Despite the recognition that the cohort of older adults continues to increase, that older adults remain socially and professionally engaged for longer periods of time and that alcohol may adversely interact with common medications and various functions, systematic research on moderate alcohol use in older populations is remarkably limited. It is restricted by narrow test batteries, the inclusion of largely male samples and/or the failure to recruit representative samples. This revised pilot study was designed to address some of these limitations. Specifically, it would provide critical preliminary data regarding the effects of the acute administration of moderate alcohol and the effects of continued moderate drinking on neurocognitive, neurophysiological, and psychomotor performance as well as psychosocial functioning and adaptation. To complete this initial work, 148 older moderate drinkers between the ages of 56 and 70 will be evaluated. 132/148 will be tested under a double-blind placebo-controlled design. The remaining 16 (8 male/8 female) will comprise a comparison group to be tested under control conditions where alcohol is neither expected nor administered, Because older women are a particularly understudied group, every attempt will be made to recruit equal numbers of male and female drinkers. Data collected from this study will provide critical information regarding the effects of acute, moderate doses of alcohol on older drinkers in a variety of domains and will also provide comparison data with younger substance abusing and community control subjects evaluated in our on-going work. This project, by ensuring appropriate protocol development, training, pilot work and initial data collection, would provide the necessary foundation for the further development of an aging focus in our on-going research program. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03AA014039-02
Application #
6806589
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-5 (01))
Program Officer
Witt, Ellen
Project Start
2003-09-30
Project End
2006-08-31
Budget Start
2004-09-01
Budget End
2006-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$73,650
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Kentucky
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
939017877
City
Lexington
State
KY
Country
United States
Zip Code
40506
Lewis, Ben; Garcia, Christian C; Nixon, Sara Jo (2018) Drinking patterns and adherence to ""low-risk"" guidelines among community-residing older adults. Drug Alcohol Depend 187:285-291
Squeglia, Lindsay M; Boissoneault, Jeff; Van Skike, Candice E et al. (2014) Age-related effects of alcohol from adolescent, adult, and aged populations using human and animal models. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:2509-16
Lewis, Ben; Boissoneault, Jeff; Gilbertson, Rebecca et al. (2013) Neurophysiological correlates of moderate alcohol consumption in older and younger social drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 37:941-51
Sklar, Alfredo L; Gilbertson, Rebecca; Boissoneault, Jeff et al. (2012) Differential Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Performance Among Older and Younger Adults. Alcohol Clin Exp Res :
Gilbertson, Rebecca; Prather, Robert; Nixon, Sara Jo (2010) Acute alcohol administration and placebo effectiveness in older moderate drinkers: influences on cognitive performance. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 71:345-50
Gilbertson, Rebecca; Ceballos, Natalie A; Prather, Robert et al. (2009) Effects of acute alcohol consumption in older and younger adults: perceived impairment versus psychomotor performance. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 70:242-52