Binge Drinking Is Big Problem for Adults Too

Binge drinking is usually seen as a problem of college campuses, but many older adults may be overindulging in alcohol as well, a study published Monday suggests.

Using data from a government survey of nearly 11,000 Americans age 50 and up, researchers found that 23 percent of men between the ages of 50 and 64 admitted to binge drinking in the past month, as did roughly 9 percent of women, Reuters reports.

"We feel that our findings are important to the public health of middle-aged and elderly persons as they point to a potentially unrecognized problem that often 'flies beneath' the typical screen for alcohol problems in psychiatry practices," lead researcher Dr. Dan G , FOXNews reports.

They found that older binge drinkers were more likely to use tobacco or illicit drugs than those reporting no alcohol use. Male binge drinkers tended to be unmarried and have higher income than non-drinkers. Women binge drinkers reported higher non-medical use of prescription drugs , U.S. News & World Report reports.