Do 'good values' lead to 'good' health-behaviours? Longitudinal associations between young people's values and later substance-use

Past studies have linked certain values (traditional vs. individualistic) with adolescent substance-use. The aims of this study are to replicate cross-sectional research linking values and adolescent substance-use and to determine if such values predict future substance-use.

Cross-sectionally, young people with anti-authority values were more likely to use various substances, e.g. 17-67% more likely to regularly smoke (daily), drink (most days), or use drugs (weekly) for each SD above typical levels. Adjusting for social background, associations were not substantially attenuated.

However in the prospective analysis, adjusting for both background and substance-use at age 15, only two (anti-authoritarian and work ethic) values were (marginally) associated with substance-use at age 18/19.

While we replicated results found in prior cross-sectional studies, evidence from this study does not support the argument that holding certain 'pro-social' or 'good' values substantively protects against later substance-use and challenges the likely effectiveness of values-based interventions in relation to later substance-use.

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Alcohol and Acetaldehyde in Public Health: From Marvel to Menace

Alcohol abuse is a serious medical and social problem. Although light to moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to cardiovascular health, heavy drinking often results in organ damage and social problems.

In addition, genetic susceptibility to the effect of alcohol on cancer and coronary heart disease differs across the population.

A number of mechanisms including direct the toxicity of ethanol, its metabolites [e.g., acetaldehyde and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs)] and oxidative stress may mediate alcoholic complications.

Acetaldehyde, the primary metabolic product of ethanol, is an important candidate toxin in developing alcoholic diseases.

Meanwhile, free radicals produced during ethanol metabolism and FAEEs are also important triggers for alcoholic damages.

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"Handles to Hang on to Our Sobriety"

Commonplace books—collections of edifying prose and poetry—have been recognized as an important tool of self-fashioning from the early modern period onward.

This article examines the practice of commonplace making by men in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, where the form becomes a unique expression of the "surrendered masculinity" on which recovery from addiction hinges.

The author argues that the embrace of this nontraditional gender identity by the predominately White male population of AA suggests that the category of hegemonic masculinity may be destabilized by men’s spiritual investments.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ttravis@wst.ufl.edu
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Long-term suppression of forebrain neurogenesis and loss of neuronal progenitor cells following prolonged alcohol dependence in rats

Alcohol dependence leads to persistent neuroadaptations, potentially related to structural plasticity.

Previous work has shown that hippocampal neurogenesis is modulated by alcohol, but effects of chronic alcohol on neurogenesis in the forebrain subventricular zone (SVZ) have not been reported. Effects in this region may be relevant for the impairments in olfactory discrimination present in alcoholism.

Here, we examined the effects of prolonged alcohol dependence on neurogenesis. Rats were sacrificed directly after 7 wk of intermittent alcohol vapour exposure, or 3, 7 or 21 d into abstinence. Proliferation was assessed using BrdU and Ki67 immunoreactivity, newly differentiated neurons (neurogenesis) as doublecortin-immunoreactivity (DCX-IR), and neural stem cells using the SOX2 marker.

In the dentate gyrus, chronic dependence resulted in a pattern similar to that previously reported for acute alcohol exposure: proliferation and neurogenesis were suppressed by the end of exposure, rebounded on day 3 of abstinence, and returned to control levels by days 7 and 21. In the SVZ, proliferation was also suppressed at the end of alcohol exposure, followed by a proliferation burst 3 d into abstinence.

However, in this area, there was a trend for reduced proliferation on days 7 and 21 of abstinence, and this was accompanied by significant suppression of DCX-IR, indicating a long-term suppression of forebrain neurogenesis.

Finally, a decrease in the SOX2 stem cell marker was detected at days 7 and 21, suggesting long-term reduction of the SVZ stem cell pool.

While suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis by alcohol dependence is transient, the suppression in the forebrain SVZ appears long-lasting.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: markus.heilig@mail.nih.gov

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The effect of alcohol on radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis

Alcohol consumption reduces the risk of development of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and significantly attenuates the development of erosive arthritis in animal models. It remains unknown whether alcohol consumption influences joint damage progression in RA.

To compare the rates of radiographic damage progression in alcohol drinkers (D) and non-drinkers (ND) in a large prospective RA cohort. 2908 RA patients with a mean of 4 sequential radiographs and 3.9 years of follow-up were included. A trend towards reduced radiographic progression existed in D compared to ND, with ERO of 0.99% (0.89-1.09) and 1.13% (1.00-1.26) at one year respectively. Alcohol consumption displayed a J-shaped dose response effect, with a more favorable evolution in occasional consumers (p=0.01) and daily consumers (p=0.001), compared to non-drinkers, while heavy-drinkers demonstrated worse radiographic evolution (p=0.0001). We found significant effect modification by sex, with male D displaying significantly less ERO compared to male ND (0.86% (0.70-1.03) versus 1.35% (1.02-1.67), p=0.007). A trend towards reduced radiographic progression was observed in alcohol drinkers compared to non-drinkers, specifically in occasional and daily alcohol consumers, and in particular, male RA patients who consume alcohol demonstrate less radiographic progression than male non-drinkers. Read Full Abstract Request Reprint E-Mail: Michael.J.Nissen@hcuge.ch ____________________________________________

Cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking and esophageal cancer risk in Taiwanese women

To investigate the etiology of esophageal cancer among Taiwanese women.

Frequencies of smokers and drinkers among ESCC patients were 19.6% and 21.6%, respectively, which were significantly higher than smokers (4.4%) and drinkers (4.4%) among controls (OR = 4.07, 95% CI: 1.36-12.16, P = 0.01; OR = 3.55, 95% CI: 1.03-12.27, P = 0.04).

Women who drank an amount of alcohol more than 158 g per week had a 20.58-fold greater risk (95% CI: 1.72-245.62, P = 0.02) of ESCC than those who never drank alcohol after adjusting for other covariates, although the sample size was small.

Cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking, especially heavy drinking, are the major risks for developing ESCC in Taiwanese women.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: 960021@ms.kmuh.org.tw
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Nothing can make nation drink less, say quarter of Russians

One in four Russians say no measures taken to fight alcohol abuse will be effective against the national vice and commonest stereotype about Russia.

A survey carried out by the recruitment portal SuperJob.ru showed 24% of Russian citizens believe the introduction of anti-alcohol measures in the country would not improve the situation, which President Dmitry Medvedev said was tantamount to a national security threat.

Russia's chief sanitary doctor recently proposed a ban on sales of all alcoholic beverages after 9 p.m. and raising the legal age for drinking alcohol from current 18 to 21.

A quarter of Russians said restrictions on the sales of alcohol would simply increase the number of people who obtain vodka through illegal means or get their alcohol from substances not intended for human consumption. As a result, the nation's health may come under even greater threat.

Alcohol consumption in Russia is more than double the critical level set by the World Health Organization, a WHO report said last fall. . . . .

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Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health: Current Evidence

Current Issue: January–February 2010

Interventions and Assessments

• “Substance Abuser” versus “Having a Substance Use Disorder”: Our Words May Matter
• A Stepped-Care Approach to Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Primary Care
• Internet-based Intervention Reduces Alcohol Use
• Brief Intervention in the Emergency Department Shows Promise for Reducing Marijuana Use in Young Adults
• Sustained-Release Dexamphetamine Maintenance for Methamphetamine Dependence
• Emergency-Department Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Is Associated with Reduced Health-Care Costs
• The Greater the Score, the Greater the Risk? Alcohol Screening Scores and the Probability of Alcohol Dependence
• Web-based Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Reduces Drinking among College Students
• Transcutaneous Electric Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) for Opioid Detoxification
• Home Visits: A Cost-effective Option for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence

Health Outcomes

• High-Risk Drinking Is Associated with Lower Self-Rated Physical and Mental Health among Older Americans
• Abstinence Is More Common among Patients Who Use Heroin or Crack Cocaine Alone Compared with Those Who Use Both
• Is Sleep-Disordered Breathing a Major Cause of Sleep Disturbances in Methadone-Maintained Patients?
• Does Heavy Drinking Increase the Risk of Lung Cancer among Smokers?
• Alcohol, Stroke, and Functional Outcomes after Stroke

Slide Presentations

• Update on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health
• Journal Club

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Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the January-September 2009 National Health Interview Survey

In this release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) updates estimates for 15 selected health measures based on data from the January-September 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and presents estimates from 1997 through 2008 for comparison.

The 15 Early Release measures are being published prior to final data editing and final weighting, to provide access to the most recent information from NHIS. The estimates will be updated as each new quarter of NHIS data becomes available.

9. Alcohol consumption

• Figure 9.1. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over who had five or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year: United States, 1997-September 2009
• Figure 9.2. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over who had five or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year, by age group and sex: United States, January-September 2009
• Figure 9.3. Age-sex-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18 years and over who had five or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year, by race/ethnicity: United States, January-September 2009
• Data tables for Figures 9.1-9.3

PDF Version
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In-Utero Exposure to Smoking, Alcohol, Coffee, and Tea and Risk of Strabismus

In a prospective, population-based cohort study, the authors investigated the effect of in-utero exposure to maternal smoking and consumption of alcohol, coffee, and tea on the risk of strabismus.

They reviewed medical records for children in the Danish National Birth Cohort identified through national registers as possibly having strabismus. Relative risk estimates were adjusted for year of birth, social class, maternal smoking, maternal age at birth, and maternal coffee and tea consumption.

The authors identified 1,321 cases of strabismus in a cohort of 96,842 Danish children born between 1996 and 2003.

Maternal smoking was associated with a significantly elevated risk of strabismus in the child, increasing with number of cigarettes smoked per day (> relative risk (RR) = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80, 1.14; 5–> 1.70; 10 cigarettes/day: RR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.57, 2.30). Nicotine replacement therapy was not associated with strabismus risk (RR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.92, 1.61).

Light maternal alcohol consumption was inversely associated with strabismus risk, whereas maternal coffee and tea drinking were not associated with strabismus risk.

In conclusion, smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of strabismus in the offspring. Conversely, light alcohol consumption is associated with decreased risk.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ttp@ssi.dk
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A SYSTEMATIC GENE-BASED SCREEN OF CHR4q22-q32 IDENTIFIES ASSOCIATION OF A NOVEL SUSCEPTIBILITY GENE, DKK2, WITH THE QUANTITATIVE TRAIT OF ALCOHOL DEPE

Studies of Alcohol Dependence (AD) have consistently found evidence of linkage on chromosome 4q21-q32. A genome-wide linkage scan in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence (IASPSAD) sample also provided its strongest evidence of linkage on chromosome 4q22-q32 using an index of alcohol dependence severity based on the count of DSM-IV alcohol dependence symptoms (ADSX; LOD=4.59).

We conducted a systematic, gene-centric association study using 518 LD-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 65 known and predicted genes within the 1-LOD interval surrounding the linkage peak. Case-only regression analysis with the quantitative variable of ADSX was performed in the 562 genetically independent cases; nominal support for association was demonstrated by 32 tSNPs in 14 genes.

We did not observe study-wide significance, but gene-wise correction for multiple testing with the Nyholt procedure yielded empirical evidence of association with two genes, DKK2 (dickkopf homolog 2) (P=0.007) and EGF (epidermal growth factor) (P=0.025) in the IASPSAD sample. 3 SNPs in DKK2 (rs427983; rs419558; rs399087) demonstrated empirical significance.

Assessment of possible replication in 847 cases of European descent from a large independent sample, the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism, yielded replication for DKK2 but not EGF.

We observed genotypic and phenotypic replication for DKK2 with the 3 SNPs yielding significant association with ADSX in the IASPSAD sample. Haplotype-specific expression measurements in post-mortem tissue samples suggested a functional role for DKK2.

This evidence notwithstanding, replication is needed before confidence can be placed in these findings.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: gkalsi@vcu.edu
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The plausibility of maternal nutritional status being a contributing factor to the risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: The potential influence

There is increasing evidence that human pregnancy outcome can be significantly compromised by suboptimal maternal nutritional status. Poor diet results in a maternal-fetal environment in which the teratogenicity of other insults such as alcohol might be amplified. As an example, there is evidence that zinc (Zn) can interact with maternal alcohol exposure to influence the risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Studies with experimental animals have shown that the teratogenicity of alcohol is increased under conditions of Zn deficiency, whereas its teratogenicity is lessened when animals are given Zn-supplemented diets or Zn injections before the alcohol exposure.

Alcohol can precipitate an acute-phase response, resulting in a subsequent increase in maternal liver metallothionein, which can sequester Zn and lead to decreased Zn transfer to the fetus. Importantly, the teratogenicity of acute alcohol exposure is reduced in metallothionein knockout mice, which can have improved Zn transfer to the conceptus relative to wild-type mice. Consistent with the above, Zn status has been reported to be low in alcoholic women at delivery.

Preliminary data from two basic science and clinical nutritional studies that are ongoing as part of the international Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders support the potential role of Zn, among other nutritional factors, relative to risk for FASD.

Importantly, the nutrient levels being examined in these studies are relevant to general clinical populations and represent suboptimal levels rather than severe deficiencies.

These data suggest that moderate deficiencies in single nutrients can act as permissive factors for FASD, and that adequate nutritional status or intervention through supplementation may provide protection from some of the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: clkeen@ucdavis.edu
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Alcohol, culture and motherhood, Maynooth (Ireland)

24/08/2010 8:00 am 27/08/2010 5:00 pm

For centuries we have been confronted with "crisis" notions of maternal consumption throughout Europe. Recent treatments of alcohol and health have reiterated these feminized concerns. Without engaging in "problem deflation" we will interrogate how crises are imagined and sustained.

Location: Maynooth (Ireland). Date: 24– 27 August 2010

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Significant Reductions in Drinking Following Brief Alcohol Treatment Provided in a Hepatitis C Clinic

Although the hepatitis C virus (HCV) alone increases the risk of cirrhosis, alcohol use is thought to act synergistically with HCV to significantly hasten the development of fibrosis.

The authors assessed the impact of brief medical counseling or integrated-care approaches to lessen or eliminate alcohol use in these vulnerable patients.

This retrospective study describes the effect of brief alcohol treatment delivered in a hepatitis clinic on drinking outcomes and antiviral treatment eligibility: 47 heavy-drinking chronic hepatitis C patients received a brief intervention performed by medical clinicians, with follow-up by a psychiatric nurse-specialist.

At the last follow-up, 62% of patients reported >50% drinking reduction; these included 36% who achieved abstinence. Only 6% of patients were excluded from antiviral therapy.

Brief treatment addressing heavy drinking delivered by hepatitis clinicians with psychiatric-specialist follow-up was associated with abstinence or a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in over 50% of patients.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mlw@niaaa.nih.gov

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DNATwist: A Web-Based Tool for Teaching Middle and High School Students About Pharmacogenomics.

DNATwist is a Web-based learning tool (available at http://www.dnatwist.org) that explains pharmacogenomics concepts to middle- and high-school students.

Its features include (i) a focus on drug responses of interest to teenagers (e.g., alcohol intolerance), (ii) reusable graphical interfaces that reduce extension costs, and (iii) explanations of molecular and cellular drug responses.

In testing, students found the tool and topic understandable and engaging. The tool is being modified for use at the Tech Museum of Innovation in California.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: russ.altman@stanford.edu
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Alcohol still top drug for teens

Increased numbers of teenagers sought treatment for addiction to alcohol over the past year, the SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) has told MPs.

Sanca's Carol du Toit told the National Assembly's social development committee that contrary to popular opinion, alcohol abuse - rather than hard drugs - presented her organisation with its biggest challenge. . . . . . .

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Estimated effect of alcohol pricing policies on health and health economic outcomes in England: an epidemiological model

Although pricing policies for alcohol are known to be effective, little is known about how specific interventions affect health-care costs and health-related quality-of-life outcomes for different types of drinkers.

We assessed effects of alcohol pricing and promotion policy options in various population subgroups.

General price increases were effective for reduction of consumption, health-care costs, and health-related quality of life losses in all population subgroups. Minimum pricing policies can maintain this level of effectiveness for harmful drinkers while reducing effects on consumer spending for moderate drinkers. Total bans of supermarket and off-license discounting are effective but banning only large discounts has little effect. Young adult drinkers aged 18—24 years are especially affected by policies that raise prices in pubs and bars.

Minimum pricing policies and discounting restrictions might warrant further consideration because both strategies are estimated to reduce alcohol consumption, and related health harms and costs, with drinker spending increases targeting those who incur most harm.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: r.purshouse@sheffield.ac.uk
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3rd Open Forum on Alcohol and Health. 22 April, Brussels

Within the framework of the European Alcohol and Health Forum a 3rd Open Forum will be held in Brussels (Charlemagne Building of the European Commission) on 22 April 2010 from 10h00 till 17h00.

The Open Forum is an opportunity for an exchange of information and for discussion with a broader range of interested parties, including Member States. It also provides networking possibilities between and among the different stakeholders who wish to contribute to the reduction of alcohol-related harm.

This year's Open Forum provides a particular opportunity to present the European Alcohol and Health Forum's work and actions, and to provide an update of policy developments at EU, Member State and international level. Topics for debate at the Open Forum will be the Social Cost of Alcohol, Information to Consumers and Responsible Selling and Serving. There will be an exhibition with stands with materials relating to the work of the Members of the European Alcohol and Health Forum.

A draft programme can be found here and this will be further updated closer to the Forum.

If you wish to participate you can register on line at www.openforum.alcoholandhealthmeetings.eu

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The Social Cost of Alcohol: Passive drinking

Over 120 people attended the Lunch Seminar organised by Eurocare in the European Parliament to discuss the harm to others as "The Cost of Alcohol: Passive drinking" on Tuesday 2nd February 2010.

The seminar was hosted by MEP Anna Hedh from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and 30 MEPs were present or represented at the event.

Click here to read the seminar's report

Presentations

Welcome by MEP Anna Hedh (Audio) and Michel Craplet (chairman of Eurocare) (Audio)

“Passive drinking” the collateral damage from alcohol by Hans Olav Fekjær (Actis) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

EU action to reduce alcohol related harm by Ceri Thompson (DG SANCO- EU Commission) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

Alcohol and Interpersonal Violence - Domestic violence: Xavier Ferrer (Fundación Salud y Comunidad) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

Alcohol and traffic accidents - Antonio Avenoso (ETSC: European Transport Safety Council) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

Children living in families with alcohol problems: the invisible victims - Mira Roine (ENCARE: European Network for Children for Children affected by Risky Environments within the family) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

Harm to the unborn child - Dr Rudi Kohl (FAS Policlinic. The Netherlands) (PowerPoint) (Audio)

Closing remarks by Cliona Murphy (Alcohol Action Ireland - Eurocare) (Audio)

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Rapid and mobile determination of alcoholic strength in wine, beer and spirits using a flow-through infrared sensor

Ever since Gay-Lussac's time, the alcoholic strength by volume (% vol) has been determined by using densimetric measurements. The typical reference procedure involves distillation followed by pycnometry, which is comparably labour-intensive and therefore expensive. At present, infrared (IR) spectroscopy in combination with multivariate regression is widely applied as a screening procedure, which allows one to determine alcoholic strength in less than 2 min without any sample preparation. The disadvantage is the relatively large investment for Fourier transform (FT) IR or near-IR instruments, and the need for matrix-dependent calibration.

In this study, we apply a much simpler device consisting of a patented multiple-beam infrared sensor in combination with a flow-through cell for automated alcohol analysis, which is available in a portable version that allows for on-site measurements.

During method validation, the precision of the infrared sensor was found to be equal to or better than densimetric or FTIR methods. For example, the average repeatability, as determined in 6 different wine samples, was 0.05% vol and the relative standard deviation was below 0.2%. Accuracy was ensured by analyzing 260 different alcoholic beverages in comparison to densimetric or FTIR results.

The correlation was linear over the entire range from alcohol-free beers up to high-proof spirits, and the results were in substantial agreement is much easier to handle than typical reference procedures, while time-consuming sample preparation steps such as distillation are not necessary. Therefore, the alcoholic strength can be economically and quickly controlled (requiring less than 60 s per sample).

The device also gives the opportunity for mobile on-site control in the context of labelling control of wine, beer and spirits, the process monitoring of fermentations, or the evaluation of unrecorded alcohols.

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Can Adolescents Learn Self-control? Delay of Gratification in the Development of Control over Risk Taking

Recent findings from developmental neuroscience suggest that the adolescent brain is too immature to exert control over impulsive drives, such as sensation seeking, that increase during adolescence.

Using a discounting of delayed reward paradigm, this research examines the ability to delay gratification as a potential source of control over risk-taking tendencies that increase during adolescence. In addition, it explores the role of experience resulting from risk taking as well as future time perspective as contributors to the development of this ability.

In a nationally representative sample (n = 900) of young people aged 14–22, a structural equation analysis shows that risk taking as assessed by use of three popular drugs (tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol) is inversely related to the ability to delay gratification.

The relation is robust across gender, age, and different levels of sensation seeking. In addition, high sensation seekers exhibit dramatic age-related increase in delay of gratification, lending support to the hypothesis that engaging in risky behavior provides experience that leads to greater patience for long-term rewards.

The findings support the conclusion that a complete understanding of the development of self-control must consider individual differences not easily explained by universal trends in brain maturation.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: dromer@asc.upenn.edu
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The effect of alcoholic beverage excise tax on alcohol-attributable injury mortalities

This study examines the effect of state excise taxes on different types of alcoholic beverages (spirits, wine, and beer) on alcohol-attributable injury mortalities—deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, suicides, homicides, and falls—in the United States between 1995 and 2004, using state-level panel data.

There is evidence that injury deaths attributable to alcohol respond differently to changes in state excise taxes on alcohol-specific beverages.

This study examines the direct relationship between injury deaths and excise taxes without testing the degree of the association between excise taxes and alcohol consumption.

The study finds that beer taxes are negatively related to motor vehicle accident mortality, while wine taxes are negatively associated with suicides and falls. The positive coefficient of the spirit taxes on falls implies a substitution effect between spirits and wine, suggesting that an increase in spirit tax will cause spirit buyers to purchase more wine.

This study finds no evidence of a relationship between homicides and state excise taxes on alcohol.

Thus, the study concludes that injury deaths attributable to alcohol respond differently to the excise taxes on different types of alcoholic beverages.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: kudret.topyan@manhattan.edu
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Supporting Families – a joint approach to drug and alcohol misuse.

This free event will take place on Monday 24 May 2010 at Lambeth Town Hall from 9.30am-12.15pm followed by a buffet lunch.

The event will promote several new initiatives including the protocol document “Safeguarding Children affected by parents, carers and other adults substance misuse”.

The main speakers are Mike Kelleher, Consultant Psychiatrist, Addictions and Fran Holgate, Area Director, Compass.

All are welcome and application forms can be obtained from CYPSlearning&development@lambeth.gov.uk.

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SAMHSA and the Ad Council Announce the Prevention of Underage Drinking Campaign

The campaign, developed in partnership with the Ad Council encourages parents to speak with their children about underage drinking in order to delay the onset of and ultimately reduce underage drinking.

New television, radio, print, outdoor, and Web PSA’s will launch this month to reach parents in the general market, as well as Hispanic American, Asian American and American Indian communities.

Viewers are encouraged to visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov for resources.

View event:	You will be able to view the event at http://videocast.nih.gov when the event is live.
Air date:	Thursday, March 25, 2010, 3:00:00 PM Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local ________________________________

Testing the incentive-sensitization theory with at-risk drinkers: Wanting, liking, and alcohol consumption.

Motivational models of addiction typically propose that alcohol and drugs are desired because of their hedonic effects (i.e., increasing pleasure or reducing distress). In contrast, the incentive-sensitization theory proposes that wanting motivation and liking motivation are separable and that after repeated substance use, motivation shifts from liking to wanting.

Using a sample of 85 at-risk drinkers (as defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism), in the current study we examined the separability of liking motivation and wanting motivation for alcohol and whether years of drinking experience was associated with an increased role for wanting motivation and a decreased role for liking motivation.

Consumption was measured with a free-drinking task. Wanting motivation was assessed immediately before drinking, and liking was assessed immediately after drinking had begun.

The results indicated that (a) wanting motivation predicted variance of consumption unique from that accounted for by liking motivation, (b) longer drinking experience was associated with a decreased relation between liking motivation and consumption, and (c) longer drinking experience was not associated with an increased relation between wanting motivation and consumption.

The results provide partial support for the incentive-sensitization theory.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ostafin@u.washington.edu
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Vested Interests in Addiction Research and Policy Alcohol policies out of context: drinks industry supplanting government role in alcohol policies in

In this paper, we describe an analysis of alcohol policy initiatives sponsored by alcohol producer SABMiller and the International Center on Alcohol Policies, an alcohol industry-funded organization. In a number of sub-Saharan countries these bodies have promoted a ‘partnership’ role with governments to design national alcohol policies.

A comparison was conducted of four draft National Alcohol Policy documents from Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda and Botswana using case study methods.

The comparison indicated that the four drafts are almost identical in wording and structure and that they are likely to originate from the same source.

The processes and the draft policy documents reviewed provide insights into the methods, as well as the strategic and political objectives of the multi-national drinks industry.

This initiative reflects the industry's preferred version of a national alcohol policy. The industry policy vision ignores, or chooses selectively from, the international evidence base on alcohol prevention developed by independent alcohol researchers and disregards or minimizes a public health approach to alcohol problems. The policies reviewed maintain a narrow focus on the economic benefits from the trade in alcohol. In terms of alcohol problems (and their remediation) the documents focus upon individual drinkers, ignoring effective environmental interventions.

The proposed policies serve the industry's interests at the expense of public health by attempting to enshrine ‘active participation of all levels of the beverage alcohol industry as a key partner in the policy formulation and implementation process’.

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No association of alcohol dependence with HOMER 1 and 2 genetic variants

Several lines of evidence indicate that alterations of the central cortico-accumbens glutamate pathway are involved in the development and maintenance of alcohol- and substance-use disorders.

The HOMER protein family is encoded by 3 genes HOMER (1-3) which are components of the excitatory postsynaptic density complex and function to modulate synaptic activity by the regulation of glutamate signaling. HOMER 1 and 2 have been reported to contribute to chronic alcohol-induced long-term neurochemical changes in the endogenous reward system.

Data from animal models suggest a potential role of the Homer protein family in the development of alcohol and substance use.

The aim of this study is to assess potential associations between HOMER 1 and 2 genetic variants in a larger sample of alcohol-dependent individuals and unrelated controls.

Five genetic variants of HOMER 1 and 3 of HOMER 2 were genotyped in a multi-site sample of 1,923 German healthy controls and 2,039 alcohol-dependent subjects.

Neither single SNP nor haplotype analysis could detect significant associations with alcohol dependence (AD) and related phenotypes. While most of the HOMER 1 and 2 SNPs are in low-to-moderate linkage disequilibrium, three major haplotypes of HOMER 1 and 4 haplotypes of HOMER 2 are present in the majority of alcohol-dependent and control subjects.

In conclusion, our results suggest that single SNPs, respectively, haplotypes of the HOMER 1 and 2 genes are unlikely to play a major role in the pathophysiology of AD.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ulrich.preuss@medizin.uni-halle.de
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Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase polymorphisms and risk for suicide: a preliminary observation in the Japanese male population

Epidemiological studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption is a potent risk factor to develop suicidal behavior. Genetic factors for suicidal behavior have been observed in family, twin, and adoption studies.

Because alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1B) His47Arg and mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) Glu487Lys single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which affect alcohol metabolism, have been reported to exert significant impacts on alcohol consumption and on the risk for alcoholism in East Asia populations, we explored associations of the two functional SNPs with suicide using a case–control study of 283 completed suicides and 319 control subjects in the Japanese population.

We found that the inactive ALDH2 allele (487Lys) was significantly less frequent in the completed suicides (19.3%) than in the controls (29.3%), especially in males, whereas this was not the case in females. The males bearing alcoholism-susceptible homozygotes at both loci (inactive ADH1B Arg/Arg and active ALDH2 Glu/Glu genotypes) have a 10 times greater risk for suicide compared with the males bearing alcoholism-protective homozygotes at both loci.

Our data show the genetic impact of the two polymorphisms on suicidal behavior in the Japanese population, especially in males.

Because we did not verify the daily alcohol consumption, the association of these SNPs with suicide might be due to alcoholism itself.

Further studies using case–control subjects, which verifies the details of current and past alcohol consumption and diagnosis for alcoholism, are required to confirm these findings.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: hishipon@med.kobe-u.ac.jp

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Foetal alcohol syndrome has been ignored for too long

School is an ordeal for Bethan Morris. "Sometimes I understand things and can do them with the rest of the class, but sometimes I don't," says the 15-year-old. "I can learn something in the morning but have forgotten it by the afternoon. That happens with all subjects." Bethan also gets distracted very easily in the middle of classes, and has to ask the teacher or pupil beside her to go back over things.

Bethan has trouble learning because she has moderate foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), in which a mother-to-be's drinking during pregnancy impairs her baby's brain function. About one in 100 children in the UK has some form of the condition which, like autism, is measured on a spectrum of harm from mild to serious. She attends a mainstream secondary school in Salisbury, Wiltshire where she is studying for a BTec in travel and tourism and another in PE, four GCSEs and a diploma in ICT. Many children with FAS are not diagnosed for years, and Bethan was not told until she was 11.

Bethan attends her school's homework club and extra support lessons in the afternoon, and is helped by her stepmother, Briony. Despite that, she admits: "My learning has fallen behind because of the FAS. It has affected me quite a lot, especially because I have trouble remembering things I've learned. So I do have many frustrations at school."

Such pupils clearly represent a major challenge for schools and teachers. However, it is a challenge they are not geared up to respond to properly, according to new research by Professor Barry Carpenter, an expert in the education of children with complex needs. "Many UK school settings will not be aware that they have children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in their pupil population," says Carpenter. "Classroom accommodation, adaptation and amelioration are required to engage children with FASD as an effective learner. As yet, UK teachers are ill-equipped to undertake this process." . . . . .

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The Effects of Daughters on Health Choices and Risk Behaviour

Little is known about why some human beings make risky life-choices.

This paper provides evidence that people‟s health decisions and addictive actions are influenced by the gender of their children.

Having a daughter leads individuals -- in micro data from Great Britain and the United States -- to reduce their smoking, drinking, and drug-taking.

The paper‟s results are consistent with the hypothesis that human beings „self-medicate‟ when under stress.

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The more you drink, the harder you fall: A systematic review and meta-analysis of how acute alcohol consumption and injury or collision risk increase

Alcohol consumption causes injury in a dose–response manner. The most common mode of sustaining an alcohol-attributable injury is from a single occasion of acute alcohol consumption, but much of the injury literature employs usual consumption habits to assess risk instead.

An analysis of the acute dose–response relationship between alcohol and injury is warranted to generate single occasion- and dose-specific relative risks.

A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted to fill this gap. Linear and best-fit first-order model were used to model the data. Usual tests of heterogeneity and publication bias were run. Separate meta-analyses were run for motor vehicle and non-motor vehicle injuries, as well as case–control and case–crossover studies.

The risk of injury increases non-linearly with increasing alcohol consumption. For motor vehicle accidents, the odds ratio increases by 1.24 (95% CI: 1.18–1.31) per 10-g in pure alcohol increase to 52.0 (95% CI: 34.50–78.28) at 120 g. For non-motor vehicle injury, the OR increases by 1.30 (95% CI: 1.26–1.34) to an OR of 24.2 at 140 g (95% CI: 16.2–36.2).

Case–crossover studies of non-MVA injury result in overall higher risks than case–control studies and the per-drink increase in odds of injury was highest for intentional injury, at 1.38 (95% CI: 1.22–1.55).

Efforts to reduce drinking both on an individual level and a population level are important. No level of consumption is safe when driving and less than 2 drinks per occasion should be encouraged to reduce the risk of injury.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: bennyjtaylor@gmail.com

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Alcohol Consumption and Mortality in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease A Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this study was to quantify the relation between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular and total mortality in patients with a history of cardiovascular events.

Regular, moderate alcohol consumption by healthy people is associated with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. No extensive meta-analysis is presently available on the possible association of alcohol consumption with secondary events in patients with cardiovascular disease.

The meta-analysis on cardiovascular mortality showed a J-shaped pooled curve with a significant maximal protection (average 22%) by alcohol at approximately 26 g/day. In the meta-analysis on mortality for any cause, J-shaped pooled curves were observed in the overall analysis (average maximal protection of 18% in the range of 5 to 10 g/day) and in all subgroups according to either the type of patients or the characteristics of the studies.

In patients with cardiovascular disease, light to moderate alcohol consumption (5 to 25 g/day) was significantly associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: licia.iacoviello@rm.unicatt.it

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Alcohol Consumption and Cardiovascular Mortality Among U.S. Adults, 1987 to 2002

The aim of this study was to determine the association of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular mortality in the U.S. population.

Alcohol consumption has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in cohort studies, but this association has not been prospectively examined in large, detailed, representative samples of the U.S. population.

Light and moderate volumes of alcohol consumption were inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality. Compared with lifetime abstainers, summary relative risks were 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88 to 1.02) among lifetime infrequent drinkers, 1.02 (95% CI: 0.94 to 1.11) among former drinkers, 0.69 (95% CI: 0.59 to 0.82) among light drinkers, 0.62 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.77) among moderate drinkers, and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.82 to 1.10) among heavy drinkers. The magnitude of lower risk was similar in subgroups of sex, age, or baseline health status.

There was no simple relation of drinking pattern with risk, but risk was consistently higher among those who consumed 3 compared with 2 drinks/drinking day.

In 9 nationally representative samples of U.S. adults, light and moderate alcohol consumption were inversely associated with CVD mortality, even when compared with lifetime abstainers, but consumption above recommended limits was not.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: kmukamal@bidmc.harvard.edu

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News Release - 15,000 local jobs lost as drinks sales fall back to mid-1990s levels

The Chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), Kieran Tobin, has said that the drinks market in Ireland suffered a major 8.9% decline in 2009 as a result of falling consumption driven by the historically weak national economic situation and ongoing cross-border purchasing of alcohol. Mr Tobin was speaking at the publication of the “Drinks Market Performance 2009”, compiled by DCU economist Anthony Foley, in The Bank Bar, Dublin, this morning.

Mr Tobin said that our per capita consumption has fallen 21% since the peak of the economic boom in 2001, and that overall consumption is now back to the pre-Celtic Tiger levels of 1995/96. These factors of declining consumption and cross-border trade, combined with lower tourism and with consumer confidence at an all time low, have resulted in a loss of 15,000 jobs across the sector in the last 18 months. Total employment in the industry now stands at 80,000 jobs. . . . . .

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Alcohol Regulation and Crime

We provide a critical review of research in economics that has examined causal relationships between alcohol use and crime.

We lay out several causal pathways through which alcohol regulation and alcohol consumption may affect crime, including: direct pharmacological effects on aggression, reaction time, and motor impairment; excuse motivations; venues and social interactions; and victimization risk.

We focus our review on four main types of alcohol regulations: price/tax restrictions, age-based availability restrictions, spatial availability restrictions, and temporal availability restrictions.

We conclude that there is strong evidence that tax- and age-based restrictions on alcohol availability reduce crime, and we discuss implications for policy and practice.

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