Gender differences in any alcohol screening and discussions with providers among older adults in the United States, 2015 to 2019

Background Unhealthy alcohol use is increasing among older adults, particularly women. We estimated gender differences in the prevalence of alcohol screening/discussions with healthcare providers among older adults who use alcohol. Methods Using the 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, we included 9663 adults age 65 and older in the United States who used alcohol and had a past‐year healthcare encounter. We estimated the weighted prevalence of alcohol screening/discussions (no screening; screening only; discussions with providers) by gender. We used weighted multinomial logistic regression models to examine correlates of alcohol use screening/discussions. Results Among older adults who used alcohol and encountered the healthcare system in the past year, 24.68% of men and 27.04% of women reported no alcohol screening/discussions. Men were more likely than women to be asked about drinking frequency, amount, or problems related to drinking. Compared to no alcohol screening/discussions, women were 22% more likely (95% CI: 1.05, 1.42) to report alcohol screening only but were 18% less likely to discuss alcohol with providers (95% CI: 0.73, 0.91) than men. Women had 0.67 times (95% CI: 0.60, 0.74) the adjusted odds of reporting alcohol discussions with providers versus any alcohol screening only compared with men. Conclusions Over a quarter of older adults who used alcohol were not asked about their drinking, and older women were less likely than men to discuss alcohol use with providers. Given the increased risk for harms of alcohol use with aging, older adults should be screened and counseled regarding their alcohol use.