Alcohol use in later life may pose health risks that are hidden by contemporaneous measures or slowly accumulating outcomes. We examined whether alcohol use predicts subsequent healthcare utilization among midlife and older adults.
Methods
Using 2012–2022 Health and Retirement Study data, we estimated fixed-effects negative binomial models of within-person associations between alcohol use and hospitalizations and doctor visits. Contemporaneous and 2-year lagged alcohol measures were evaluated, and interactions with chronic disease burden were tested.
Results
Contemporaneous models consistently showed fewer hospitalizations among drinkers. Lagged models showed a less protective and, for hospitalizations, more adverse pattern two years later. For doctor visits, lagged main effects were less consistent. Prior drinking predicted greater subsequent utilization as chronic conditions increased.
Discussion
Findings suggest that recent drinking history may reveal risks not apparent from current drinking alone and may be especially important among older adults with multimorbidity.
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