Alcohol use patterns and trajectories of health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults: a 14-year population-based study
OBJECTIVE: A 14-year multiwave panel design was used to examine relationships between longitudinal alcohol-consumption patterns, especially persistent moderate use, and change in health-related quality of life among middle-aged and older adults.
METHOD: A nationally representative sample of 5,404 community-dwelling Canadians ages 50 and older at baseline (1994/1995) was obtained from the longitudinal National Population Health Survey. Alcohol-consumption patterns were developed based on the quantity and frequency of use in the 12 months before the interview. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). Latent growth curve modeling was used to estimate the change in HUI3 for each alcohol pattern after adjusting for covariates measured at baseline.
RESULTS: Most participants showed stable alcohol-consumption patterns over 6 years. Persistent non-users, persistent former users, those decreasing their consumption levels, and those with unstable patterns (i.e., U shaped and inverted U shaped) had lower HUI3 scores at baseline compared with persistent moderate drinkers. A more rapid decline in HUI3 scores than that observed for persistent moderate users was seen only in those with decreasing consumption (p < .001). In a subgroup identified as consistently healthy before follow-up, longitudinal drinking patterns were associated with initial HUI3 scores but not rates of change.
CONCLUSIONS: Persistent moderate drinkers had higher initial levels of health-related quality of life than persistent nonusers, persistent former users, decreasing users, U-shaped users, and inverted U-shaped users. However, rates of decline over time were similar for all groups except those decreasing their consumption, who had a greater decline in their level of health-related quality of life than persistent moderate users.
Additional Info
-
Authors
Kaplan M.S.; Huguet N.; Feeny D.; McFarland B.H.; Caetano R.; Bernier J.; Giesbrecht N.; Oliver L.; Ross N. -
Issue
J.Stud.Alcohol Drugs / pages 581-590 / volume 73 -
Published Date
july 2012
Related items
- Volume of alcohol intake, heavy episodic drinking, and all-cause mortality in Spain: A longitudinal population-based study
- Is there a safe limit for consumption of alcohol?
- Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Mortality Among Older Adults With Health-Related or Socioeconomic Risk Factors
- Have declines in the prevalence of young adult drinking in English-speaking high-income countries followed declines in youth drinking? A systematic review
- Single-site iron-anchored amyloid hydrogels as catalytic platforms for alcohol detoxification