Expand+Weekend ethanol consumption and high-sucrose diet: resveratrol effects on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, lipid profile, oxidative stress and hepatic energy metabolism

The present study analyzed the association between weekend ethanol and high-sucrose diet on oxygen consumption, lipid profile, oxidative stress and hepatic energy metabolism.

Because resveratrol (RS, 3,5,4'-trans-trihydroxystilbene) has been implicated as a modulator of alcohol-independent cardiovascular protection attributed to red wine, we also determined whether RS could change the damage done by this lifestyle. 

Male Wistar 24 rats receiving standard chow were divided into four groups (n = 6/group): (C) water throughout the experimental period; (E) 30% ethanol 3 days/week, water 4 days/week; (ES) a mixture of 30% ethanol and 30% sucrose 3 days/week, drinking 30% sucrose 4 days/week; (ESR) 30% ethanol and 30% sucrose containing 6 mg/l RS 3 days/week, drinking 30% sucrose 4 days/week.

After 70 days the body weight was highest in ESR rats. E rats had higher energy expenditure (resting metabolic rate), oxygen consumption (VO₂), fat oxidation, serum triacylglycerol (TG) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) than C. ES rats normalized calorimetric parameters and enhanced carbohydrate oxidation. 

ESR ameliorated calorimetric parameters, reduced TG, VLDL and lipid hydroperoxide/total antioxidant substances, as well enhanced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and HDL/TG ratio. Hepatic hydroxyacyl coenzyme-A dehydrogenase (OHADH)/citrate synthase ratio was lower in E and ES rats than in C. OHADH was highest in ESR rats. 

The present study brought new insights on weekend alcohol consumption, demonstrating for the first time, that this pattern of ethanol exposure induced dyslipidemic profile, calorimetric and hepatic metabolic changes which resemble that of the alcoholism.  No synergistic effects were found with weekend ethanol and high-sucrose intake. 

RS was advantageous in weekend drinking and high-sucrose intake condition ameliorating hepatic metabolism and improving risk factors for cardiovascular damage. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail: drno@uol.com.br

   

Scientists try to assess the impact of binge drinking on the brains of teens

Emergency room nurse Sheila DeRiso stood at the front of the high school auditorium and looked out on her audience of 50 teenagers and parents. From a black nylon bag she pulled out a long, plastic tube, then a stomach pump, a speculum, a catheter and an adult diaper. The group tittered. All these items are used in the ER every day to treat binge-drinking teens, she told them. 

Then she yanked out a white body bag and unfolded it: "And this is if you don't make it."

The audience was dead silent. 

Binge drinking, or consuming many drinks fairly quickly, has been a hallmark of college life. But students in high school and even middle school are also engaging in it, according to DeRiso, local police officials and experts. In one 2005 study of 5,300 middle school students, about 8 percent of seventh-graders and 17 percent of eighth-graders said they had tried binge drinking during that year.  > > > >  Read More

Common genetic and environmental contributions to post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol dependence in young women

The few genetically informative studies to examine post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence (AD), all of which are based on a male veteran sample, suggest that the co-morbidity between PTSD and AD may be attributable in part to overlapping genetic influences, but this issue has yet to be addressed in females.

Data were derived from an all-female twin sample (n=3768) ranging in age from 18 to 29 years. A trivariate genetic model that included trauma exposure as a separate phenotype was fitted to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to PTSD and the degree to which they overlap with those that contribute to AD, after accounting for potential confounding effects of heritable influences on trauma exposure.

Additive genetic influences (A) accounted for 72% of the variance in PTSD; individual-specific environmental (E) factors accounted for the remainder. An AE model also provided the best fit for AD, for which heritability was estimated to be 71%. The genetic correlation between PTSD and AD was 0.54.

The heritability estimate for PTSD in our sample is higher than estimates reported in earlier studies based almost exclusively on an all-male sample in which combat exposure was the precipitating traumatic event.

However, our findings are consistent with the absence of evidence for shared environmental influences on PTSD and, most importantly, the substantial overlap in genetic influences on PTSD and AD reported in these investigations.

Additional research addressing potential distinctions by gender in the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on PTSD is merited.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: 

sartorc@psychiatry.wustl.edu

  

Predicting alcohol consumption in adolescence from alcohol-specific and general externalizing genetic risk factors, key environmental exposures and their interaction.

Alcohol consumption is influenced by specific genetic risk factors for alcohol use disorders (AUDs), non-specific genetic risk factors for externalizing behaviors and various environmental experiences. We have limited knowledge of how these risk factors inter-relate through development.

Retrospective assessments in 1796 adult male twins using a life history calendar of key environmental exposures and alcohol consumption from early adolescence to mid-adulthood. Analysis by linear mixed models.

The importance of non-specific genetic risk factors on maximal alcohol consumption rose rapidly in early to mid-adolescence, peaked at ages 15–17 years and then declined slowly.

Alcohol-specific genetic risk factors increased slowly in influence through mid-adulthood. 

We detected robust evidence for environmental moderation of genetic effects on alcohol consumption that was more pronounced in early and mid-adolescence than in later periods. 

Alcohol availability, peer deviance and low prosocial behaviors showing the strongest moderation effects. 

More interactions with environmental risk factors were seen for the non-specific externalizing disorder risk than for specific genetic risk for AUDs.

The impact of specific and non-specific genetic influences on alcohol consumption have different development trajectories. 

Genetic effects on alcohol use are more pronounced when social constraints are minimized (e.g. low prosocial behaviors or parental monitoring) or when the environment permits easy access to alcohol and/or encourages its use (e.g. high alcohol availability or peer deviance). 

Gene–environment interactions influencing alcohol intake may be more robust at younger ages, indicating greater plasticity of genetic influences early in the development of drinking patterns.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  

kendler@hsc.vcu.edu

 

Temporal sequence of incident cigarette, coffee, and alcohol use among AA participants

Cigarettes and coffee are widely used psychoactive substances among alcoholics. Due to the devastating public health impact of alcohol use disorders, it is important to determine if using cigarettes or coffee may influence alcoholism. 

Previous studies indicate that cigarette smoking is associated with progression of alcohol dependence, but the effects of coffee drinking have yet to be investigated.  

To retrospectively determine the temporal sequence of incident cigarette, coffee, and alcohol use and attributed subjective effects in AA participants.  

Volunteers at all Nashville open-AA meetings (n = 289 [126 women], completion rate = 94.1%) were administered a Lifetime Drinking History modified to also include lifetime cigarette and coffee consumption, as well as coffee consumption and effects questions, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, and the Smoking Effects Questionnaire.  

Average ages (years) at first regular use of alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee were 15.4 (IQR: 13.0–18.0), 16.7 (IQR: 13.0–18.5), and 18.5 (IQR: 14.0–23.5), respectively. In a subset who used all three substances (n = 236;102 women) alcohol consumption preceded cigarette smoking (p < .001) and coffee drinking (p < .001), and cigarette smoking preceded coffee drinking (p < .001); these relationships did not differ by gender.  

Recovering alcoholics started regular alcohol consumption prior to cigarette smoking and coffee drinking. 


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   

peter.martin@vanderbilt.edu

  

Cigarettes and coffee are widely used psychoactive substances among alcoholics. Due to the devastating public health impact of alcohol use disorders, it is important to determine if using cigarettes or coffee may influence alcoholism. Previous studies indicate that cigarette smoking is associated with progression of alcohol dependence, but the effects of coffee drinking have yet to be investigated. Objectives: To retrospectively determine the temporal sequence of incident cigarette, coffee, and alcohol use and attributed subjective effects in AA participants. Methods: Volunteers at all Nashville open-AA meetings (n = 289 [126 women], completion rate = 94.1%) were administered a Lifetime Drinking History modified to also include lifetime cigarette and coffee consumption, as well as coffee consumption and effects questions, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, and the Smoking Effects Questionnaire. Results: Average ages (years) at first regular use of alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee were 15.4 (IQR: 13.0–18.0), 16.7 (IQR: 13.0–18.5), and 18.5 (IQR: 14.0–23.5), respectively. In a subset who used all three substances (n = 236;102 women) alcohol consumption preceded cigarette smoking (p < .001) and coffee drinking (p < .001), and cigarette smoking preceded coffee drinking (p < .001); these relationships did not differ by gender. Conclusions: Recovering alcoholics started regular alcohol consumption prior to cigarette smoking and coffee drinking.


Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952990.2010.540283

Risk Factors for Mortality in the Nurses’ Health Study: A Competing Risks Analysis

Few studies have examined multiple risk factors for mortality or formally compared their associations across specific causes of death.

The authors used competing risks survival analysis to evaluate associations of lifestyle and dietary factors with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among 50,112 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study.

There were 4,893 deaths between 1986 and 2004: 1,026 from cardiovascular disease, 931 from smoking-related cancers, 1,430 from cancers not related to smoking, and 1,506 from all other causes.

Age, body mass index at age 18 years, weight change, height, current smoking and pack-years of smoking, glycemic load, cholesterol intake, systolic blood pressure and use of blood pressure medications, diabetes, parental myocardial infarction before age 60 years, and time since menopause were directly related to all-cause mortality, whereas there were inverse associations for physical activity and intakes of nuts, polyunsaturated fat, and cereal fiber.

Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with decreased mortality. 

A model that incorporated differences in the associations of some risk factors with specific causes of death had a significantly better fit compared with a model in which all risk factors had common associations across all causes.

In the future, this new model may be used to identify individuals at increased risk of mortality. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail: hbaer@partners.org 

Experts debate merit of making drinking age 21

What role does the 21-year-old drinking age play in the phenomenon of young adults bingeing on alcohol? This has become a fiercely debated topic in the past few years. 

Some experts suggest that it is almost irrelevant, since teens will drink, whether they are 21 or not and whether it is legal or not, and that the law may encourage binge drinking because teens will want to consume very quickly to avoid getting caught. Others say that the 21-year-old limit, adopted in every state by 1988, makes it much harder for young people to obtain alcohol and has dramatically reduced the number of car accidents and resulting deaths.

> > > >    Read More

UI officials unveil aggressive, three-year alcohol plan

In just three years, 15 percent fewer University of Iowa students will be binge drinkers.

At least, that's one goal of university officials under a new, aggressive plan to reduce harmful student drinking and rid the UI of its party school image.

The Alcohol Harm Reduction Plan — expected to be presented today at a UI Faculty Senate meeting and obtained in advance by The Daily Iowan — is the result of nearly a year's worth of meetings by a 26-person committee. It is the final draft of a document that has gone through numerous revisions.  > > > >  Read More

Offender Health: SMART recovery guidance for prisons and probation; Alcohol services review

Two new guidance documents are available from SMART recovery UK, a new peer support (mutual aid) organisation. 

• Guidance for Prisons How promoting SMART Recovery can help improve abstinent recovery and reduce re-offending

• Guidance for Probation How promoting SMART Recovery can improve abstinent outcomes for DRR and ATR’s and reduce re-offending

A SMART recovery guidance document is available anyone who wishes to support the establishment of SMART Recovery meetings in their area.

A report  Offender Health: Alcohol Services Review - Summary has been produced by the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University (JMU). It reports that a range of alcohol focused interventions are available across offender settings, but there is significant geographical variation in provision a lack of community-based offender-specific services in some areas.

Further Offender Health documents can be found here on the Alcohol Learning Centre.


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Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Among High School Students and Adults --- United States, 2009

Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.

CDC analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. 

Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use. 

Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of reported binge drinking was 15.2% among landline respondents. Binge drinking was more common among men (20.7%), persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25−34 years (22.5%), whites (16.0%), and persons with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%). 

Among cellular telephone respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking (20.6%) was higher than among landline respondents, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. 

Prevalence among high school students was 41.8% for current alcohol use, 24.2% for binge drinking, and 60.9% for binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use.

Binge drinking is common among U.S. adults, particularly those with higher household incomes, and among high school students. Binge drinking estimates for adults were higher in the cellular telephone sample than in the landline sample. Most youths who reported current alcohol use also reported binge drinking. 

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NIAAA Newsletter Summer 2010 • Issue 20

• NIAAA 40th Anniversary Symposium
• NIAAA Scores at the USA Science & Engineering Expo
• New National Advisory Council Members Welcomed
• New Course in Psychopathology and Behavioral Evaluation
• Scientific Management Review Board Vote on Merger
• South Korea Site Visit Explores Potential Collaboration for FASD Researchers
• NIAAA Participates in Drug Facts Chat Day
• New Publications
• Personnel

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A Randomized Trial of Extended Telephone-Based Continuing Care for Alcohol Dependence: Within-Treatment Substance Use Outcomes

The study tested whether adding up to 18 months of telephone continuing care, either as monitoring and feedback (TM) or longer contacts that included counseling (TMC), to intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) improved outcomes for alcohol-dependent patients. 


Participants (N = 252) who completed 3 weeks of IOP were randomized to up to 36 sessions of TM (M = 11.5 sessions), TMC (M = 9.1 sessions), or IOP only (treatment as usual [TAU]). Quarterly assessment of alcohol use (79.9% assessed at 18 months) was corroborated with available collateral reports (N = 63 at 12 months). Participants with cocaine dependence (N = 199) also provided urine samples. 

Main effects favored TMC over TAU on any alcohol use (odds ratio [OR] = 1.88, CI [1.13, 3.14]) and any heavy alcohol use (ORds = 0.46–0.65). TMC also produced fewer days of any alcohol use and heavy alcohol use than TM during Months 4–6 (ds = 0.39 and 0.43). TM produced lower percent days alcohol use than TAU during Months 10–12 and 13–15 (ds = 0.41 and 0.39). There were no treatment effects on rates of cocaine-positive urines.  

Adding telephone continuing care to IOP improved alcohol use outcomes relative to IOP alone. Conversely, shorter calls that provided monitoring and feedback but no counseling generally did not improve outcomes over IOP.


 

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mckay_j@mail.trc.upenn.edu   

Methanolic Extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius Attenuates Renal Dysfunction Induced by Chronic Ethanol Administration in Wistar Rats

The present work studied the modulatory role of methanolic extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaf (MECA) in rat model of renal dysfunction induced by chronic ethanol administration.  

Forty-two male Wistar albino rats weighing between 170 and 180 g were distributed into seven groups of six animals each. Some groups were pretreated with MECA (100 and 200 mg/kg) or kolaviron (KV) (200 mg/kg) for 2 weeks before simultaneous administration of MECA or KV and 20% ethanol (7.9 g/kg) for eight consecutive weeks. Others were given ethanol or MECA (200 mg/kg) or KV alone, and the control received corn oil (Vehicle). KV served as the standard antioxidant. 

 

In ethanol-treated rats, serum urea, creatinine, urinary glucose, gamma-glutamyltransferase and protein increased by 59, 81, 70, 148 and 63%, respectively, while creatinine clearance significantly (P < 0.05) decreased by 79%. MECA significantly (P < 0.05) attenuated the above biochemical indices to near normal. Also, the levels of serum and kidney malondialdehyde (MDA) (Index of lipid peroxidation) increased by 102 and 143%, respectively, in ethanol-treated rats. Ethanol intoxication caused a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the levels of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in kidney of the rats. MECA attenuated the ethanol-induced increases in serum and kidney MDA, and also enhanced the antioxidant status of the rats by increasing the levels of CAT, SOD and GSH. The activity of MECA was comparable with KV at 200 mg/kg. The biochemical findings were corroborated by histopathological examination of the kidney.  

The results suggest that the renal protective effect of C. aconitifolius leaf extract is by attenuating oxidative stress induced by chronic ethanol administration. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail: aoadaramoye@yahoo.com

   

Two Drinks Max: Tough drink drive talk in Oz

John Key's Government continues to refuse to reduce the drink-drive limit but in Australia debate has started on radical new proposals that may reshape driving habits there.

The Australian Transport Council this week released a discussion document calling for the national alcohol limit to be reduced to 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Some states, such as Victoria, already have a limit of 50mg, which is 30mg lower than New Zealand's 80mg.   > > > >  Read More

Quebec drops plan to lower blood-alcohol level for drivers

The Quebec government caved in to popular resistance and political opposition Monday by dropping a measure to lower its legal blood-alcohol level for drivers.

"We have to listen to the people and clearly Quebecers are not there yet," Transport Minister Sam Hamad told a news conference Monday.

The measure to lower the limit to 0.05 or 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood has been a political hot potato ever since it was introduced in the National Assembly last year and faced staunch opposition from other political parties, Quebec drivers and restaurant and bar owners.  > > > >  Read More

Association between alcohol consumption and diabetic retinopathy and visual acuity—the AdRem Study

We investigated the association between alcohol consumption and diabetic retinopathy and deterioration of visual acuity in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.

We conducted a cohort analysis of 1239 participants with Type 2 diabetes aged 55–81 years enrolled in the AdRem study, a sub-study of the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial. Current and past consumption of wine, spirits and beer was measured by self-report. Moderate and heavy alcohol consumption was defined as 1–14 and > 14 drinks/week, respectively. Diabetic retinopathy, measured by mydriatic stereoscopic seven-field retinal photography, was defined by a 2-step progression in the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) score or the presence of any retinal vascular lesions. Deterioration of visual acuity was defined by a decrease of two lines in best vision in either eye, measured corrected, or through a pinhole using a Snellen chart.

In a mean follow-up of 5.5 years, we identified 182 participants with a 2-step progression in the ETDRS score, 640 participants with the presence of any retinal vascular lesions and 693 participants with a deterioration of visual acuity. 

Current moderate consumption of alcohol, compared with no current consumption, was not associated with presence or progression of diabetic retinopathy; however, it was associated with higher risk of deterioration of visual acuity (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.34–2.48; P < 0.001).

Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of deterioration of visual acuity, but not with retinopathy in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.



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Request Reprint E-Mail:  J.Beulens@umcutrecht.nl  

Moderate ethanol ingestion, redox status, and cardiovascular system in the rat

Moderate intake of alcoholic beverages decreases the incidence of cardiovascular pathologies, but it is in dispute if cardioprotective effects are due to ethanol, to polyphenolic compounds present in beverages or to a combination of both. 

In humans, effects of high, moderate, and low doses of alcoholic beverages are widely studied, but effects of pure alcohol remain unclear. On the other hand, experiments with laboratory animals are centered on high toxicological doses of ethanol but not on low doses. 

In the present study, we have aimed to mimic in the rat the pattern of alcohol intake in Mediterranean population. Alcohol ingestion is spread along the day and not always related to solid food consumption. We tried to define the beneficial and harmful effects of pure ethanol ingestion without polyphenol’s influence.
 

Experimental rats were given 1% ethanol in their drinking water for 30 days, resulting in a daily ingestion of 0.27mL of ethanol/rat/d. 

Ethanol ingestion did not cause deleterious effects on the general status of the animals, but it decreased cholesterol, triglycerides, and catecholamine stores’ rate of utilization in peripheral sympathetic system. Moreover, ethanol lowered pulmonary arterial pressure and did not alter systemic arterial pressure. 

In the liver, the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio was augmented and lipid peroxide, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities were decreased. However, catalase activity was unaltered. Liver cytochrome P4502E1 distribution and protein level and activity were unchanged by ethanol ingestion. 

Data indicate a lack of harmful effects and underscore a set of potentially beneficial effects of this dose of ethanol.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  constanc@ibgm.uva.es 

Acute ingestion of alcohol and cardiac autonomic modulation in healthy volunteers

Arrhythmogenic effects of alcohol may be intermediated by its effects over heart rate variability (HRV). 

Most studies about the effects of alcohol over HRV were observational and did not explore the temporal influence of alcohol ingestion over autonomic modulation. 

The aim of this study was to verify if an acute ingestion of alcohol has a time-dependent influence over time-domain indices of HRV. 

The effect of the ingestion of 60g of ethanol or placebo over autonomic modulation was compared in healthy men (35 per group), with 18–25 years of age, before and during 17h after ingestion. 

Alcohol promoted a fall in the standard deviation of all normal R–R intervals, root mean square of successive differences, and percentage of pairs of adjacent R–R intervals differing by more than 50ms and in two indices of the three-dimensional return map, by a period up to 10h after the ingestion of alcohol, accompanied by an increase in heart rate. 

The indices returned to values similar of the control group 10h after ingestion. The effects over HRV indices were attenuated by adjustment for heart rate.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  paulobau@gmail.com  

Alcohol News - 49/2010

Bertelsmann Stiftung (Finland) - An attempt to ban evocative alcohol advertising
In summer 2009 the Finnish Government set up a working group to evaluate, among others, whether restrictions on evocative (visual) alcohol advertising were necessary. The working group finished its work in summer 2010 and concluded that no additional measures were needed concerning evocative alcohol advertising. This raised opposition, and consequently a bill proposing that only product information would be allowed to be shown in the commercials was introduced in Parliament in September 2010.
Read more
Stylish Classic (Denmark) - Alcohol may affect sperm health
The decrease in sperm count seen in men, in Europe and the United States in recent decades could be due, at least in part, to exposure to alcohol in utero. In a study published recently in the journal Human Reproduction, Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen and colleagues at the University Hospital of Aarhus (Denmark) show that men whose mothers drank more than one drink per day during pregnancy have sperm production reduced by one third, and the effects are already noticeable after only two drinks per week, or 24 grams of alcohol. This is the first time such a link is highlighted.
Read more
Baltic News Network (Lithuania) – Lithuania extends alcohol sale time
Starting from January 1, spirits will be sold from 8.00 AM to 12.00 AM, reports Runet.lt. 60 Parliament deputies voted for the amendments, while 40 were against, nine deputies refrained.
Read more
UPI.com (Canada) - Quebec nixes lower drivers' alcohol limit
Quebec's government has reversed itself on a plan to lower the maximum blood-alcohol limit for drivers to 0.05 per cent from 0.08 per cent, officials said.
Read more
WebProNews - Google Adjusts AdWords Alcohol Policy
Google has made changes to its advertising policy on alcohol for AdWords. The company now allows ads to promote the sale of hard alcohol and liquor.
Read more
Renal and Urology New - Alcohol May Adversely Affects Vision in Type 2 diabetics
Moderate and heavy alcohol consumption may be associated with an increased risk of declining visual acuity, but not diabetic retinopathy, in patients with type 2 diabetes, data suggest.
Read more
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Ltd (Fiji) - Cigarettes and alcohol abuse kills: Ministry
More then 82% of Fiji’s population die of non-communicable diseases says the Health Ministry and two major contributing factors are the excessive use of cigarettes and alcohol.
Read more
Herald.ie (Ireland) - Teens' horror at seeing mums and dads being drunk
THE vast majority of teenagers believe parents should not get drunk in front of their children, new research has shown.
Read more
WalesOnline (Wales) - North Wales: ‘Smoking, alcohol and drugs are key concerns’
The lifestyles of people living in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, which covers Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham are generally in line with the Welsh average.
Read more
Medical Daily - Stigma discourages those with alcohol disorders from receiving treatment
Despite the existence of effective programs for treating alcohol dependencies and disorders, less than a quarter of people who are diagnosed actually seek treatment. In a recent study by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health researchers report that people diagnosed with alcoholism at some point in their lifetime were more than 60% less likely to seek treatment if they believed they would be stigmatized once their status is known.
Read more
The Korea Herald (South Korea) - Share of household spending on alcohol, cigarettes drops
The ratio of Koreans’ spending on alcohol and cigarettes to their total spending fell to a record low in the third quarter as people grew concerned about their health, data showed Monday.
Read more
TMCnet (WHO) - Itransition Helps WHO Launch Initiative to Prevent Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Itransition Software Development Company, an international software development company, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Dutch Ministry of Health, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (the Trimbos), have launched a new pilot project with the objective to prevent alcohol and substance abuse in Brazil, India, Mexico and Belarus.
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InsideVandy (USA) - STUDY: Alcohol consumption has an impact on final grades
Final exams are less than a week away, and students will be confronted with choices that will have an impact on their academic performance. A recent study conducted at the U.S. Air Force Academy found that alcohol consumption before and during final exam period is detrimental to students’ performance.
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The Guardian (UK) - David Nutt: 'The government cannot think logically about drugs'
If someone were to invent a perfectly safe ecstasy pill, what would be done about it? It's the sort of scenario clubbers like to speculate about, usually at around 6am, a little the worse for wear after a big night out. It's less common to hear it from a neuropsychopharmacologist and former government scientist – but it is, Professor David Nutt says earnestly, "the key question". So what does he think the government would do?
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Radio New Zealand (New Zealand) - Full strength beer ban at all cricket internationals
New Zealand Cricket says full-strength beer will not be sold at any venue during international matches this summer.
Read more
Irish Medical Times (Ireland) - Ireland paying heavy price for alcohol
“We are all paying a high price for cheap alcohol,” the national charity for alcohol-related issues, Alcohol Action Ireland, has warned, while calling on the Government to implement budgetary measures it says could earn the Exchequer up to €182 million additional revenue and help reduce the estimated €3.7 billion in avoidable costs caused by alcohol-related harm each year.
Read more
WalesOnline (Wales) - Call for zero alcohol drink-drive limit
PARENTS who have lost children to drink-drivers last night attacked the Government for failing to introduce an immediate “zero” alcohol limit for motorists.
Read more
Jerusalem Post (Israel) - Many women unaware alcohol and pregnancy don’t mix
Less than a quarter of Israeli women are aware of the risk of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, according to a study conducted by pediatrician Dr. Yehuda Santzky and the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
Read more
Washington Post (USA) - Experts debate merit of making drinking age 21
What role does the 21-year-old drinking age play in the phenomenon of young adults bingeing on alcohol? This has become a fiercely debated topic in the past few years.
Read more

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The Emerging Link Between Alcoholism Risk and Obesity in the United States

The prevalence of obesity has risen sharply in the United States in the past few decades. Etiologic links between obesity and substance use disorders have been hypothesized.

 

To determine whether familial risk of alcohol dependence predicts obesity and whether any such association became stronger between the early 1990s and early 2000s.

We conducted analyses of the repeated cross-sectional National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (1991-1992) and National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (2001-2002).

Obesity, defined as a body mass index (calculated from self-reported data as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of 30 or higher and predicted from family history of alcoholism and/or problem drinking.

In 2001-2002, women with a family history of alcoholism (defined as having a biological parent or sibling with a history of alcoholism or alcohol problems) had 49% higher odds of obesity than those without a family history (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-1.61; P < .001), a highly significant increase (P < .001) from the odds ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.16) estimated for 1991-1992.

For men in 2001-2002, the association was significant (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.38; P < .001) but not as strong as for women.

The association and the secular trend for women were robust after adjustment for covariates, including sociodemographic variables, smoking status, alcohol use, alcohol or drug dependence, and major depression. Similar trends were observed for men but did not meet statistical significance criteria after adjustment for covariates.

These results provide epidemiologic support for a link between familial alcoholism risk and obesity in women and possibly in men. This link has emerged in recent years and may result from an interaction between a changing food environment and predisposition to alcoholism and related disorders.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Rick@wustl.edu 

 

African countries loose out on beer taxes

Marta, a small scale shop-keeper in Accra, Ghana, paid more tax last year than the multinational brewery next door which deliver the beer to her shop. All together an estimated £20m of taxes from SABMiller are missed in Africa and India every year - enough money to educate a quarter-of-a-million African children, according to ActionAid's new report, released last week.

The report, Calling time: why SABMiller should stop dodging taxes in Africa reveals for the first time how the company, the world’s second biggest brewer, uses a complex system of  tax havens to siphon profits out of subsidiaries in developing countries, depriving those governments of significant amounts of tax.   > > > >  Read More
 

Neural correlates of verbal learning in adolescent alcohol and marijuana users

Alcohol and marijuana are the most widely used intoxicants among adolescents, yet their potential unique and interactive influences on the developing brain are not well established. Brain regions subserving learning and memory undergo continued maturation during adolescence, and may be particularly susceptible to substance-related neurotoxic damage. 

In this study, we characterize brain response during verbal learning among adolescent users of alcohol and marijuana.

Participants performed a verbal paired associates encoding task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning.

Adolescent subjects were recruited from local public schools and imaged at a university-based fMRI center.

Participants were 74 16–18-year-olds, divided into four groups: (i) 22 controls with limited alcohol and marijuana experience, (ii) 16 binge drinkers, (iii) eight marijuana users and (iv) 28 binge drinking marijuana users.

Diagnostic interview ensured that all teens were free from neurological or psychiatric disorders; urine toxicology and breathalyzer verified abstinence for 22–28 days before scanning; a verbal paired associates task was administered during fMRI.

Groups demonstrated no differences in performance on the verbal encoding task, yet exhibited different brain response patterns. 

A main effect of drinking pointed to decreased inferior frontal but increased dorsal frontal and parietal fMRI response among binge drinkers (corrected P < 0.05). 

There was no main effect of marijuana use. 

Binge drinking × marijuana interactions were found in bilateral frontal regions (corrected P < 0.05), where users of either alcohol or marijuana showed greater response than non-users, but users of both substances resembled non-users.

Adolescent substance users demonstrated altered fMRI response relative to non-using controls, yet binge drinking appeared to be associated with more differences in activation than marijuana use. 

Alcohol and marijuana may have interactive effects that alter these differences, particularly in prefrontal brain regions.



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stapert@ucsd.edu

Calling Time: Why SABMiller Should Stop Dodging Taxes in Africa

It is a proud part of Ghana’s history that, in 1957, it became the first African state to achieve independence from colonial rule. Fast-forward to 2010, and the country is held up by many as a model of economic and political development – a ‘high achiever’ in the quest to attain the Millennium Development Goals. But, like most countries in Africa, its government needs much more tax revenue to provide the basic public services necessary to alleviate poverty.
 
The 20th century also saw Ghana achieve another, much less significant first: in 1933 its capital,
Accra, become the site of west Africa’s first brewery. Now owned by the multinational giant SABMiller, Accra Brewery has become a textbook example of the techniques used by big business to avoid corporate income taxes. It has paid no income tax in the past two years, but transferred millions of pounds to sister companies in tax havens. The SABMiller group makes profits of
over £2 billion a year. 

ActionAid’s investigation used published financial information, interviews with government officials
and undercover research to find out how SABMiller avoids tax across Africa and India. The cost to the governments affected may be as much as £20 million per year.  
> > > >


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A qualitative study of college student responses to conflicting messages in advertising: anti-binge drinking public service announcements versus wine promotion health messages

The purpose of this study was to investigate how college students deal with conflicting health messages in advertising regarding binge drinking and wine promotion.

Phenomenological in-depth long interviews were conducted beyond the point of redundancy (N = 16).

The results of this study indicated that students’ meaning making regarding the conflicting messages relied greatly upon how consistent either message was with their prior beliefs about alcohol. 

Additionally, not all students perceived the messages to be contradictory; these students saw the messages as being constructed for different purposes and as such incomparable. 

Overall, students who perceived conflict responded to the topic with apathy fueled by advertising skepticism.

Employing qualitative methodology to understand how college students respond to conflicting messages will assist health promotion practitioners develop more effective alcohol abuse prevention messages and provide suggestions for researchers for studying this phenomenon from other perspectives in the future. Implications are further discussed within. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  Hoyoung.Ahn@utk.edu

Supporting good practice in the provision of services to people with comorbid mental health and alcohol and other drug problems in Australia: describing key elements of good service models

The co-occurrence of mental illness and substance use problems (referred to as "comorbidity" in this paper) is common, and is often reported by service providers as the expectation rather than the exception. Despite this, many different treatment service models are being used in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and mental health (MH) sectors to treat this complex client group. While there is abundant literature in the area of comorbidity treatment, no agreed overarching framework to describe the range of service delivery models is apparent internationally or at national levels. 

The aims of the current research were to identify and describe elements of good practice in current service models of treatment of comorbidity in Australia. The focus of the research was on models of service delivery. The research did not aim to measure the client outcomes achieved by individual treatment services, but sought to identify elements of good practice in services.

Australian treatment services were identified to take part in the study through a process of expert consultation. The intent was to look for similarities in the delivery models being implemented across a diverse set of services that were perceived to be providing good quality treatment for people with comorbidity problems.

A survey was designed based on a map of service delivery devised from a literature review. Seventeen Australian treatment services participated in the survey, which explored the context in which services operate, inputs such as organizational philosophy and service structure, policies and procedures that guide the way in which treatment is delivered by the service, practices that reflect the way treatment is provided to clients, and client impacts.

The treatment of people with comorbidity of mental health and substance use disorders presents complex problems that require strong but flexible service models. While the treatment services included in this study reflected the diversity of settings and approaches described in the literature, the research found that they shared a range of common characteristics. These referred to: service linkages; workforce; policies, procedures and practices; and treatment.


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Alcohol problems in young adults transitioning from adolescence to adulthood: The association with race and gender

Race and gender may be important considerations for recognizing alcohol related problems in Black and White young adults. 

This study examined the prevalence and age of onset of individual alcohol problems and alcohol problem severity across race and gender subgroups from a longitudinal study of a community sample of adolescents followed into young adulthood (N = 166; 23–29 yrs. old who were drinkers). 

All alcohol problems examined first occurred when subjects were in their late teens and early 20s. 

Drinking in hazardous situations, blackouts, and tolerance were the most common reported alcohol problems. 

In race and gender comparisons, more males than females experienced alcohol problems. 

Blacks generally had a later age of onset of alcohol problems. 

Multivariate regressions showed greater alcohol problem severity in males compared to females, but no significant differences between Blacks and Whites. 

Education, family environment and earlier alcohol use behaviors and expectancies were reliable predictors of alcohol problem severity in young adulthood. 

White males were at particular risk for experiencing more severe alcohol problems. 

Findings may inform the design of more targeted interventions for alcohol problems in different populations.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:  Karen.Chartier@UTSouthwestern.edu 

Serum Ethanol Levels in Patients with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Influence Outcomes: A Surprising Finding

Animal studies routinely demonstrate an alcohol (ETOH) -mediated increase in survival after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

Recent clinical studies also suggest ETOH plays a neuroprotective role in moderate to severe TBI. 

We sought to investigate the relationship between ETOH and outcomes in patients with moderate to severe TBI using a countywide database. 

The Los Angeles County Trauma System database was queried for all adult (older than 14 years) patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI trauma (head Abbreviated Injury Score [AIS] 3 or greater, all other AIS 3 or less) who had ETOH levels measured on admission between 1998 and 2005. 

A total of 7304 patients were evaluated with 3219 (44.1%) patients testing positive for serum ETOH. 

ETOH-positive patients with TBI had a significantly lower mortality rate compared with ETOH negative patients (8.5 vs 10.5%, P = 0.005).

Even after logistic regression analysis, a positive ETOH was associated with reduced mortality (adjusted OR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.99, P = 0.035). 

Therefore, a positive serum ETOH level was independently associated with significantly improved survival in patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI. 

The neuroprotective role ETOH plays in TBI is in contrast to previous findings and deserves further attention as a potential therapeutic. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail:   ali.salim@cshs.org

Ups and downs of alcohol use among first-year college students: Number of drinks, heavy drinking, and stumble and pass out drinking days

Given the dynamic fluctuating nature of alcohol use among emerging adults (Del Boca, Darkes, Greenbaum, & Goldman, 2004), patterns of alcohol use were modeled across 70 days in an intensive repeated-measures diary design. 

Two hundred first-year college students provided 10 weekly reports of their daily alcohol consumption via computer-assisted telephone interviews. 

Multi-level models demonstrated large within-person variability across days in drinks consumed, binge drinking, and days exceeding self-reported limits for stumbling around and passing out; these outcome variables were predicted by weekdays vs. weekend days (within-person) and gender, age of drinking initiation, fraternity/sorority membership, and alcohol motivations (between-persons). 

Repeated measurement of alternate indicators of alcohol use permits the examination of novel and important questions about alcohol use and abuse particularly in young adult and other erratically drinking populations.



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Request Reprint E-Mail:   jmaggs@psu.edu