Our results are not directly comparable to previous studies due to numerous methodological differences including statistical differences in the examination of time-trends, calendar time covered, definition of older adults, definitions of drinking variables, and duration of drinking recall. With those caveats, our unadjusted results for current (past-year) drinking for women support those of White et al. (White et al., 2015) who reported an unadjusted upward trend in prevalence of current (past-month) drinking among women age 65+ between 2002 and 2012 in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This agreement contributes to the strength of the epidemiologic evidence supporting this potentially important observation. While our results for men differ from those of White et al. who reported no upward trend among men it should be noted that the increase we found for men was considerably weaker than for women.
