Dec. 7--It could be the tolerance they've built up over the years or the extra time on their hands, but older people with alcohol problems drink a lot more than younger adults with similar problems, according to a new study.

Ohio State University researchers found that alcoholics older than 60 drink more than 40 drinks a week, while alcoholics 25 to 39 years old have 25 to 35 drinks a week.

The study also found that older alcoholics binge drink about 19 times a month compared with younger alcoholics who binge 13 to 15 times a month.

Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks a day for men, four or more drinks a day for women.

"You associate binge drinking with college-age people drinking at football games, but older people are binge drinking," said Linda Ginzer, study co-author and doctoral student in social work at OSU.

"Older people are actually drinking more drinks than younger people" who have been diagnosed as alcohol abusers or alcoholics.

The study was presented last month at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. Researchers examined national survey data of 43,000 people collected by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Heavy drinking among older people isn't a growing problem, but advocates said it's a hidden issue that people are talking about more.

"My educated guess (is) it has to do with the amount of losses older people suffer and undiagnosed depression," said Diana Kubovcik, client services director at the Central Ohio Agency on Aging. "It numbs you to the point that people think it's a helpful thing. Older people feel more loss or changes than younger people."

Besides tolerance and time, older people might increase their alcohol use because they have less support from family and friends and feel alone.

"There is an increase in drinking perhaps as a desire to self-medicate because of health issues, the loss of friends," said Antonia Carroll, director of the Franklin County Office on Aging.

This can cause problems with medications older people take to treat chronic health issues. And alcohol increases the risk of falling, a top reason why many older people are hospitalized.

Ginzer said there's research that shows older people respond to treatment just as well as younger people. But older people might not feel comfortable in groups with young people.

"We don't do a good job in this area," Carroll said. "Even if we had groups that focus on older folks, we wouldn't have the transportation."

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