Identifying Risk Factors for Late-Onset (50+) Alcohol Use Disorder and Heavy Drinking:A Systematic Review

摘要

This systematic review seeks to expand the description and understanding of late-onset AUD andasks “Which risk factors have been reported for late-onset heavy drinking and AUD?” Method: UsingPRISMA guidelines, a literature review and search was performed on May 19, 2015 using the followingdatabases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and PsychInfo. Nine studies were included in the final review.Results: The search revealed that only very few studies have been conducted. Hence, the evidence islimited but suggests that stress, role/identity loss, and friends’approval of drinking are associated withan increased risk for late-onsetAUDor heavy drinking,whereas retirement, death of a spouse or a closerelative does not increase the risk. Discussion: Inherent differences in measurements and methodologiesprecluded a meta-analysis. Therefore, the results presented here are descriptive in nature. Moststudies base their conclusions on a certain preconception of older adults with alcohol problems, whichleads to a rowof circular arguments. The factors that have been measured seem to have changed overtime. Conclusion: There has been a lack of focus on the field of late-onset AUD since the 1970s, whichpossibly has led to misrepresentations and preconceptions on the complex nature of late-onset AUD.There is limited evidence for any specific risk factor for late-onset AUD or heavy drinking. We suggestthe adoption of a qualitative approach to uncover what is intrinsic to late-onset AUD followed byquantitative studies with more agreement on methods and definitions.