Alcohol abuse in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary health care: a cross-sectional study.

This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze alcohol abuse in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary health care. Household data were collected from March to October 2018 in the Family Health Strategy in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo through face-to-face interviews with a form application. The pattern of alcohol consumption was estimated with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C. A total of 338 older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus participated, and 19.2% (95%CI 15.0-23.4) engaged in alcohol abuse. Among them, we observed a higher frequency of males (63.1%), aged 60 to 64 years (35.4%), economic class C (49.2%), 1-4 schooling years (53.8%), and multimorbidity (92.3%). There was a negative association between alcohol abuse and drug therapy adherence (PR = 0.55; 95%CI 0.36-0.86). The frequency of alcohol abuse and non-adherence to drug treatment among those with a high consumption pattern is troubling since it can lead to diabetes complications. Therefore, we underscore the importance of multidimensional elderly care and health education in primary care.