Moderate drinking in older men improves fitness

Older men who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may function better physically than either those who abstain completely or those who abuse alcohol, a new study suggests.

Moderate drinkers tend to be healthier in general than teetotalers or problem drinkers, Dr Peggy Cawthon of California Pacific Medical Centre in San Francisco and colleagues said.

There is also evidence that moderate drinking may reduce inflammation. Dr Cawthon and colleagues compared functional limitations, physical performance and drinking history for 5962 men aged 65 or older who were classified into five categories.

Moderate drinkers scored about 3-5 per cent better on tests of physical function than the abstainers, the researchers found, while scores for heavy drinkers were about the same as those for the abstainers.

The abstainers were the most likely to report physical limitations to activities of daily living such as walking, climbing stairs, and doing heavy housework. The heavy alcohol users were only slightly less likely than abstainers to have these limitations.

Low-moderate users, meaning men who drank between seven and 14 drinks a week, were the least likely to have functional limitations, and were at 38 per cent lower risk of having these problems than abstainers. Article here.