Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38135282›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2024

Hazardous Alcohol Use Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Persistent or Recurrent Pain: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study.

Lisa R LaRowe, Angela Miller, Sachin J Shah, Christine S Ritchie

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Bidirectional relationships between pain and alcohol use among older adults: a scoping review.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Lisa R LaRoweMongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Angela MillerMongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Sachin J ShahMongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Christine S RitchieMongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4881-9416
Harvard University · USMassachusetts General Hospital · US

Funding

HRS Yrs29-34: Y33 SSA CoFundingU01AG009740 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Jessica Faul, KENNETH M LANGA · 1990 to 2026
$555.8M
Characteristics and impact of chronic pain and pain management in older adultsR01AG064947 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI MIASKOWSKI, CHRISTINE A., RITCHIE, CHRISTINE S · 2021 to 2024
$1.7M
Individualizing Anticoagulant use in Older Adults with Atrial FibrillationK76AG074919 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI SHAH, SACHIN J · 2021 to 2025
$1.2M
NIA NIH HHS K76 AG074919NIA NIH HHS R01 AG064947NIA NIH HHS R01AG064947NIA NIH HHS U01 AG009740NIA NIH HHS U01AG009740
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough pain and alcohol use are highly prevalent and associated with deleterious health outcomes among older adults, a paucity of literature has examined hazardous drinking among older adults with pain. We aimed to examine the prevalence of hazardous drinking among a nationally representative sample of older adults with persistent or recurrent pain.

methodsWe conducted cross-sectional analyses of data collected from the 2018 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. Participants included 1  549 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 with persistent or recurrent pain (ie, clinically significant pain present at 2 consecutive survey waves).

resultsMore than one-quarter of older adults with persistent or recurrent pain reported regular alcohol use (≥weekly), nearly half of whom reported hazardous patterns of drinking. Specifically, 32% reported excessive drinking (ie, >2 drinks per day for older men; >1 drink per day for older women), and 22% reported binge drinking (ie, ≥4 drinks on one occasion). Exploratory analyses revealed a high prevalence of hazardous drinking among the subsample of older adults who used opioids (47%).

conclusionsHazardous alcohol use-including both excessive and binge drinking-is common among older adults with persistent or recurrent pain, including those who take opioids. Given that hazardous drinking can complicate pain management and increase the risk for adverse opioid effects (eg, overdose), the current findings underscore the importance of assessing and addressing hazardous patterns of alcohol use among older adults with persistent or recurrent pain.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingBinge DrinkingAgedAnalgesics, OpioidCross-Sectional StudiesEthanolFemaleHumansIndependent LivingMalePainPrevalenceRetirementAnalgesics, OpioidEthanolAddictionComorbidityNationally representativeSubstance use

Identifiers

PMID38135282
PMCPMC10959438
OpenAlexW4390126875

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.