Heavy Drinking Rises Sharply For Older Americans As Younger Generations Cut Back

By  iHeartRadio
Sep 30, 2026

Photo: SeventyFour / iStock / Getty Images


Heavy drinking among Americans ages 50 to 64 has jumped more than 36% since 2018, even as overall alcohol use in the United States has declined for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study led by Dr. Brian P. Lee at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California found that while younger generations are cutting back, middle-aged adults are moving in the opposite direction.

Researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted from 2018 through 2024. The results, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (September 2026), showed that heavy drinking rose by over one-third in adults 50 to 64, while alcohol use in this group increased by nearly 4%.

In contrast, Americans in other age groups have reduced their drinking habits. Gallup’s August 2026 poll found that only 54% of U.S. adults now drink alcohol, tying last year’s record low. Generation Z and millennials saw the largest drops, with Gen Z drinking down almost 6% and millennial heavy drinking falling by 17%.

The study defined heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks per week or five or more in a day for men, and eight or more a week or four or more in a day for women, matching standards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers have not pinpointed exactly why heavy drinking is up among older adults, but they note that this group faces increased health risks, including higher rates of cirrhosis and alcohol-related cancers. As noted by Dr. Lee, “The encouraging national decline should not overshadow the fact that some groups continue to be at increased risk.”

Experts say several factors may contribute to these risks. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that older adults have less body water and muscle, which means the same number of drinks leads to a higher blood alcohol level than in younger years. They are also more likely to take medications that can dangerously interact with alcohol and to have chronic health issues that alcohol can worsen.

The overall decline in drinking is seen as positive, but the rise among those aged 50 to 64 signals a need for targeted prevention and treatment efforts. Most people with alcohol use disorder do not receive treatment—in 2024, only 7.5% sought help, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Outpatient care, which can be scheduled around work and family, is now considered a practical option for many.

Looking ahead, health experts urge ongoing awareness and support for older adults at higher risk of alcohol-related harm. The study’s authors recommend that individuals discuss alcohol use with their healthcare providers, especially if they are taking other medications or managing chronic conditions.

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It's Time

Published: April 30, 2015

http://adventistelders.com/

(they have their own website)

Adventist Elders share why they believe it's time to come together,..

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New Chinese law: Visit your parents

By Meng Meng and Katie Hunt, for CNN
updated 3:07 AM EDT, Tue July 2, 2013





Hong Kong (CNN) -- Lola Wang, a 28-year-old marketing officer in Shanghai, makes a six-hour trip to Shandong to see her parents twice a year -- once during the Lunar New Year and again during the National Day holiday in October.

"I feel like I should visit my parents more but having a job in the financial industry means I have to work long hours and sacrifice some of my personal time for work," Wang, an only child, tells CNN.

Wang's dilemma is faced by many young people in China, where a one-child policy and three decades of economic reforms have accelerated the decline of the traditional extended family.

It's also a matter of concern for China's new leaders as they grapple with the burden of supporting the growing number of elderly people.

New law

A new national law introduced this week requires the offspring of parents older than 60 to visit their parents "frequently" and make sure their financial and spiritual needs are met.

"People are accusing young people of not visiting their parents enough," says Wang, adding she agrees with the aims of the law.

"Admittedly, some of them use their career and long working hours as an excuse. My problems are that I do care about my parents, but I have little vacation and my parents live far away."

READ: China elderly facing HIV/AIDS crisis

According to Xinhua, China had about 185 million people above the age of 60 at the end of 2011. The figure is expected to surge to 221 million in 2015 and by 2050 a third of China's population will be classed as elderly.

Neglect

The "Law of Protection of Rights and Interests of the Aged" was amended by China's legislature in December after a spate of reports about elderly parents neglected by their children.

In one particularly horrific case in Jiangsu province, a local television station reported that a farmer had kept his 100-year-old mother in a pigsty with a 440lb sow.

Chen Shoutian told the station his mother had been happy to live there: "She wants to stay here because she feels it is convenient," he said.

A modest pension and social welfare system, particularly in rural areas, means elderly people are usually dependent on their children for support.

More than a fifth live below the poverty line, according to figures from the National School of Development at Peking University.

Changing values

Although respect for the elderly is still deeply engrained in Chinese society, traditional values like filial piety have been weakened by the country's rush to modernity.

"The traditional family support system is eroding for many reasons and I think the government would like to slow this process down," said Albert Park, the director of the Emerging Markets Institute at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

READ: Forget Gangnam style; Chinese farmer does 'Grandpa style'

The law stipulates that children cannot give up their inheritance rights in attempt to evade their duty to take care of their parents. It adds that children should pay a monthly allowance to their parents if they refuse to take care of them.

The legislation also allows for the elderly to sue their children but does not specify the process or what penalties they might face.

It may also prove difficult to enforce, says Ding Yiyuan from Beijing Yingke Law Firm. He told the Guangzhou Daily newspaper the law fails to qualify the word "frequently." He added that few elderly people were likely to sue their own children.

Controversial

The law's introduction has proved controversial. Some say it puts too much pressure on those who move away from home for work, study or other opportunities.

Cheng Zhegang, 50, whose only child is studying for a master's degree in the United States, said the law "distorts the parent-child relationship."

He hopes his daughter will head to a big city like Shanghai or Beijing to find a job on graduation and not return to the small town where she grew up.

"I don't want my daughter to have a burden both physically and spiritually," he told CNN.

"For me, my daughter's career is the most important thing. As the parent of an only child, I have spent so much time and money on my daughter's education and now I want her to be successful."

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Memory Loss in Elderly Caused by Poor Sleep

Posted by David Arnold on Jan 28th, 2013

Researc

hers from the University of California at Berkley found a link between memory loss and the deterioration of the brain and poor sleep, among elderly adults.

Researchers said they found that during sleep, that is deep and restorative, slow brain waves normally take place in younger people and play a key role in the transference of memories between the brain’s hippocampus, the area that stores memories for the short term and the prefrontal cortex the area that provides storage of memories over the long term.

However, in the elderly, memories at times become stuck in the hippocampus due to poor deep sleep and therefore less slow waves are created. That causes some of the short term memories to be written over by new ones, said researchers. The new discovery has created an opportunity to give a boost to sleep quality among elderly people in an attempt to improve their overall memory.

The findings also give reason to some of the forgetfulness that is common amongst the elderly including having a difficult time remembering names.

Adults that are considered healthy tend to spend about a quarter of their night of sleep in a deep non-rapid eye movement phase known as REM. That form of sleep is the best at generating slow waves in the frontal lobe of the brain. In elderly people that have a deterioration of that region of the brain have been linked to not having sufficient deep sleep, said the findings in the recent study.

More similar types of studies must be performed by researchers, to help enhance the sleep of the elderly and find a way to increase their overnight memory.

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