| "Although
the underlying reasons remain hypothetical, proposed reasons included the increased
activity, socialization, and cognitive stimulation that are related to engaging
in gambling," Desai and her co-authors said. "Such a mechanism would
be consistent with the literature on healthy aging, which indicates that more
socially and cognitively active elders are, in general, healthier." The
Gambling Impact and Behavior Study by Desai and her colleagues involved telephone
interviews with a nationally representative sample of 2,417 adults. They compared
the health status of recreational gamblers who had gambled in the past year with
persons who had not gambled. Their health, which was self-reported, was measured
according to alcohol use, abuse and dependence, substance abuse and dependence,
depression, mental health treatment, subjective general health, incarceration
and bankruptcy. They also compared gamblers 18-64 years old with gamblers 65 and
older. Despite their findings, Desai
said it is important to continue to monitor gambling behaviors in older adults
since the activity can become highly addictive. Older gamblers tend to favor non-strategic
games, such as the lottery, bingo, keno, and slot machines, which are particularly
addictive, Desai said. Also, older gamblers are more likely to be living on fixed
incomes and the effects of gambling could be financially devastating to them,
she said. Co-authors included Paul Maciejewski,
David Dausey, Barbara Caldarone, and senior author, Marc Potenza, M.D., all from
Yale.
Citation: American Journal
of Psychiatry, Vol. 161; pp 1672-1679
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