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Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Incident Frailty: The English Longitudinal Study of Aging

Kojima, G; Jivraj, S; Iliffe, S; Falcaro, M; Liljas, A; Walters, K; (2019) Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Incident Frailty: The English Longitudinal Study of Aging. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association , 20 (6) pp. 725-729. 10.1016/j.jamda.2018.10.011. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a common modifiable lifestyle factor. Alcohol may be a risk factor for frailty, however, there is limited evidence in the literature. // OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to examine the association of alcohol consumption with the risk of incident frailty. // METHODS: This is a prospective panel study of 2544 community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older in England. Frailty status defined by frailty phenotype criteria was measured at baseline and 4 years later. Participants free of frailty at baseline were divided into 5 groups based on quantity of self-reported alcohol consumption per week with cut-points at 0, 7, 14, and 21 UK units per week. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated for incident frailty according to the alcohol consumption using logistic regression models. // RESULTS: Compared with the low consumption group (>0 and ≤7 units per week), incident frailty risk over 4 years was significantly higher among nondrinkers [OR 1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12‒2.60, P value = .01], after controlling for sociodemographic confounders. In a supplementary analysis this became nonsignificant after further adjustment for baseline health status. Heavy drinkers (>21 units per week) had a significantly lower incident frailty risk (unadjusted OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.27‒0.75, P < .01), which became nonsignificant on adjustment for sociodemographic factors (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.37‒1.13, P = .12). // CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: We found that nondrinkers were more likely than those with low alcohol consumption to develop frailty, but this appeared to be explained by poorer baseline health status. No evidence was found for an association between high levels of alcohol consumption and becoming frail. Future studies with information on life-course history of alcohol use, especially for those classified as nondrinkers in old age, are warranted.

Type: Article
Title: Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Incident Frailty: The English Longitudinal Study of Aging
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2018.10.011
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2018.10.011
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Frailty, frailty syndrome, alcohol, drinking behavior, ethanol, older people
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10058512
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