LOS ANGELES, April 10 (UPI) -- Older men who drink two alcoholic drinks twice a week have higher death rates, compared to men who drink less, according to a U.S. study.
Dr. Alison Moore, associate professor of geriatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles, examined the mortality risks inherent in alcohol use.
She found older men who drank moderately or heavily and had accompanying comorbidities that could be worsened by alcohol use such as gout or ulcer disease, or who took medications that could interact negatively with alcohol use, such as sedatives or pain medications, had 20-percent higher mortality rates than other drinkers.
"This study shows that while moderate alcohol use may be fine for people who don't have other conditions that could be worsened by the use of alcohol, such alcohol use may not be fine if you take common medications for sleep, or for arthritis pain, or have depression, or have some gastrointestinal condition," said Moore.
The findings will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
