Hypoglycemia And The Negative Effects On The Elderly
... after age 65.” Johnson (1989) indicates the prevalence of two types of alcohol problems in the elderly. She states that there are the “early onset problem drinker and the late onset problem drinker.” While the late onset 2. problem drinker shows no pattern of abuse until retirement, the early onset abuse is likely to have experienced problems through out this life (Johnson, 1989). Traxler (1991) makes a rather clear statement regarding the general problems associated with aging and the use of alcohol. He states that, “In a nutshell, the biological changes that occur with aging and that have impact on alcohol and drug use in later life are as follows: there is a general slowing of biological processes; decreased reserve of energy; breakdown in the function of various body systems, and changes in the structure of body parts such as cells, tissue, and organs.” Since the average human diet consists largely of carbohydrates, it seems logical that the efficient use of these food groups is essential to a healthy individual. Patel (1989) argues that “Carbohydrate metabolism is a complex process that involves the proper functioning and interaction of many of the body’s systems and organs.” In the body, carbohydrates are converted into simple sugars that are absorbed in the small intestine and carried to the liver (Patel 1989). It is the liver that converts these simple sugars into glucose. Glucose, according to Patel (1989) is the “primary source of energy for the cell.” Therefore, anything that interferes with this process can adversely affect the health and energy of the individual. He clearly states that alcohol consumption in the elderly adversely affects this process. Patel (1989) investigated the effect of alcohol on carbohydrate metabolism by studying 12-month-old rats. He and his colleagues fed these rats a liquid diet of alcohol over a 2 month period and matched these results with age matched controls (Patel 1989). Patel found a variety of negative effects in the rats fed alcohol. These include the observation that while older rats experience a deterioration of glucose tolerance, the rats fed alcohol experienced a further deterioration in their ability to metabolize glucose (Patel 1989). 3. When specifically considering the interaction of alcohol and prescription drugs this author finds that this occurrence is particularly common in the elderly. Solomon, Manepalli, Ireland and Mahon (1993) states that, “Alcoholism and prescription drug abuse are commonplace among the elderly.” They further caution that certain classes of drugs are commonly prescribed and have the potential for serious medical complications. They state that, “benzodiazepines or other sedative /hypnotics are the most commonly prescribed classes of these drugs (Solomon et al. 1993).” Solomon and his colleagues (1993) indicate that older individuals are more susceptible to the adverse effects of alcohol “by having a smaller volume of distribution for alcohol. This leads to higher blood alcohol levels in the elderly after ingestion of the same amount of alcohol.” This combined with the use of medications like barbiturates can have adverse effects on the health of the elderly. Solomon (1993) and colleagues caution that “ the capacity to metabolize alcohol may be significantly reduced in the elderly if there is the simultaneous use of alcohol and other sedative/hypnotics, although these drugs have different metabolic pathways. It seems clear to me that alcohol abuse is a serious problem in the elderly. While different authors look at the problem from a variety of...