Why do older Americans drink so much?

The pandemic played a role in increasing consumption, but alcohol consumption among people 65 and older was increasing even before 2020 .

The phone woke Doug Nordman at 3 a.m. A surgeon was calling from a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., where Mr. Nordman's father had arrived in the emergency room, incoherent and in pain, then lost consciousness.

Staff initially thought he was suffering from a heart attack, but a CT scan revealed part of his small intestine had been perforated. A surgical team repaired the hole, saving his life, but the surgeon had some questions.

“Was your father an alcoholic? He asked. Doctors had found Dean Nordman malnourished, his peritoneal cavity "flooded with alcohol."

The younger Mr. Nordman, a military author on personal finance living in Oahu, Hawaii, explained that his 77-year-old father had long been a classic social drinker: a scotch and water with his wife before dinner, which was topped up during dinner, then another after dinner, and maybe a nightcap.

Drinking three to four drinks a day exceeds current dietary guidelines, which define moderate drinking as two drinks a day for men and one for women, or less. But "it was the normal drinking culture at the time," said Doug Nordman, now 63.

At the time of his hospitalized in 2011, Dean Nordman, a retired electrical engineer, was widowed, living alone and developing symptoms of dementia. He got lost while driving, struggled with household chores, and complained of a "slippery memory."

We have difficulty retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode, please exit and sign in to your Times account, or subscribe to the entire Times.

Thank you for your patience while we let's check access.

Already subscribed?