Isolation drives seniors into alcohol addiction

Alcohol addiction in older people increases

02/24/2014

In recent years, the number of alcoholics in Germany has increased dramatically. Almost 1.8 million Germans are dependent on alcohol. Even among seniors, the numbers are increasing. In North Rhine-Westphalia, therefore, more counseling and support services are offered to prevent addiction and weaning.

Alcohol problems in all ages
In Germany, the number of alcoholics has increased dramatically in recent years. Almost 1.8 million Germans are dependent on alcohol. According to a study by the Munich Institute for Therapy Research, their number increased between 2006 and 2012 from 1.3 million to 1.77 million dependents. The North Rhine-Westphalian Health Minister Barbara Steffens (Green) told the NRZ: „People with alcohol problems exist in all age groups, regardless of income.“ The number of addicts is growing, but the consumption of alcohol in the population is decreasing overall.

Drinker with more than five glasses daily
According to a study by the German Institute for Nutritional Research (DIfE), people who consume more than five glasses of an alcoholic drink (60 g) a day drink plenty of water. For women, half is. Some health experts still consider a daily amount of 24 grams for men, or 12 grams for women, to be acceptable. According to the Munich study, in addition to the nationwide nearly 1.8 million dependent alcoholics, another 1.6 million people drink a lot of alcohol, but are not yet addicted.

Various causes for the handle to the bottle
In NRW, Minister Steffens estimates that there are at least two million people who have alcohol problems. 400,000 are dependent, of which 70 percent are men and 30 percent are women. „The causes for the excessive grip on the bottle are manifold: peer pressure, loneliness, pressure in the professional or private life, psychological problems. In many circles, excessive alcohol consumption is also an essential part of leisure time activity or is considered cool“, so Steffens.

Increasing dependence on older people
Significant differences can be observed in the various population groups. For example, young women between the ages of 18 and 24 drink significantly more alcohol than they did ten years ago. But among the 40- to 59-year-olds consumption is declining. Above all, the growing dependence on older people worries the Minister. For example, 15.4 percent of people over the age of 60 consume alcohol in a risky manner, according to the German Department of Addiction (DHS). In Germany, up to 400,000 senior citizens are affected by alcohol problems. According to the DHS, the proportion of alcoholics in old people's and nursing homes is on average higher than that of older people in private households.

Isolation can add to addiction
„Alcohol and drug dependence in the elderly increase. Isolation and the loss of recognition in old age can help more and more old people become addicted to illness“, so Steffens. And also the DHS assumes that the addiction in the age will increase due to the demographic development. That is why the state of North Rhine-Westphalia worked with physicians, pharmacies, social associations and municipalities to develop a country concept addiction in 2012, which, among other things, provides for more counseling and support services for the prevention of addiction, weaning and reintegration into the profession. The state pays a total of 13.7 million euros per year for addiction prevention.

Girls and young women catch up on excessive drinking
The so-called binge drinking, so five or more alcoholic drinks a day, is three times as common in men as in women. At least four times a month, 20.6 percent of men drink „a thirsty one“. For women, this is only 6.6 percent. But Steffens criticized: „Unfortunately, girls and young women catch up on excessive drinking.“ The Minister continues: „What appears as an expression of emancipation, but does not stand for a new female self-confidence.“ While according to the Munich study more people „a problematic consumption“ of alcohol, the number of alcohol consumers has fallen since 2005 in all age groups overall.

Federal Health Minister demanded
The spokesman for drug and addiction policy of the Greens parliamentary group, Harald Terpe, had in the past month, the new Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) in view of the questionable figures of the „Epidemiological addiction surveys“, which was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health by the Munich Institute for Therapy Research, „to devote more energy to its addiction prevention and therapy than its predecessor“ and criticizes in this context that so far the post of Drug Commissioner of the Federal Government has not been filled. (Sb)

Picture: Gerd Altmann / Anja Wichmann