Moderate Alcohol in Older Adults: A Preliminary Study

说明(申请人提供)：尽管人们认识到老年人的数量在继续增加，老年人在社会和专业方面的参与时间更长，酒精可能会与常见药物和各种功能产生不利作用，但关于老年人适度饮酒的系统研究非常有限。它受到测试电池狭窄、主要是男性样本和/或未能招募有代表性的样本的限制。这项修订后的试点研究旨在解决其中一些限制。具体地说，它将提供关于急性服用中度酒精的影响以及持续适度饮酒对神经认知、神经生理和精神运动表现以及心理社会功能和适应的影响的关键初步数据。为了完成这项初步工作，将对148名年龄在56岁至70岁之间的中老年饮酒者进行评估。132/148将在双盲安慰剂对照设计下进行测试。其余16人(8名男性/8名女性)将组成一个对照组，在既不饮酒也不饮酒的控制条件下进行测试，因为老年女性是一个特别缺乏研究的群体，将尽一切努力招募同等数量的男性和女性饮酒者。从这项研究中收集的数据将提供关于急性、中等剂量酒精在不同领域对老年饮酒者的影响的关键信息，还将提供与我们正在进行的工作中评估的年轻药物滥用和社区控制对象的比较数据。该项目通过确保适当的方案制定、培训、试点工作和初步数据收集，将为我们正在进行的研究方案中进一步发展老龄问题提供必要的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 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.