Hartford J T, Samorajski T
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1982 Jan;30(1):18-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1982.tb03699.x.
Alcohol abuse by elderly persons may be overlooked by clinicians because the effects of alcoholism on intellectual processes may be attributed to advancing age. In older patients, in whom liver and other organ functions may be reduced, even modest social drinking will impair cognitive abilities. Alcoholism is especially detrimental to older persons because 1) their blood levels of ethanol are higher than those in younger persons, and brain neurons may be more sensitive to the drug; 2) ethanol can disturb their sleep and sexual performance; 3) their cognitive functions may be significantly impaired by ethanol; and 4) for elderly patients, who commonly take a variety of drugs, ethanol and drug interactions are particularly hazardous.
老年人的酒精滥用可能会被临床医生忽视，因为酒精中毒对智力过程的影响可能被归因于年龄增长。在老年患者中，肝脏和其他器官功能可能会下降，即使是适度的社交饮酒也会损害认知能力。酒精中毒对老年人尤其有害，原因如下：1）他们的血液乙醇水平高于年轻人，脑神经元可能对这种药物更敏感；2）乙醇会干扰他们的睡眠和性功能；3）他们的认知功能可能会因乙醇而显著受损；4）对于通常服用多种药物的老年患者来说，乙醇与药物的相互作用尤其危险。
