Prevalence of alcohol consumption and related problems in elderly clients attending primary health care services in Mexico City.

Alcoholism is a major challenge for public health because of its effects in the individual and the family as well as the economic burden that represents for both, health systems and society. In an epidemiologic perspective, alcohol abuse and alcoholism are relevant problems for the Mexican population, as the main causes of mortality are alcohol related casuelties and diseases. Nowadays it is well known that elderly people is more vulnerable to health problems related to alcohol abuse, than the younger populations. Some of this pathology includes: depression, nutritional disorders, heart problems, falls and premature death. Nevertheless, we still don't know too much about the epidemiology of alcohol abuse among the Mexican elderly people. A survey among 700 users of health services, of 65 years of age and older, was performed in 19 primary health care centers in Mexico City. Alcohol use among subjects attending health services during a typical week was evaluated by asking them at what age they began to drink, the amount of alcohol which they drank and the associated problems. Results show a life time prevalence of alcohol use of 36.7%. On the other hand, one month prevalence was 20.5%. Both figures are lower than the findings of the National Survey on Addictions. We also discuss some findings on the different prevalences found among men and women in this study, and those from the National Survey on Addictions. The patterns of consumption referred to by the surveyed population does not show a relevant problem of alcohol use among the elderly. Only a small proportion (2.4%) reported drinking more alcoholic beverages how than six months ago, while 3.8% of the participants reported alcohol related problems. As for the time elapsed before the patients realized they had a problematic drinking pattern, 65.4% of the 55 subjects said it was 10 or more years ago. Those drinking now more than six months ago, said they did it just to have more fun (38%). More that one third of the those having alcohol problems, had already been treated, and half of them been treated during 10 or more years before this survey. This paper also discusses the correlation between the patterns of consumption, accidental falls and other related variables. Finally, we mention the implication of designing strategies for diagnosing and treating the elderly suffering from alcohol abuse and alcoholism.