december 2012

Drinking habits of older Canadians: a comparison of the 1994 and 2004 national surveys

This study examines changes in the alcohol consumption of Canadians aged 55 and older from the 1990s to the 2000s and investigates whether the differences persist after controlling for the socio-demographic composition of the samples. The data included two subsamples of respondents 55 to 74 years of age from two cross-sectional Canadian surveys: the 1994 CADS (1,071 men and 1,446 women) and the 2004 GENACIS (1,494 men and 2,176 women). One-way ANOVAs revealed significantly higher rates of drinkers and binge drinking in 2004 but no differences in drinking profiles. Regression analyses showed that the observed differences did not disappear when controlling for socio-demographic composition. The higher rates of drinkers in 2004 may be explained by a social and environmental context that was more favourable to alcohol consumption in the 2000s. More research is needed to disentangle the age-cohort-period effects on alcohol consumption among Canadian older adults.

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Moriconi P.A.; Nadeau L.; Demers A.
  • Issue

    Can.J.Aging / pages 379-393 / volume 31
  • Published Date

    december 2012