Heavy Drinking as a Risk Factor for Depression and Dementia in Elderly Men

A random community sample of subjects aged 65 and over was re-interviewed after three years by psychiatrists using the GMS and HAS. The relationship between drinking history and current psychiatric morbidity was examined. Men with a history of heavy drinking for five years or more at some time in their lives were found to have a greater than fivefold risk of suffering from a psychiatric disorder at the time of the interview. Among this group past alcohol consumption was significantly higher for those with a current psychiatric diagnosis compared with those who were well. This association between heavy alcohol consumption in earlier years and psychiatric morbidity in later life is not explained by current drinking habits.