Healthy seniors who drink a light or moderate amount of alcohol may be improving their chances of avoiding physical disabilities, a new study suggests.
Dr. Arun Karlamangla and colleagues at UCLA classified participants into three groups: heavy drinkers, light to moderate drinkers and abstainers.
They found that those who consumed fewer than 15 drinks per week, as well as fewer than five drinks per drinking day, were less likely to become disabled or die than their counterparts.
Unadjusted figures reveal that people in this group had an 18 percent chance of developing disability or dying within five years, while abstainers had a 27 percent risk and heavy drinkers a 21 percent risk.
However, they found the positive effects of alcohol to be apparent only among seniors who were already in good health at the start of the study.
“It is possible that those who report poor health have progressed too far on the pathway to disability to accrue benefits from alcohol consumption and that alcohol consumption may even be deleterious for them,” the authors wrote.
Sensible drinking may be another habit, along with following a balanced diet and taking nutritional supplements, that has the potential to boost seniorsÂ’ health.
