Alcohol consumption by older adults in central and southern Japan.

This study ascertained the level of alcohol intake and alcoholic beverages consumed by Japanese older adults. Persons aged 55 to 75 years residing in central and southern Japan were recruited and interviewed face-to-face on their habitual alcohol consumption. Among the 577 (359 men and 218 women) participants from 10 districts/prefectures, 60.5% (75.5% for men and 35.7% for women) regularly drank alcoholic beverages on at least a monthly basis. Beer was the most preferred beverage (45.2%), followed by shochu (19.8%) and sake (16.1%). The mean alcohol consumption was 22.2 g/day (95% confidence interval 19.3-25.2) overall, but drinkers had a much higher mean intake of 36.6 g/day (95% CI 32.4-40.8). Moreover, it is alarming that 25.5% of male drinkers were heavy drinkers consuming more than 60 g of alcohol on average per day. Alcohol control measures should be developed to curtail the excessive drinking by older adults.