The Secret Life of (Some) Boomers

It appears a surprising number of baby boomers are engaging in the type of behavior usually associated with college-aged kids: binge drinking and smoking dope. But unlike the younger generation, the problem is easier to hide. Those were the findings of two reports published this week.

The first, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, surveyed over 11,000 adults between the ages of 50 to 64. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, reported the findings in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Of those surveyed, 22 percent of men and 9 percent of women  report binge drinking—5 or more drinks at a time—within the past month. “At risk” drinking, two or more drinks a day, was found among 13 percent of men and 8 percent of women.

"A surprising number of older Americans are engaging in drinking patterns that are putting their health at risk, yet these problems often go unrecognized," said Dan G. Blazer MD, PhD, the study's lead author and JP Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke.

"Middle age and older adults may be easy to miss for at-risk or binge drinking because most clinicians are focused on excessive drinking behaviors among young people, such as those in college," Blazer said. "They also don't show the typical signs of alcohol dependence."

The risk factors associated with excessive drinking in men were: Being separated, divorced or widowed. Non-medical use of prescription drugs was associated with binge drinking in women.

According to another study, this one produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), those aged 50 to 59 reporting use of illicit drugs within the past year, has nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007, while rates among all other age groups are staying the same or decreasing. “These findings show that many in the Woodstock generation continue to use illicit drugs as they age,” said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H.

The report points out that the surge of drug use in the age group isn’t from new users, but rather the aging of people who have continued to use drugs over the years, most noticeably, marijuana. Characteristics that set this group apart are, they are unmarried, uneducated, low-income men who began using drugs at a early age. The are more likely to live in the West, be unemployed due to disability and suffered from a major depressive episode within the past year.

Both Broderick and Blazer warned of a potentially greater problem. “This continued use poses medical risks to these individuals and is likely to put further strains on the nation’s health care system -- highlighting the value of preventing drug use from ever starting,” says Broderick.

"With this study we've learned that adults, especially those in their fifties, are carrying a heavier drinking burden into late life," says Blazer. If it continues, they could be compounding health problems that typically arise as the body's natural defenses are weakened. The negative health effects of binge drinking can range from minor injuries to more serious problems, such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, neurological damage and poor diabetes control.

The authors propose a more rigorous use of screening for substance use and brief intervention or counseling to address the rise in alcohol use.