At‐Risk Drinking and Outpatient Healthcare Expenditures in Older Adults

Objectives To compare 12‐month outpatient healthcare expenditures of at‐risk and not‐at‐risk drinkers aged 60 and older. Design Secondary analysis of data from Project Senior Health and Alcohol Risk Education, a cluster, randomized trial to test the efficacy of an intervention to reduce at‐risk drinking. Setting Seven primary care clinics in or near Santa Barbara, California. Participants Current drinkers aged 60 and older who completed a baseline survey (N = 2,779) and did not receive the study intervention, including 628 at‐risk drinkers and 2,151 not‐at‐risk drinkers. Measurements Comparisons of at‐risk and not‐at‐risk drinkers for baseline demographic characteristics, health indicators, alcohol consumption, and adjusted and unadjusted outpatient healthcare expenditures incurred over 12 months after baseline. Results At‐risk drinkers were younger, more often male, and more likely to be married and had higher education and incomes than not‐at‐risk drinkers. Unadjusted 12‐month mean outpatient healthcare expenditures were $1,333 ± 2,973 for at‐risk drinkers and $1,417 ± 2,952 for the not‐at‐risk drinkers. There were no statistically significant differences in expenditures between groups before and after controlling for sociodemographic and health characteristics. Conclusion In this short‐term study, no adjusted differences in healthcare expenditures were observed between at‐risk and not‐at‐risk older drinkers. Future study is warranted to determine the role of at‐risk drinking in long‐term healthcare expenditures in older adults.