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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Solo in later life, drinking less? A new longitudinal study found that older women who were unpartnered — whether single, divorced, or widowed — had significantly lower odds of hazardous and binge drinking compared to their partnered peers. Interestingly, neither depression nor loneliness explained the link, suggesting alcohol use in older adults is more about social culture than emotional coping.
Solo in later life, drinking less? A new longitudinal study out of Sweden and Finland found that being unpartnered in later life — whether single, divorced, or widowed — is associated with higher odds of alcohol abstinence among older adults overall, and notably lower odds of hazardous and binge drinking specifically among older women.
The study tracked over 5,000 community-dwelling adults aged 65–85 across two survey waves (2016–2021). Researchers found that unpartnered women were more likely to abstain from alcohol and less likely to engage in hazardous or binge drinking compared to partnered women. Unpartnered men, meanwhile, showed higher abstinence rates but no significant difference in binge drinking patterns.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the researchers found no evidence that depression or loneliness mediated these associations — meaning emotional distress from relationship loss doesn't appear to drive drinking behavior in this group.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: These findings challenge the assumption that loneliness or grief drives older adults to drink more after relationship loss. Instead, alcohol use in this population appears to be deeply rooted in social and cultural norms — a key insight for clinicians counseling older patients about alcohol habits.
