Alcohol consumption among older adults with symptoms of cognitive decline consulting specialist health care

Abstract

Objectives

To explore alcohol consumption among older Norwegian adults with symptoms of cognitive decline, assess the agreement between the reports of older adults and their next of kin regarding a person’s alcohol consumption, and explore clinical and sociodemographic variables associated with agreement.

Method

Alcohol consumption was measured among 3608 older adults consulting specialist health care for symptoms of cognitive decline. Agreement between the participant and their next of kin regarding the participant’s alcohol consumption was assessed with a weighted kappa (κ). A logistic regression analysis for hierarchical data was used to explore variables associated with agreement.

Results

Both the participants and their next of kin reported that more than 20% of the participants consumed alcohol 1–3 times a week, and that approximately 10% consumed alcohol four or more times a week. The agreement between the participant’s and their next of kin’s report regarding the participant’s alcohol consumption was high (κ = .852), and variables associated with agreement were no cognitive decline, not drinking alcohol during the last year or ever as reported by the participant, and low agitation scores on a psychiatric assessment.

Conclusion

This paper found alcohol consumption among older adults with symptoms of cognitive decline that was above the national average in Norway. This is also the first paper to demonstrate that a next of kin can be a reliable source of information regarding older adults’ alcohol consumption. Health personnel should consider these findings when performing medical assessments or developing interventions for older adults.

Keywords:

• Dementia
• cognitive decline
• alcohol
• elderly
• reliability

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants in the NorCog registry, colleagues working on the registry, and the Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Ageing and Health.

Conclusion

This paper has explored the drinking patterns of older adults with cognitive decline, and found that more than 20% of participants consumed alcohol 1–3 times a week while approximately 10% consumed alcohol four or more times a week. This is also the first paper to indicate that a next of kin can be a reliable source of information regarding older adults’ alcohol consumption, and agreement between the two sources is highest when the older adult reports not drinking or drinking 4–7 times a week, and shows no signs of cognitive decline or agitation. Health personnel should consider these findings when performing medical assessments or developing interventions for older adults. Hopefully, these findings can strengthen the assessment and treatment of older adults with cognitive decline, and improve the situation of their caregivers and next of kin.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Innlandet Hospital Trust under Grant number 150919.