Drs. Yannic van Gils Prof. Dr. Erik Franck Prof. Dr. Eva Dierckx Drinking motives of community dwelling older adults and its associated factors. Drs. Yannic van Gils Prof. Dr. Erik Franck Prof. Dr. Eva Dierckx 1

In this area of Europe: INTRODUCTION Older adults (60+) are the fastest growing segment of the population By 2050, 2 billion people will be aged 60+ worldwide (WHO) In this area of Europe:

INTRODUCTION Alcohol use A high prevalence of alcohol use among older adults is reported in different parts of the world Prevalence Europe 47.9% to 73% US 51.1% to 83.3% Australia 48,1% Asia men: 31.3% to 44.1% women: 4.8% to 9.3%

INTRODUCTION Drinking motives Their consumption habits are very different from those of the younger generations Little is known about the reasons why older adults drink alcohol Most common reasons are social like having fun and celebrating Medicinal purposes and coping motives have also been reported

INTRODUCTION But… Social motives are associated with quantity of drinking (binge drinking) Coping motives are frequently reported by at risk drinkers drinking to cope with feelings like anxiety and depression Coping motives are directly associated with alcohol problems

AIM Aim of this study: Explore the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders Explore the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders Explore the association between drinking motives and alcohol related problems in a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders

METHOD Demographics Drinking older adults 65+ North Belgium (Flanders) N = 1.150 Women: 605 (47,3%) Age M(SD): 73,02 (5,94)

METHOD Measures Alcohol use Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) 2 first questions Drinking patterns National Institue for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines Moderate drinking: ≤ 3 units/day AND ≤ 7 units/week Heavy drinking: >3 units/day OR >7 units/week Binge drinking: MEN ≥5 units & WOMEN ≥ 4 units in a day

METHOD Measures Drinking motives Drinking Motives Questionnair (DMQ) Respons scale of 1=never to 4=always 3 motives: Social motive Coping motive Enhancement motive Mean of at least 2 is relevant (Gilson, 2013)

METHOD Measures Alcohol related problems Michigan Alcohol Screening Test Geriatric version (MAST-G) Dichotomus answers (yes-no) Higher scores respresent more alcohol related problems Score ≥5 = alcohol problem

RESULTS What are the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+? *score ≥2 is relevant (Gilson et al., 2013)

RESULTS What are the associated factors of the SOCIAL drinking motive of a general drinking population of 65+? Gender: men Age: younger older adults (65-74) Living situation: living alone Education level: higher education Educ level spouse: higher education Smoking status: (stoped) smoking Family history of alcohol problems

RESULTS What are the associated factors of the COPING drinking motive of a general population of 65+? Age: younger older adults (65-74) Smoking status: smokers Family history of alcohol problems

RESULTS What are the associated factors of the ENHANCEMENT drinking motive of a general population of 65+? Gender: men Age: younger older adults (65-74) Education level: higher education Educ level spouse: higher education Smoking status: smokers Family history of alcohol problems

RESULTS What are the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+? Heavy drinkers reported coping and enhancement motives more frequently

RESULTS What are the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+? Binge drinkers did not reporte social motives more frequently Binge drinkers reported coping an enhancement motives more frequently

RESULTS Drinking motives associated with alcohol related problems (Binary Logistic Regression ) Olders adults who use alcohol to cope have 9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5) Olders adults who use alcohol for enhancement have 4 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)

DISCUSSION The most sited drinking motive was the social motive (54,2%) This is in line with previous research 14% of the drinking population reported using alcohol for coping purposes To cope with anxiety, depression, lonelyness Palliative coping strategy 17,9% reported drinking for enhancement motives More frequently reported by heavy drinkers and binge drinkers Strong association with alcohol related problems

DISCUSSION Coping drinking motives Men Younger older adults Higher education Smoking Family of history Older adults who drink to cope have 9 times more the tendency to have alcohol related problems

DISCUSSION Enhancement drinking motives Younger older adults Smoking Family of history Older adults who drink to cope have 4 times more the tendency to have alcohol related problems

DISCUSSION Coping motives Enhancement motives Younger older adults Smoking Family of history Men Younger older adults (65-74) Higher education Smokers Family history of alcohol problems 9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5) 9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)

DISCUSSION