Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Nov;23(11):1741-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-008-0753-3. Epub 2008 Aug 21.

Unhealthy drinking patterns and receipt of preventive medical services by older adults

Elizabeth L Merrick  1 , Dominic Hodgkin, Deborah W Garnick, Constance M Horgan, Lee Panas, Marian Ryan, Richard Saitz, Frederic C Blow
Affiliations

Unhealthy drinking patterns and receipt of preventive medical services by older adults

Elizabeth L Merrick et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Preventive service use among older adults is suboptimal. Unhealthy drinking may constitute a risk factor for failure to receive these services.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between unhealthy drinking and receipt of recommended preventive services among elderly Medicare beneficiaries, applying the framework of current alcohol consumption guidelines.

Design/methods: The data source is the nationally representative 2003 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. The sample included community-dwelling, fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older (N = 10,523). Based on self-reported drinking, respondents were categorized as nondrinkers, within-guidelines drinkers, exceeding monthly but not daily limits, or heavy episodic drinkers. Using survey and claims data, influenza vaccination, pneumonia vaccination, glaucoma screening, and mammogram receipt were determined. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results: Overall, 70.3% received flu vaccination and 49% received glaucoma screening during the year, 66.8% received pneumonia vaccination, and 56.2% of women received a mammogram over 2 years. In logistic regression, heavy episodic drinking was associated with lower likelihood of service receipt compared to drinking within guidelines: flu vaccination (OR 0.75, CI 0.59-0.96), glaucoma screening (OR 0.74, CI 0.58-0.95), and pneumonia vaccination (OR 0.75, CI 0.59-0.96). Nondrinkers when compared with those reporting drinking within guidelines were less likely to receive a mammogram (OR 0.83, CI 0.69-1.00).

Conclusions: Heavy episodic drinking is associated with lower likelihood of receiving several preventive services. Practitioners should be encouraged to screen all elders regarding alcohol intake and in addition to appropriate intervention, consider elders reporting heavy episodic drinking at higher risk for non-receipt of preventive services.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '9063282', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9063282/'}]}
    2. Goldberg TH, Chavin SI. Preventive medicine and screening in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45(3):344–54. - PubMed
    1. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Medicare preventive services, most beneficiaries receive some but not all recommended services. GAO Report. 2004;1–12. Available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d041004t.pdf. Accessed June 5, 2008.
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC4194948', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4194948/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '17290645', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17290645/'}]}
    2. Ozminkowski RJ, Goetzel RZ, Shechter D, Stapleton DC, Baser O, Lapin P. Predictors of preventive service use among Medicare beneficiaries. Health Care Financ Rev. 2006;27(3):5–23. - PMC - PubMed
    1. US Census Bureau News. Census Bureau projects tripling of Hispanic and Asian populations in 50 years; non-Hispanic whites may drop to half of total population. Available at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001.... Accessed June 5, 2008.
    1. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare program; revisions to payment policies under the physician fee schedule for calendar year 2005. Fed Regist. 2004;69(219):66235–66915. Available at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a041115c.html. Accessed June 5, 2008. - PubMed

Publication types