Posted on 03/06/2007 1:06:32 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may function better physically than either those who abstain completely or those who abuse alcohol, a new study suggests.
Moderate drinkers tend to be healthier in general than teetotalers or problem drinkers, Dr. Peggy M. Cawthon of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and colleagues note. There is also evidence that moderate drinking may reduce inflammation.
Cawthon and colleagues compared functional limitations, physical performance and drinking history for 5,962 men aged 65 or older who were classified into 5 categories. Men who consumed 5 or more drinks on most days were classified as having a history of sustained excessive drinking, while those who responded positively to a questionnaire used to diagnose alcoholism were classified as problem drinkers.
Moderate drinkers were those who consumed between 7 and 20 drinks per week and heavy drinkers were men who consumed 21 or more drinks weekly. Abstainers made up the final group.
Moderate drinkers scored about 3 percent to 5 percent better on tests of physical function than the abstainers, the researchers found, while scores for heavy drinkers were about the same as those for the abstainers.
The abstainers were the most likely to report physical limitations to activities of daily living like walking, climbing stairs, and doing heavy housework. The heavy alcohol users were only slightly less likely than abstainers to have these limitations.
Low-moderate users, meaning men who drank between seven and 14 drinks a week, were the least likely to have functional limitations, and were at 38 percent lower risk of having these problems than abstainers.
The researchers call for more detailed studies to determine how alcohol use over time affects how functional status changes with age.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, February 2007.
A server serves draft beer in Sapporo, northern Japan, February 19, 2007. Older men who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may function better physically than either those who abstain completely or those who abuse alcohol, a new study suggests. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)
The major benefit I could see would be that it makes older women look much better! LOL!
Funded by the alcoholic beverage industry?
I figure I'll get an early start.
Okay everybody!! Altogether now!!
...I'LL DRINK TO THAT!!!
'Just knew it was gonna be said, and wanted to be first.
Drunk Old Dude Ping
Pour yourself a beer and have fun!
"I've seen more old drunks, than I've seen old doctors, so I guess I'll have another round."
20 drinks a week MODERATE??? Wonder what they'd say about someone who smoked 20 times a week?
There`s such a thing as moderate drinking?
"20 drinks a week MODERATE??? Wonder what they'd say about someone who smoked 20 times a week?"
Dang! I got some catching up to do!
If I live to 80, all bets are off.
This is good news, because it's a strong indication that heavy drinking may benefit younger men.
If that is a "10" at 2AM, then I am betting that you can out drink me! LOL!
LOL! You should see the "1"s.
It`s true...He`s the Keith Richards of politics. Why that dude is still alive or never had any major health problems such as 20 liver transplants is beyond me. I`ve seen bums passed out in the gutter surrounded by 10 empty bottles of Thunderbird with clearer looking faces than that guy. Remember that time he voted 100% Republican a few years ago? I`ll bet anything he was zonked out of his mind when he did that. Why? Because he was seeing double. But everyone kisses his arse "Oh Theodore K. made a mistake! Tah ha ha ha! He is sooo amusing!" Anyone else who had a government paid job would have had his arse thrown out on the street years ago.
I'm trying to think how much beer that would take. More than there is. I hope.
"Moderate drinking may benefit elderly men"<BR.
Of course. It makes them [feel younger.
7-20 drinks is moderate?
that is stupid.
As usual, these studies are useless. They don't consider all factors.
Al Capone would have been embarrassed by Teddy, the son of one of his best business partners....Teddy is just drinking up all the Kennedy blood and moonshine money....
I am guessing this? Are you man enough and liquored up enough?
At long last vindication!
"Drunk Old Dude Ping"
There's a ping list for that?
They said MODERATE drinking;)
How did the heavy drinkers do?
Yup. Population: JOE.
That`s about 3 beers a day, enough to make some people legally drunk.
There isn't enough alcohol on this planet to make Helen a "10".
Sounds troubling, boys.
Loo at it Tommy. I can understand where you are coming from. I am a woman. 50ish. Considering the way the political scheme is going, I have to agree. LOL When we are old and ugly, the very least we can ask for are good conservative principles. Geesh
You can drink an ugly woman beautiful, but you can't drink a fat woman thin.
Loo at it Tommy. I can understand where you are coming from. I am a woman. 50ish. Considering the way the political scheme is going, I have to agree. LOL When we are old and ugly, the very least we can ask for are good conservative principles. Geesh
Stopped drinking heavy alcohol early on, but have loved wine since I was 16 or so. And have made it a part of my dinner time for more years than I care to count. In fact, I can't imagine a dinner without wine any more than I can hope for a day without sunshine. :)
65 is not elderly anymore. There are plenty of men that old who are hiking the Appalachian Trail.
There's not enough alcohol on the planet.
Smoking 20 times a week is LIGHT smoking. If by "times" you mean "cigarettes."
If I were an old guy, I'd be more interested in knowing how many drinks it takes to get the old broads in the sack. Well, OK, the young broads, too.
Well , see what I mean?. I am off to rehab.
"You can drink an ugly woman beautiful, but you can't drink a fat woman thin."
Lightweight!
--The researchers call for more detailed studies to determine how alcohol use over time affects how functional status changes with age.--
Why doesn't it call for more detailed studies on how people who can be moderate in their drinking function better as they get older? In other words, a person who is a moderate drinker may have psychological reasons for doing more things in moderation than someone who is not a moderate drinker and may get health benefits. He may also eat in moderation..be less stressed etc. Alcohol may or may not have anything to do with it.
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