What are the Effects of Alcohol?
Recommended drinking limits are lower for people over 60 because
of changes in the aging body such as a decrease in water content,
lower tolerance to alcohol, and decreased ability to metabolize
alcohol. These changes can make even small amounts of drinking
risky. If you are over the age of 60 and you have at least
one chronic illness, you will have increased
sensitivity to alcohol or what is called a decreased
tolerance to alcohol. Given these physiological changes,
alcohol use can trigger or worsen serious health problems
including:
- Increased risk for hypertension
- Heart problems and stroke
- Impaired immune system, and capacity to combat infection
and cancer
- Cirrhosis and other liver diseases
- Decreased bone density (which may result in a higher risk
or severity of osteoporosis)
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Depression, anxiety and other mental health issues
- Malnutrition
- Sleep disturbances
- Diabetes
- Sexual dysfunction
- Memory impairment
- Increase symptoms of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's
Disease
Your ability to remember, learn new things and store information
begins to diminish slightly with age. These natural changes
may be increased and complicated by alcohol use. Chronic over-drinking
can cause serious, irreversible changes
in brain function, although this is more likely to occur if
you have a long history of alcoholism.
Alcohol misuse may have direct toxic effects on the brain
leading to alcohol-related dementia (ARD).
Drinking alcohol may make it more difficult to achieve an
erection when sexually aroused. This may cause an older man
to feel that he is becoming sexually impotent because of his
aging when the cause is related to his drinking alcohol.
There may be positive effects of alcohol as well. If you
are healthy and do have complicated medical conditions, moderate
alcohol consumption may enhance socialization, which has many
benefits. Physically, it may reduce the risk of coronary heart
disease.
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