Nine percent of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older drink excessively, whereas 65 percent don't drink at all and 26 percent drink moderately, according to a new report.

Reuters reported March 4 that researcher Elizabeth Merrick of Brandeis University and colleagues studied 12,413 Medicare recipients and found that about one in 10 consumed more than 30 alcoholic drinks per month; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the American Geriatrics Society recommend that people over age 65 consume no more than 7 alcoholic drinks weekly and no more than 3 drinks daily.

"Risks of excessive alcohol use may include exacerbation of some medical problems, detrimental impact on functioning, risk of falls, and medication interactions," said Merrick, who added that "at-risk or unhealthy drinking is often missed by health care and other providers."

The study was reported in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.