Adults 50 to 64 reach 7.5% heavy-drinking rate

Adults ages 50 to 64 reached roughly 7.5% heavy drinking in 2024 CDC National Health Interview Survey data, Harvard Health Publishing reported Nov. 6, citing a study published in late September.

Evidence grade: Moderate (consistent observational data or small trials). The age split matters because adults 18 to 25 fell from roughly 8% in 2008 to under 4% in the latest survey, while 50- to 64-year-olds became the highest-rate group.

The study used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual National Health Interview Survey to track alcohol patterns by age. Harvard said overall drinking and heavy drinking have continued to rise for adults ages 50 to 64, even as drinking among younger adults declined after a pandemic-era increase.

For this study, heavy drinking meant five or more drinks a day or an average of 15 or more drinks a week for men. For women, it meant four or more drinks a day or an average of eight or more drinks a week during the 12 months before the survey.

Regular drinking among older adults, defined in the Harvard article as averaging at least one alcoholic drink a week across a year, rose roughly 5% over the past decade. Heavy drinking in that older group increased from just over 5% to roughly 7.5% over the same period, according to the study.

“Heavy drinking basically worsens every problem you can think of that that comes with older age,” said Kenneth Mukamal, professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, whose research has examined alcohol use and older adults’ health.

Harvard cited medical concerns including cirrhosis, cancer, heart disorders, falls and medication interactions. Mukamal said alcohol can affect heart rhythm, including atrial fibrillation, an irregular rhythm that is more common in older adults.

Jagpreet Chhatwal, director of the Center for Health Technology Assessment at Mass General Brigham, said the trend could precede more liver disease. “If somebody’s drinking at that age, it’s not that they just started drinking now,” Chhatwal said.

The age pattern has changed over time. Harvard said Americans of retirement age historically had the lowest drinking rates, followed by adults ages 50 to 64. The article said that began to shift roughly 10 years ago as Gen X drinkers, born between 1965 and 1980, moved into older age bands.

The findings apply to U.S. adults represented in the National Health Interview Survey, especially adults ages 50 to 64 and those 65 and older. They do not establish an individual person’s medical risk from alcohol use.

The study cannot show why drinking patterns changed, because the reported findings come from survey data rather than a randomized trial. Harvard’s article did not report the study’s sample size, funding or declared conflicts.

Chhatwal also said it is not yet clear whether the decline among younger adults is durable. “We don’t know yet if a drop in drinking in younger generations is a fluctuation or a consistent trend,” he said.

Source: medical-school news article, Harvard Health Publishing / Harvard Medical School, Nov. 6, 2026.

Atlas360 reports health research and does not provide medical advice.