Social integration and alcohol consumption among older people : A four-year follow-up of a Swedish national sample

• Background: Today’s older people drink more alcohol than earlier cohorts of older people. Social integration has been identified as an important factor for older people’s drinking, but the association is complex. This study investigates both high and low levels of social integration and their associations with longitudinal patterns of alcohol consumption among older women and men.Methods: Longitudinal nationally representative data of older Swedish women and men aged over 65 – the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU) and Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) – from 2010/2011 and 2014 (n = 1048). Associations between social contacts and social activities at baseline and longitudinal patterns of drinking frequency were examined with multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results: Men reported drinking alcohol more often than women, but the most common drinking frequency among both women and men was to drink monthly or less. Drinking habits were generally stable over time. People with high levels of social activity at baseline were more likely to have a stable daily or weekly drinking frequency or increased drinking frequency over the four-year follow-up period, particularly women. People with low levels of social contacts and/or social activities were less likely to have a stable daily or weekly drinking frequency, compared to people in the low and stable drinking frequency group.Conclusions: Alcohol consumption is embedded in a social context, older people drink in social situations and social integration predicts continued drinking patterns.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Beroendelära (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Substance Abuse (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Annan medicin och hälsovetenskap -- Gerontologi, medicinsk/hälsovetenskaplig inriktning (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Other Medical and Health Sciences -- Gerontology, specialising in Medical and Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

alcohol

social integration

social context

older adults

change

Hälsa och välfärd

Health and Welfare

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

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