Study into Risky Drinking levels in older Australians attracts media considerable attention

February 2019

The findings from a recent study by NCETA’s Professor Ann Roche and Ms Victoria Kostadinov examining older Australians’ drinking habits was published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) on 14 January 2019. The study analysed data from the 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Surveys.

NCETA found that across all survey years while most Australians aged 50+ years drank at low risk levels (61% to 63.7%) the proportions of risky (from 13.4% to 13.5%) and high-risk drinkers (from 2.1% to 3.1%) increased. Although the increases in the proportions of risky and high-risk drinkers seem small, they correspond to an extra 400,000 people drinking at problematic levels. It is also the first time that this increase in risky drinking by older people has been recorded.

The MJA article, Baby boomers and booze: should we be worried about how older Australians are drinking attracted considerable media attention from across Australia.

Professor Ann Roche was interviewed by various radio and television media outlets which resulted in the publication of 26 media items on radio, television and online between 13 and 15 January 2019. Just click site to find one of these publications. These media articles reached a potential audience of more than 848,000 people.

In addition, Professor Ann Roche was interviewed by the MJA’s news and online editor for the journal’s first Podcast for 2019. In the Podcast, Professor Roche discusses the study’s findings and NCETA’s broader research program on older people’s AOD use in more detail. The MJA Podcast is available for download here.