The ISAJE/WHO Young Scholars Award 2010

The ISAJE/WHO Young Scholars Award aims to provide recognition for the contributions to addiction science of young scholars from low and middle income countries and to promote their involvement in the field. The award is given for the best paper published by a young scholar from a low or middle income country on any topic related to addiction. The winner will receive a certificate and financial support to attend an international scientific or clinical meeting in the addiction or substance abuse field, to be chosen by the winner in consultation with the Award Committee.

Applications are invited for the 2010 award. To be eligible, the paper must have been published either online or in print form in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2010. The research reported should have been carried out predominantly in a low or middle income country, as specified by the World Bank classification. Applicants must be less than 35 years old and should be the lead author in the paper being submitted for the award. They should hold a current academic or research position in a low or middle income country; or should have held such a position at the time the research for the paper was carried out. The deadline for receiving applications is 15 November 2010. > > > >

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‘Alcohol, less is better’ project: outcomes of an Italian community-based prevention programme on reducing per-capita alcohol consumption

To evaluate differences in the individual alcohol consumption after a community-based prevention programme.

‘Alcohol, less is better’ is a controlled intervention trial. The intervention adopted a community approach, based on the active involvement of community leaders and institutional or volunteer organizations. Between 1999 and 2006, 2.5 years of activities aiming at informing and sensitizing the community on the harmful effects of alcohol on social life and health were carried out in 10 selected small Italian communities, involving a total of 123 235 individuals. Eight communities were chosen as control group.

Changes in self-reported individual alcohol consumption before and after the intervention were assessed on a random sample of intervention (n = 3382) and control (n = 2644) populations, using telephone and mailed surveys. Linear and log-linear models for repeated measures were used to evaluate differences between intervention and control samples.

Overall, a significant reduction of individual self-reported alcohol consumption was observed in the intervention sample (−1.1 drinks/week) relative to control sample (+0.3 drinks/week).

The reduction was significantly greater in males than in females . In the young (15–24-year-olds) intervention and control samples showed opposite trends (−0.4 drinks/week and +1.7 drinks/week, respectively).

A coordinated community-based intervention can reduce alcohol consumption in the general population.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: vincenzo.bagnardi@unimib.it

Early temperament, propensity for risk-taking and adolescent substance-related problems: A prospective multi-method investigation

One hundred thirty seven adolescents (M = 15.3 yrs, SD = 1.0 yr, n = 72 girls) were recruited into temperament groups when they were 4 months of age based on reactivity to novel auditory/visual stimuli (Fox, Henderson, Rubin, Calkins, & Schmidt, 2001).

Behavioral inhibition was observed across infancy (14 and 24 months). Additionally, self-reported substance-related problems and behavioral risk-taking was assessed during adolescence.

High behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among boys, whereas high behavioral inhibition protected against substance-related problems among girls,

Additionally, high behavioral inhibition protected lower risk-taking children from adolescent substance-related problems whereas high behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among higher risk-taking children,

Findings from this prospective, multi-informant, longitudinal study suggest that risk-taking and gender may interact with temperamental traits to place adolescents at differential risk for substance-related related behavior problems.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: lrw@asu.edu

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Request Reprint E-Mail: lrw@asu.edu

Intervention defensiveness as a moderator of drinking outcome among heavy-drinking mandated college students

The efficacy of the Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP; Miller, et al., 2000) was evaluated in 204 heavy-drinking college students randomly assigned to either ASTP (n = 119) or an assessment-only control (n = 85) condition.

The volunteer ASTP sample (n = 119) was also compared to a sample of students mandated to ASTP following a first-time sanction (n = 90).

At baseline, mandated students reported lower levels of peak drinking, negative consequences, readiness to change and higher defensiveness than voluntary students.

However, the voluntary sample showed reductions in problem drinking indicators over time such that there were no differences from mandated students at follow-up.

There were no outcome differences between volunteers assigned to ASTP versus assessment-only.

A new measure of defensiveness was evaluated and had a significant moderating effect on ASTP outcome for peak drinking consumed on a peak occasion at follow-up among mandated students.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: rbjork@uw.edu

I didn't feel like drinking but I don't know why: The effects of evaluative conditioning on alcohol-related attitudes, craving and behavior

The goal of the present research was to test the value of evaluative conditioning (EC) to unobtrusively change alcohol-related attitudes and drinking behavior.

In the EC paradigm, participants had to spot an irrelevant target picture in a series of trials in which many different stimuli were presented. In the experimental condition, beer-related pictures (CSs) were consistently paired with negative words and pictures (USs) in a number of trials. In the control condition, participants were exposed to the same stimuli, but without the critical alcohol-negative pairings.

After the EC task, participants participated in an allegedly second experiment in which we measured beer-related attitudes, craving for beer, and actual drinking behavior both during a bogus taste test and during the week following the experiment.

Compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition showed more negative attitudes toward beer, experienced less craving for beer, and consumed less beer both in the lab during the taste test and outside the lab during the week following the manipulation.

These findings suggest that unhealthy drinking behavior may be targeted through EC procedures.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: K.Houben@maastrichtuniversity.nl

How good is fine-grained Timeline Follow-back data? Comparing 30-day TLFB and repeated 7-day TLFB alcohol consumption reports on the person and daily

This study examined the correspondence of two types of Timeline Follow-back (TLFB) methods, a web-based self-administered, repeated 7-day TLFB and an interviewer-administered 30-day TLFB of alcohol consumption.

Participants were first- and second-year college students (n = 323, 58.5% female). Day-to-day correspondence of drinking reports and correspondence of person-level indicators of drinking were assessed.

Results indicated that correspondence between the TLFB-30 and TLFB-7 reports was generally good for summary indicators of drinking, but TLFB-7 data indicated a statistically significantly higher number of total drinks consumed, a higher number of days drinking 4+/5+ drinks per day, and a lower number of abstinent days than TLFB-30. Similarly, day-to-day comparison of drinking reports showed that drinking days were more frequently reported using the TLFB-7, a trend which was more pronounced for distal weekdays than recent weekdays. Correlations between TLFB-7 and TLFB-30 reports of drinks per drinking day were also lower for distal compared to recent weekdays (r = 0.61 vs. r = 0.76). Using a Poisson regression model, a linearly increasing trend in the absolute value of the difference between TLFB-7 and TLFB-30 drinking reports per day as length of recall increases was found.

Our results indicate that participants reported more drinking on the repeated TLFB-7 than on the standard TLFB-30. Furthermore, the result of daily level analyses showed that discrepancies between the methods increased as the length of recall increased.

These findings suggest that TLFB assessments covering longer intervals may have reduced accuracy on a fine-grained scale.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: bhoeppner@partners.org

Discrepancy between how children perceive their own alcohol risk and how they perceive alcohol risk for other children longitudinally predicts alcohol

This paper examined discrepancies between children's self-perceptions of the riskiness of alcohol use versus their perceptions of the riskiness of alcohol use for other children, and whether these discrepancies predicted children's future alcohol use.

Participants included 234 children (M = 11 years, 45.3% female) who completed baseline and one-year follow-up assessments on self-perceived riskiness of alcohol use, perceived riskiness of alcohol use for other same-age children, and own past year alcohol use.

When considering child age and gender, baseline alcohol use, and the individual reports of the riskiness of alcohol use, the interaction between alcohol use riskiness reports prospectively predicted greater odds of alcohol use.

The highest percentage of childhood alcohol use at one-year follow-up came from those children with both low self-perceived riskiness of alcohol use and high perceived riskiness of alcohol use for other children.

Children's perceptions of multiple people's risk from alcohol use result in identifying important subgroups of children at risk for early-onset alcohol use.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: adelosreyes@psyc.umd.edu

Event-level associations between affect, alcohol intoxication, and acute dependence symptoms: Effects of urgency, self-control, and drinking experienc

This study used experience sampling to examine within-person associations between positive affect, anxiety, sadness, and hostility and two outcomes: alcohol intoxication and acute dependence symptoms.

We examined the role of urgency, premeditation, and perseverance in predicting the alcohol outcomes and tested whether the affective associations varied as a function of urgency.

Participants completed baseline assessments and 21 days of experience sampling on PDAs. Hypotheses were partially confirmed.

Positive affect was positively, and sadness inversely, associated with intoxication. Hostility was associated with intoxication for men but not women.

Negative urgency moderated the association between anxiety and intoxication, making it stronger. However, positive urgency did not moderate the effect of positive affect.

Heavier drinkers exhibited the greatest number of symptoms, yet the association between intoxication and acute signs of alcohol disorder was attenuated among these individuals.

Results support the use of experience sampling to study acute signs and symptoms of high risk drinking and dependence.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: jsimons@usd.edu

Addiction: Cracking the code of addiction

Recent studies have started to reveal the contribution of epigenetic regulation to addiction-related behaviours and neuroadaptation. Two new studies focus on the role of the transcriptional repressor methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2).


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Request Reprint E-Mail: leonie.welberg@emory.edu

Consumption controversies: alcohol policies in the UK

This briefing paper from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) presents an overview of research relating to the current debate, presenting evidence relating to a number of controversial questions. This paper sets out to separate the facts from fiction in these debates, with evidence presented against a series of controversial questions and debates, rom whether the UK actually does have a ‘drinking problem’ right through to assessing the positive role that the British pub still plays in the economy, communities and people’s lives.

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Report of the Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction Working Group

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Reform Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-482) reaffirmed certain organizational authorities of agency officials to: (1) establish or abolish national research institutes; (2) reorganize the offices within the Office of the Director, NIH, including adding, removing, or transferring the functions of such offices or establishing or terminating such offices; and (3) reorganize divisions, centers, or other administrative units within an NIH national research institute or national center including adding, removing, or transferring the functions of such units, or establishing or terminating such units. The Reform Act also established the Scientific Management Review Board (hereinafter, SMRB or Board) to advise the NIH Director and other appropriate agency officials on the use of these organizational authorities and identify the reasons underlying the recommendations.

This report distills the deliberations of the Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction (SUAA) Working Group, a subcommittee of the SMRB, and provides recommendations in response to the question of whether organizational change within NIH could further optimize research into substance use, abuse, and addiction and thereby improve the health and well-being of individuals affected by this significant problem in public health.


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Responsible Drinking Programs

These are just a few of Anheuser-Busch InBev's Responsible Drinking programs.

• Educating young drivers in Germany on the dangers of drinking and driving
• Latin American support for enforcing drinking and driving limits
• Promoting the "don't drink and drive" message in Russia
• Rocking out responsibly with Quilmes
• SunInBev partners with road safety authorities
• "Make a Plan" in Canada

• Beck's THINK! campaign
• Geklärt, wer fährt!
• Anti-Drink driving in China
• Don't drink and drive at Skol Beats in Brazil
• A-B promotes designated drivers in the United States
• Free taxi rides home with "Alert Cab"
• Get a "Tow To Go" in the United States

• A New Focus on Drinking and Driving
• Foldable Scooters Get United States Consumers (and Their Cars) Home Safely
• Designate a Skipper before Cruising United States Waterways
• Washington D.C. Residents Assured a SoberRide™ Home

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Critique 018: Alcohol consumption following diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer may increase risk of recurrence of cancer but not total mortality

In the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) study, 1,897 participants diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited on average 2 years post-breast cancer diagnosis were evaluated for the association between alcohol intake and breast cancer recurrence and death. The women, who were generally light drinkers, were followed for an average of 7.4 years.

The study reported an increase in risk of breast cancer recurrence and breast cancer death, but no effect on total mortality, to be associated with consumption of 3 to 4 or more drinks per week when compared with women not drinking following their cancer diagnosis.

Previous research has been mixed on this topic. Almost all large studies have shown no increase in all-cause mortality for women who drink moderately following a diagnosis of breast cancer (as does this study). As for recurrence of breast cancer, most have shown no increase in risk, although one previous study of women with estrogen-receptor + tumors found an increased risk of a primary cancer developing in the contralateral breast to be associated with alcohol intake of more than 7 drinks per week.

Because of conflicting results among studies on this topic, further research will be needed to determine the extent to which alcohol following a diagnosis of breast cancer may relate to subsequent disease and death.

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, please click here.

Public Health report identifies will to act on alcohol

The British public wants the Government to take action to make Britain healthier, according to a report published last month by the Faculty of Public Health (FPH). > > > >

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Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings

3. Alcohol Use

This chapter is divided into two main sections. Section 3.1 describes trends and patterns of alcohol use among the population aged 12 or older. Section 3.2 is concerned particularly with the use of alcohol by persons aged 12 to 20. These persons are under the legal drinking age in all 50 States and the District of Columbia.

• Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of
alcohol in the 2009 survey (51.9 percent). This translates to an estimated 130.6 million
people, which is similar to the 2008 estimate of 129.0 million people (51.6 percent).

• In 2009, nearly one quarter (23.7 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge
drinking. This translates to about 59.6 million people. The rate in 2009 is similar to the
estimate in 2008. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on the same
occasion on at least 1 day in the 30 days prior to the survey.

• In 2009, heavy drinking was reported by 6.8 percent of the population aged 12 or older, or
17.1 million people. This rate was similar to the rate of heavy drinking in 2008. Heavy
drinking is defined as binge drinking on at least 5 days in the past 30 days.

• Among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2009, the rate of binge drinking was 41.7 percent, and
the rate of heavy drinking was 13.7 percent. These rates were similar to the rates in 2008.

• The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 14.7 percent in 2009, which
is similar to the 2008 rate (14.6 percent). Youth binge and heavy drinking rates in 2009
(8.8 and 2.1 percent) were also similar to rates in 2008 (8.8 and 2.0 percent).

• Past month and binge drinking rates among underage persons (aged 12 to 20) declined
between 2002 and 2008, but then remained unchanged between 2008 (26.4 and 17.4 percent)
and 2009 (27.2 and 18.1 percent).

• Among persons aged 12 to 20, past month alcohol use rates in 2009 were 16.1 percent among
Asians, 20.4 percent among blacks, 22.0 percent among American Indians or Alaska Natives,
25.1 percent among Hispanics, 27.5 percent among those reporting two or more races, and
30.4 percent among whites.

• In 2009, 55.9 percent of current drinkers aged 12 to 20 reported that their last use of alcohol
in the past month occurred in someone else's home, and 29.2 percent reported that it had
occurred in their own home. About one third (30.3 percent) paid for the alcohol the last time
they drank, including 9.0 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.3 percent
who gave money to someone else to purchase it. Among those who did not pay for the
alcohol they last drank, 37.1 percent got it from an unrelated person aged 21 or older, 19.9
percent from another person younger than 21 years old, and 20.6 percent from a parent,
guardian, or other adult family member.

• In 2009, an estimated 12.0 percent of persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of
alcohol at least once in the past year. This percentage has dropped since 2002, when it was
14.2 percent. The rate of driving under the influence of alcohol was highest among persons
aged 21 to 25 (24.8 percent).

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Generation alcohol: is drinking damaging childhood? Alcohol Concern Annual Conference and AGM

Event:

Generation alcohol: Is drinking damaging childhood?

Start Date:

Tuesday 02 November 2010

Start Time:

10.00am (9.30am for AGM)

End Time:

4.45pm

Location:

London

Venue Postcode:

SE1 9DD

Cost:

£ 264.38

Why has young people's average consumption risen to nearly 15 units a week? What role does marketing play? Does the rise in home drinking mean more children being affected by parental alcohol use? How can we support the whole family to tackle alcohol-related harms and what support is available for young people who develop a problem with alcohol?

All these issues will be discussed at the 2010 Alcohol Concern conference through a series of high profile, expert presentations and workshops from leading academics, policy experts and practitioners in the field.

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Area of residence and alcohol-related mortality risk: a five-year follow-up study

To examine differences in alcohol-related mortality risk between areas, while adjusting for the characteristics of the individuals living within these areas.

A 5-year longitudinal study of individual and area characteristics of those dying and not dying from alcohol-related deaths.

The Northern Ireland Mortality study.

A total of 720 627 people aged 25–74, enumerated in the Northern Ireland 2001 Census, not living in communal establishments.

Five hundred and seventy-eight alcohol-related deaths.

There was an increased risk of alcohol-related mortality among disadvantaged individuals, and divorced, widowed and separated males. The risk of an alcohol-related death was significantly higher in deprived areas for both males [hazard ratio (HR) 3.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.65, 5.18] and females (HR 2.67 (95% CI 1.72, 4.15); however, once adjustment was made for the characteristics of the individuals living within areas, the excess risk for more deprived areas disappeared. Both males and females in rural areas had a reduced risk of an alcohol-related death compared to their counterparts in urban areas; these differences remained after adjustment for the composition of the people within these areas.

Alcohol-related mortality is higher in more deprived, compared to more affluent areas; however, this appears to be due to characteristics of individuals within deprived areas, rather than to some independent effect of area deprivation per se. Risk of alcohol-related mortality is lower in rural than urban areas, but the cause is unknown.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: sheelah.connolly@qub.ac.uk

High alcohol consumption in middle-aged adults is associated with poorer cognitive performance only in the low socio-economic group. Results from the

To examine the association of alcohol consumption over 10 years with cognitive performance in different socio-economic groups.

Prospective cohort study, the French GAZEL study.

Employees of France's national electricity and gas company.

Alcohol intake was assessed annually, beginning in 1992, using questions on frequency and quantity of alcoholic beverages consumed in a week; used to define mean consumption and trajectory of alcohol intake over 10 years. Cognitive performance among participants aged ≥ 55 years (n = 4073) was assessed in 2002–04 using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), a measure of psychomotor speed, attention and reasoning. Occupational position at age 35 and education were used as the markers of socio-economic position. All analyses were stratified by socio-economic position.

In the low occupational group, participants consuming a mean of more than 21 drinks per week had 2.1 points lower (95% CI: −3.9, −0.3) DSST score compared to those consuming four to 14 drinks per week. In participants with primary school education, the corresponding difference was 3.6 points (95% CI: −7.1, −0.0).

No association between alcohol consumption and cognitive performance was observed in the intermediate and high socio-economic groups, defined using either occupation or education.

Analysis of trajectories of alcohol consumption showed that in the low socio-economic groups large increase or decrease in alcohol consumption was associated with lower cognitive scores compared to stable consumption.

Our results suggest that high alcohol consumption is associated with poorer cognitive performance only in the low socio-economic group, due possibly to greater cognitive reserve in the higher socio-economic groups.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Severine.Sabia@inserm.fr

How much is too much? Alcohol consumption and related harm in the Northern Territory

To present recent estimates of alcohol consumption and its impact on the health of people in the Northern Territory, and to draw comparisons with Australia as a whole.

Descriptive study of alcohol consumption in the NT population, based on sales data and self-report surveys, and alcohol-attributable deaths and hospitalisations among people in the NT in the 2004–05 and 2005–06 financial years using population alcohol-attributable fractions specific to the NT.

Per capita consumption of pure alcohol, self-reported level of consumption, and age-standardised rates of death and hospitalisation attributable to alcohol.

Apparent per capita consumption of pure alcohol for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the NT has been about 14 litres or more per year for many years, about 50% higher than for Australia as a whole. We estimated that there were 120 and 119 alcohol-attributable deaths in the NT in 2004–05 and 2005–06, respectively, at corresponding age-standardised rates of 7.2 and 7.8 per 10 000 adult population. Alcohol-attributable deaths occur in the NT at about 3.5 times the rate they do in Australia generally; rates in non-Aboriginal people were about double the national rate, while they were 9–10 times higher in Aboriginal people. There were 2319 and 2544 alcohol-attributable hospitalisations in the NT in 2004–05 and 2005–06, respectively, at corresponding rates of 146.6 and 157.7 per 10 000 population (more than twice the national rate).

In recent years, alcohol consumption and consequent alcohol-attributable deaths and hospitalisations for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the NT have occurred at levels far higher than elsewhere in Australia.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: steven.skov@nt.gov.au.

Alcohol price study defended

An ACADEMIC has defended the study used by the Scottish Government to seek to impose a 45p a unit minimum price on alcohol.

Anne Ludbrook, professor of health economics at the University of Aberdeen, said she was "slightly concerned" that Holyrood's health and sport committee sometimes misunderstood the value of the modelling work that has been done on the issue. > > > >

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Severity of alcohol-related problems and mortality: results from a 20-year prospective epidemiological community study

There is evidence that high alcohol use is associated with an increase in mortality. Little is known about long-term effects of problematic alcohol consumption in non-clinical (community) populations.

The aim of our study was to obtain data on this and related issues in a representative rural community sample assessed longitudinally over a period of 20 years.

Assessments focused on a baseline survey from 1980 to 1984 and 20-year follow-up from 2001 to 2004. Based on expert interviews and standardized self-rating scales (e.g. MALT; Munich Alcoholism Test), the following three groups were defined (a) severe alcohol problems, (b) moderate alcohol problems, and (c) no alcohol problems. Mortality and hazard rates were analyzed with logistic and Cox regression adjusted for several health risk factors.

From an original community sample of 1,465 individuals, 448 were deceased at 20-year follow-up. Participation rates were high. Baseline prevalence according to the MALT was 1.6% for severe alcohol problems and 4.0% for moderate alcohol problems.

Over the 20-year time span, individuals with severealcohol problems had a significantly elevated risk for dying earlier than the group with no alcohol problems (2.4 times higher).

Mortality for those with moderate alcohol problems at baseline had a non-significantly elevated 20-year mortality risk (1.5 times higher) compared to those with no alcohol problems.

Cox survival analyses corroborate these findings from multiple sequential logistic regression analyses.

In discussing the mortality risk of persons with alcohol problems, the severity of the alcohol problems must be taken into account.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: mfichter@schoen-kliniken.de

Changes in alcohol-related harm in Sweden after increasing alcohol import quotas and a Danish tax decrease

Denmark decreased its tax on spirits by 45% on 1 October 2003. Shortly thereafter, on 1 January 2004, Sweden increased its import quotas of privately imported alcohol, allowing travellers to bring in much larger amounts of alcohol from other European Union countries. Although these changes were assumed to increase alcohol-related harm in Sweden, particularly among people living close to Denmark, analyses based on survey data collected before and after these changes have not supported this assumption.

The present article tests whether alcohol-related harm in southern Sweden was affected by these changes by analysing other indicators of alcohol-related harm, e.g. harm recorded in different kinds of registers.

Interrupted time-series analysis was performed with monthly data on cases of hospitalization due to acute alcohol poisoning, number of reported violent assaults and drunk driving for the years 2000–07 in southern Sweden using the northern parts of Sweden as a control and additionally controlling for two earlier major changes in quotas.

The findings were not consistent with respect to whether alcohol-related harm increased in southern Sweden after the decrease in Danish spirits tax and the increase in Swedish alcohol import quotas. On the one hand, an increase in acute alcohol poisonings was found, particularly in the 50–69 years age group, on the other hand, no increase was found in violent assaults and drunk driving.

The present results raise important questions about the association between changes in availability and alcohol-related harms. More research using other methodological approaches and data is needed to obtain a comprehensive picture of what actually happened in southern Sweden.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: nina-katri.gustafsson@sorad.su.se

Alcohol Primary Care Service Framework updated

An updated version of the Primary Care Service Framework has been released to support the commissioning and delivery of Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) in Primary Care. > > > >

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Familial influence of substance use disorder on emotional disorder across three generations

The concomitant influence of grandparental (Generation 1; G1) and parental (G2) substance use disorder (SUD) on grandchild (G3) emotional disorder (EmD) across three generations is unclear.

The present study addressed this in a sample of 284 families participating in the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project. Structured clinical interviews were used to collect psychiatric history data on a community cohort of G2 individuals and their G1 parents. G2 parents rated EmD symptoms in their G3 children (MSD = 2.4).

Results indicated that G1 SUD was associated with increased risk of G3 EmD symptom elevations, above and beyond the influence of comorbid G1 EmD.

G2 SUD was associated with a similar independent increase in risk for G3 EmD symptoms.

Also, G1 SUD conferred risk for G2 SUD.

Mediational tests indicated that the influence of G1 SUD on G3 EmD was transmitted via its influence on G2 SUD.

G1 and G2 SUD did not interact in predicting G3 EmD; rather results suggested an additive influence.

There was no evidence that the influence of G1 SUD on G3 EmD was transmitted via G2 EmD.

These findings shed light on the multigenerational processes through which SUD influences EmD.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: adam.leventhal@usc.edu

Press Release - Nation's Largest Addiction Counselors' Association Announces Strategic Partnership With Hazelden

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and Hazelden, the national nonprofit focused on addiction treatment, prevention and recovery, announced today a new strategic partnership focused on improving the treatment of co-occurring disorders. The partnership announcement was made by NAADAC Executive Director Cynthia Moreno Tuohy during the National Conference on Addiction Disorders in Washington, D.C.

The new Hazelden/NAADAC affiliation will provide NAADAC members, psychiatrists, psychologists and other counselors with collaborative in-person training and distance learning in the integrated treatment of co-occurring disorders, said Hazelden President and CEO Mark G. Mishek. The partnership will kickoff in September with the national launch of the new NAADAC/Hazelden Lifelong Training Program, Integrating Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders: An Introduction to What Every Addiction Counselor Needs to Know.

“Thousands of people in need of addiction treatment services in the U.S. also have mental health or medical issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome and bi-polar disorders,” said NAADAC’s Cynthia Moreno Tuohy. “In fact, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that fully half of Americans with mental illness also abuse illicit drugs or alcohol. Hazelden and NAADAC have worked together for years to train clinicians and administrators in the addiction profession and advocate for treatment issues together. This new partnership will be the most cohesive effort yet from Hazelden and NAADAC to promote excellence in the field of diagnosing and treating co-occurring disorders.” > > > >

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Functional genetic variants that increase synaptic serotonin and 5-HT3 receptor sensitivity predict alcohol and drug dependence

The 5-HT3 receptor is rapidly potentiated by ethanol and mediates fast excitatory serotonin (5-HT) transmission that modulates dopamine release in the reward circuitry. The 5-HT transporter regulates synaptic 5-HT availability. Functional polymorphisms in genes encoding the transporter and receptor may therefore influence addiction vulnerability.

In this study, 360 treatment-seeking African American male patients with single and comorbid DSM-IV lifetime diagnoses of alcohol, cocaine and heroin dependence and 187 African American male controls were genotyped for the triallelic 5-HTTLPR functional polymorphism in the 5-HT transporter gene (SLC6A4) and 16 haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across HTR3B (including the functional rs1176744 Tyr129Ser) and HTR3A, genes encoding 5-HT3 receptors.

The HTR3B rs1176744 gain-of-function Ser129 allele predicted alcohol dependence (P=0.002) and low 5-HTTLPR activity predicted cocaine/heroin dependence (P=0.01).

Both the HTR3B Ser129 allele (P=0.014, odds ratio (OR)=1.7 (1.1–2.6)) and low 5-HTTLPR activity (P=0.011, OR=2.5 (1.3–4.6)) were more common in men with alcohol+drug dependence compared with controls.

Moreover, the HTR3B Ser129 allele and low 5-HTTLPR activity had an additive (but not an interactive) effect on alcohol+drug dependence (OR=6.0 (2.1–16.6)) that accounted for 13% of the variance.

One possible explanation of our findings is that increased synaptic 5-HT coupled with increased 5-HT3 receptor responsiveness may result in enhanced dopamine transmission in the reward pathway, a predictor of increased risk for addiction.

Our results may have pharmacogenetic implications for 5-HT3 therapeutic antagonists such as ondansetron.


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

Truancy, alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in secondary school pupils in Norway

This study focuses on a vulnerable group of pupils often missed by mainstream school surveys. It explores alcohol use and alcohol-related problems for a sample of truants of secondary school age, comparing behaviours with a school-based sample from the same geographical area.

Analyses are based on a survey among truants (n = 107) and a school survey (n = 3702) undertaken in Bergen, Norway.

When compared with mainstream pupils, the truants reported an earlier alcohol debut and a higher frequency of drinking. They reported significantly higher levels of binge drinking (6+ units). Truants were four times more likely to report regular drunkenness and twice as likely to report problems associated with their alcohol consumption.

In the truancy sample, boys were more likely to engage in regular and excessive drinking, while girls reported higher levels of problems linked to their drinking. Results suggest that higher levels of truancy were related to more frequent drinking, drunkenness and alcohol-related problems.

There are strong indications for early intervention activities directed at truants, and registration of truancy in itself could be a simple and effective way of identifying pupils at risk of a wide range of social and health problems, including high levels of alcohol use.


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Effectiveness of the universal prevention program 'Healthy School and Drugs': Study protocol of a randomized clustered trial

Substance use is highly prevalent among Dutch adolescents. The Healthy School and Drugs program is a nationally implemented school-based prevention program aimed at reducing early and excessive substance use among adolescents. Although the program's effectiveness was tested in a quasi-experimental design before, many program changes were made afterwards. The present study, therefore, aims to test the effects of this widely used, renewed universal prevention program.

A randomized clustered trial will be conducted among 3,784 adolescents of 23 secondary schools in The Netherlands. The trial has three conditions; two intervention conditions (i.e., e-learning and integral) and a control condition. The e-learning condition consists of three digital learning modules (i.e., about alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) that are sequentially offered over the course of three school years (i.e., grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3). The integral condition consists of parental participation in a parental meeting on substance use, regulation of substance use, and monitoring and counseling of students' substance use at school, over and above the three digital modules. The control condition is characterized as business as usual. Participating schools were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control condition. Participants filled out a digital questionnaire at baseline and will fill out the same questionnaire three more times at follow-up measurements (8, 20, and 32 months after baseline). Outcome variables included in the questionnaire are the percentage of binge drinking (more than five drinks per occasion), the average weekly number of drinks, and the percentage of adolescents who ever drunk a glass for alcohol and the percentage of adolescents who ever smoked a cigarette or a joint respectively for tobacco and marijuana.

This study protocol describes the design of a randomized clustered trial that evaluates the effectiveness of a school-based prevention program. We expect that significantly fewer adolescents will engage in early or excessive substance use behaviors in the intervention conditions compared to the control condition as a direct result of the intervention. We expect that the integral condition will yield most positive results, compared with the e-learning condition and control condition.

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Alcohol industry say figures wrong in report on cost of harm from drinking

In media releases issued alongside its report on drinking a fortnight ago the Alcohol Education & Rehabilitation Foundation said its research raised "the total economic impact of alcohol misuse to $36 billion annually, more than double previous estimates".

The figure was repeated yesterday in a statement issued by the AER welcoming the reappointment of Nicola Roxon as Health Minister. Yet the report itself warns "A caution to keep in mind in reading and interpreting this report, however, is that the harms and the costs discussed here cannot validly be added together into a grand total, without facing the issue of possible double counting. A grand total is not the goal of this report."

The liquor industry peak body, the National Alcohol Beverage Industry Council, has written to AER chair Cheryl Bart accusing the foundation of "blatant misrepresentation of its own commissioned work for publicity purposes".

The letter, obtained by The Australian, accuses the AER of packing its own research "in a way that was contrary to guidance published in the report".

A separate letter to all members of the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, challenging the $36 billion cost, claims "the research report contains no such finding and indeed the published report carries numerous warnings about making such a claim". > > > >

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The Effects of Eliminating Supplemental Security Income Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Eligibility on the Mental Health of Low-Income Substance Abusers

On January 1, 1997, as the result of federal legislation, many low-income substance abusers lost income and healthcare benefits provided by the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

This study examined the effects of eliminating drug addiction and alcoholism (DAA) as qualifying impairments for SSI benefits on the mental health and mental health treatment utilization of former beneficiaries 3.5 years following the policy change.

Study participants in four Northern California counties were categorized into three comparison groups based on their primary income source over the lifetime of the study.

Findings indicated that overall the reported mental health status of former SSI DAA beneficiaries improved following the policy change; however, study participants who relied primarily on some other type of public assistance post-termination reported an increase in mental health treatment utilization.


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Alcohol de-addiction camp for Koragas

The special 4th Alcohol De-addiction camp for Koraga Community is being organized jointly by the district administration, Samagra Grameena Ashrama, Udupi, Integrated Tribal Development Programme, Udupi District and Dr A V Baliga Memorial Hospital on Wednesday at Dr A V Baliga Memorial Hospital. > > > > Read More

Does the transcription factor AP-2β have an impact on the genetic and early environmental influence on ethanol consumption?

Genes involved in alcoholism have consensus sites for the transcription factor activator protein (TFAP) 2β.

In the present study, we investigated TFAP-2β protein levels in the ethanol-preferring alko, alcohol (AA) and the ethanol-avoiding alko, non-alcohol (ANA) rat lines. Furthermore, basal and ethanol-induced TFAP-2β levels were examined in Wistar rats exposed to different early postnatal environments that are known to affect later ethanol consumption.

Taken together, we found differences in brainstem TFAP-2β protein between the AA and ANA rats.


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Feedback-related negativity is correlated with unplanned impulsivity

Recent studies of electroencephalogram event-related potentials reported aberrant feedback-related negativity (FRN) in neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as alcoholism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. These diseases are characterized by high impulsivity.

We investigated the relationship between FRN and impulsivity in healthy people. We performed correlation analyses between FRN amplitude recorded during a gambling task and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale scores.

The analysis showed a significant negative correlation between FRN amplitude and the nonplanning impulsiveness score, which assess lack of past planning or future orientation.

This suggests that FRN may be a neurophysiological marker of unplanned impulsiveness.

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Alcohol News - 37/2010

YLE.fi (Finland) - Organisations Call on Women to Not Drink During Pregnancy
On September 9, the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAIDD) urges women to abstain from alcohol during all nine months of pregnancy.
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/09/organisations_call_on_women_to_not_drink_during_pregnancy_1966830.html

The Local (Sweden) - Stockholm acts to block drunken bus drivers
Stockholm public transport operator SL will install ignition locks on all of its buses within the next two years, ensuring drivers who have been drinking can't start their vehicles.
http://www.thelocal.se/28856/20100908/

The Reykjavik Grapewine (Iceland) - Alcohol Ad Laws Tightened
A bill submitted to parliament may close loopholes that alcohol importers and manufacturers have used in the current Icelandic law banning the advertising of alcoholic beverages.
The proposal, already approved by the Icelandic government, was submitted jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice, Vísir reports. While Article 20 of the current alcohol law bans the advertisement of alcoholic beverages, loopholes have been found - for example, by advertising the low alcohol content versions of the same beers.
http://www.grapevine.is/Author/ReadArticle/Alcohol-Ad-Laws-Tightened

BBC News (UK) - British Red Cross says teach children alcohol first aid
Children should learn first aid skills to help friends who become dangerously drunk, the British Red Cross has said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11266428

ABC Online (Australia) - Australians drinking to mask depression: research
The Salvation Army says it is concerned at the number of people it believes are drinking simply to get through their day. A survey of around 600 people commissioned by the charity and carried out by pollsters Roy Morgan has found more than 7 per cent often or sometimes drink in order to "feel normal".
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/13/3009561.htm

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - 1000 police in weekend booze bust
A 12-hour police operation targeting alcohol-related crime this weekend resulted in less than one percent of drivers stopped at checkpoints being over the limit, although the number of retailers selling alcohol to minors was a disappointment, say police.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4121037/1000-police-in-weekend-booze-bust

ScandAsia.com (Philippines) - Drunk Driving to Become Illegal in Philippines
A new bill is to criminalize drunk driving. The House of Representatives is set to deliberate on a measure filed by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and imposing penalties on drunk driving, philstar.com says.
http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_code=plus&news_id=7281

PR Newswire (USA) - Survey of Police and Teachers: Alcohol and Marijuana Most Serious Substance Abuse Facing Teens
The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest released the results of a national Teen Substance Abuse survey today, indicating that police officers and high school teachers nationwide believe alcohol and marijuana are the most serious problem substances facing teenagers.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-of-police-and-teachers-alcohol-and-marijuana-most-serious-substance-abuse-facing-teens-102535844.html

BusinessWeek - Obesity Worsens Brain Damage of Heavy Drinking
Researchers examined the findings of different types of brain scans conducted on 54 men in an alcohol treatment program and compared them with each man's body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measurement that takes into account a person's height and weight. The study findings appear online and in the December print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/642826.html

BusinessWeek - Heavy Drinking Part of Social Acceptance for Young: Study
Many young people consider getting drunk an important part of being accepted as part of a social group, a factor that needs to be considered when creating anti-drinking campaigns, a British researcher says.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/642999.html

BreakingNews.ie (Ireland) - Call for ban on alcohol advertising
The College of Psychiatry of Ireland says there have been multiple breaches of the self-regulatory code whereby the drinks industry is supposed to protect children from advertising.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/call-for-ban-on-alcohol-advertising-473217.html

Scotsman (Scotland) - Labour's plan for alcohol bill slammed
THE SNP has hit out at a Labour bid to scupper plans for some areas to ban under-21s from buying alcohol. MSPs have already thrown out the idea of a blanket ban.
http://news.scotsman.com/news/Labour39s-plan-for-alcohol-bill.6526424.jp

MedPage Today - Drug May Improve Abstinence in Alcoholics
Alcoholic patients can modestly improve their chances of staying abstinent after detox with acamprosate (Campral), according to a Cochrane review.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Addictions/22091

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