Alcohol warning for older drinkers

Recommended maximum intakes should factor in age as well as gender, according to Mary Gilhooly, professor of gerontology at Brunel University.

Baby boomers are likely to drink more alcohol in old age than previous generations because they have always done so, she warned.

That could create problems because age affects the body's ability to metabolise alcohol. Older people have higher blood alcohol levels after drinking the same amount as younger consumers, previous research has shown.

In many cases the elderly should be advised not to drink at all, according to Prof Gilhooly who is director of the Brunel Institute of Ageing Studies.

She said: "Middle-aged and older people need to be aware of the impact of ageing on alcohol metabolism. They need to reduce alcohol consumption levels with age."

She said recommended drinking levels were currently set too high for many older people. And that could become more acute if baby boomers did not cut their alcohol consumption in old age.

Prof Gilhooly said further research was needed into what the new alcohol consumption guidelines for older people should be. Her comments follow a report on alcohol and ageing last year.

The Department of Health recently changed its advice for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Otherwise, women should drink no more than two or three units of alcohol per day, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA). That rises to three to four units per day for men.

One unit is half a pint of standard strength (3% to 5% ABV) beer, lager or cider, or a pub measure of a spirit. A glass of wine is about two units.