Twenty Years Socioeconomic Trajectories in Older Adults with Varying Alcohol Use: A Register-Based Cohort Study.

Aims: The objective of this paper was to examine 20-year trends of the socioeconomic status (SES) measures income and employment and their association with current alcohol use behaviors in Danish adults aged 60-70.

Methods: Data from The Danish National Health Survey 2013 and the baseline assessment of the Elderly Study (2013-2016) were combined to form four groups from the general population with various drinking patterns, but with no recent treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), and one group seeking treatment: Abstinent (n = 691), low- (n = 1978), moderate- (n = 602), and high-risk (HR) drinkers (n = 467), and DSM-5 AUD seeking treatment (n = 262). For all groups, Danish national register data were linked at the individual level obtain find annual information on income and employment during the 20 years prior to interview. Mixed effects models were utilized to model trajectories of income and employment for the five groups.

Results: Lower income and employment status was observed from middle-aged adulthood when comparing 12-month abstinence or AUD to individuals with low or moderate alcohol consumption. At the end of the study period, moderate-risk drinkers experienced an increase, and HR drinkers a decrease, in income and rate of employment relative to the low-risk drinkers.

Conclusions: Alcohol use behaviors observed in older adults are related to distinct long-term trajectories regarding income and employment status, which are observable already in middle-aged adulthood.