London, Dec 28 (IANS): Health-related fears have pushed most middle-aged drinkers in Britain to lower their alcohol consumption to a great extent, finds a survey.

The decade-long research into the drinking habits of 4,500 people over the age of 45 also revealed that older women reduced their drinking after the loss of their partners.

People in their 40s who had stopped drinking completely at the start of the study were more likely to experience an improvement in health compared to drinkers.

According to researchers from the Keele University and University College London in Britain, life events lead to a drop in alcohol consumption in older adults.

The exception was among older and wealthy, single men, who are likely to drink more in later life and fail to lower their consumption, Daily Mail reported.

Older people with poor health had the steepest decline in the frequency of alcohol consumption.

"Our findings suggest that the group at most risk of heavy drinking in later life are older, single men with high levels of education and above average wealth," lead researcher Clare Holdsworth was quoted as saying.

Women, who lost their partners, reduced their drinking levels by more than 16 percent at the end of the 10-year study.

The survey was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.