Moderate alcohol consumption may reduce risk of disabilities

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 (Chinese media) -- Moderate alcohol

consumption may protect against disabilities for healthy older adults, a new

study showed.

People at 50 and older who drink alcohol moderately

have 25 percent lower odds of being unable to carry out daily activities such as

walking, dressing, eating, running errands or doing chores, according to the

study conducted by the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of

California, Los Angeles.

The researchers collected data from a large,

nationally representative sample over a period of years to look at the

relationship between alcohol and physical disabilities. The findings were

published in the January issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"What it's really telling light-to-moderate drinkers

is don't worry, you're probably in good company, and you're probably going to

get good benefits from this," said lead researcher Dr. Arun S. Karlamangla.

The researchers defined light-to-moderate drinking as

less than15 drinks a week with a daily maximum of five for men and four for

women.

Study co-author Dr. Alison A. Moore, an associate

professor of medicine in the geriatrics division, said the study included the

number of drinks a day to eliminate people who binge drink. The daily

consumption may be part of the protective mechanism, she explained.

But the study warned against drinking for older

adults who aren't in good health.

For the participants who reported that their overall

health was fair or worse, alcohol offered no benefit at all, said Karlamangla.

"If your health is not good, you probably should not

be drinking," he said.

There were two possible reasons why the unhealthy

didn't benefit: alcohol may have negatively interacted with their medications,

or their health may have been so poor it wasn't reversible, according to the

study.