Driving under the influence is dumb no matter how old you are, but new research suggests that older adults may be especially clueless when it comes to the consequences of a couple of glasses.

To test age-related differences in alcohol effects, University of Gainesville researchers compared to groups of adults, one aged 50 to 74 and the other aged 25 to 35. Participants were randomly chosen to drink an alcoholic or nonalcoholic “placebo” beverage. Those in the alcohol groups were given enough to reach the same blood alcohol level. Twenty-five and 75 minutes after drinking, the volunteers completed an evaluation called the Trail Making Test, which requires  takers to connect numbered and lettered dots in order, as quickly as possible. (If you want to give it a try, you’ll find a sample here.)

After downing a couple of drinks, older adults in general performed less well on the test than their younger counterparts. The differences were small, but enough to cause impairment while driving. Yet when asked how they felt, the oldsters reported feeling less impaired than did the younger participants.

Both groups seemed to metabolize alcohol equally. The difference, the researchers speculate, may be how alcohol affects the brains of younger or older people. Senior researcher Sara Jo Nixon, PhD, offered this advice to drinkers of any age: “Sit around for a while and let the alcohol metabolize. Don’t drink and run–stay and have dessert.”

© 2009 PDQhealth

Tags: age-related effects, alcohol