Help combat a hidden epidemic AMA guidelines address elderly alcoholism. Alcoholism is serious at any age. In elderly patients the problem can be greatly compounded if it is missed by their physicians. That's something that happens much too often.
Some physicians are reluctant to ask screening questions.
Others are uncertain what to ask or fail to even suspect something is wrong. Copies of the 17-page booklet, endorsed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, have been mailed to more than 110,000 primary care physicians. It is the latest in AMA's wide-ranging series of guidelines for physicians on major public health issues. It's estimated that as many as 3 million Americans older than 60 are alcoholics or have some alcohol-related problem. The number of the elderly with alcohol problems is expected to rise as the overall population ages.