Association of Alcohol Use and Loneliness Frequency Among Middle-Aged and Older Adult Drinkers

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the association between alcohol use, at-risk drinking, and binge drinking, and loneliness in a sample of middle-aged and older adults. Method: We studied participants aged 50+ years from the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study who reported alcohol use. We ran separate multinomial logistic regressions to assess the association of three alcohol use outcomes (i.e., weekly alcohol consumption, at-risk drinking, and binge drinking) and loneliness. Results: After adjusting for covariates, being lonely was associated with reduced odds of weekly alcohol consumption 4 to 7 days per week, but not 1 to 3 days per week, compared with average alcohol consumption 0 days per week in the last 3 months. No association was found between at-risk drinking or binge drinking and loneliness. Discussion: Results suggest that among a sample of community-based adults aged 50+, loneliness was associated with reduced alcohol use frequency, but not with at-risk or binge drinking.