1 (older, unmarried, and lived alone): >65 years, moderate drinkers, poorest health, psychological distress, social disadvantage, smokers, illicit drug users, and more frequent previous alcohol treatment. Group 3 (older married): >65 years, good health, low psychological distress, less likely to drink at risky levels, and one in five drank daily. Group 2 (younger married): 50-64 years, mostly employed, highest proportion of risky drinkers and of 5+ standard drinks per session, and liberal drinking attitudes with most concern from others about their drinking. These demographic typologies can inform targeted prevention efforts for an estimated 1.3 million adults older than 50 years drinking at risky levels.