The Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) Inhibitor Rolipram Decreases Ethanol Seeking and Consumption in Alcohol-Preferring Fawn-Hooded Rats

Alcohol dependence is a complex psychiatric disorder demanding development of novel pharmacotherapies. Because the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling cascade has been implicated in mediating behavioral responses to alcohol, key components in this cascade may serve as potential treatment targets. Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4), an enzyme that specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of cAMP, represents a key point in regulating intracellular cAMP levels. Thus, it was of interest to determine whether PDE4 was involved in the regulation of alcohol use and abuse.

Male Fawn-Hooded (FH/Wjd) rats were tested for 5% (v/v) ethanol (EtOH) and 10% (w/v) sucrose operant oral self-administration following treatment with the selective PDE4 inhibitor rolipram (0.0125, 0.025, or 0.05 mg/kg, subcutaneous [s.c.]); rolipram at higher doses (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg, s.c.) was tested to determine its impact on the intake of EtOH, sucrose, or water using the 2-bottle choice drinking paradigm. Subsequent open-field testing was performed to evaluate the influence of higher doses of rolipram on locomotor activity.

Acute administration of rolipram dose-dependently reduced operant self-administration of 5% EtOH, but had no effect on 10% sucrose responding. Time-course assessment revealed significant decreases in EtOH consumption after rolipram (0.1, 0.2 mg/kg) treatment in continuous- and intermittent access to EtOH at 5% or 10%, respectively. Moreover, chronic rolipram treatment time-dependently decreased 5% EtOH consumption and preference during treatment days and after the termination of rolipram administration. Rolipram at the highest doses (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) did decrease locomotor activity, but the effect lasted only 10 and 20 minutes, respectively, which did not likely alter long-term EtOH drinking.

These results suggest that PDE4 plays a role in alcohol seeking and consumption behavior. Drugs interfering with PDE4 may be a potential pharmacotherapy for alcohol dependence.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: hzhang@hsc.wvu.edu

12-Step participation reduces medical use costs among adolescents with a history of alcohol and other drug treatment

Adolescents who attend 12-step groups following alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment are more likely to remain abstinent and to avoid relapse post-treatment. We examined whether 12-step attendance is also associated with a corresponding reduction in health care use and costs.

We used difference-in-difference analysis to compare changes in seven-year follow-up health care use and costs by changes in 12-step participation. Four Kaiser Permanente Northern California AOD treatment programs enrolled 403 adolescents, 13–18-years old, into a longitudinal cohort study upon AOD treatment entry. Participants self-reported 12-step meeting attendance at six-month, one-year, three-year, and five-year follow-up. Outcomes included counts of hospital inpatient days, emergency room (ER) visits, primary care visits, psychiatric visits, AOD treatment costs and total medical care costs.

Each additional 12-step meeting attended was associated with an incremental medical cost reduction of 4.7% during seven-year follow-up. The medical cost offset was largely due to reductions in hospital inpatient days, psychiatric visits, and AOD treatment costs. We estimate total medical use cost savings at $145 per year (in 2010 U.S. dollars) per additional 12-step meeting attended.

The findings suggest that 12-step participation conveys medical cost offsets for youth who undergo AOD treatment. Reduced costs may be related to improved AOD outcomes due to 12-step participation, improved general health due to changes in social network following 12-step participation, or better compliance to both AOD treatment and 12-step meetings.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: marlon.mundt@fammed.wisc.edu

Alcohol Use and STI among men in India: Evidences from a national household survey

Alcohol use has been found to correlate with risky sexual behavior as well as with sexually transmitted infections (STI) among populations with high-risk behavior in India.

To examine the correlates of alcohol use and its association with STI among adult men in India.

Data from a national representative large-scale household sample survey in the country were used. It included information on sociodemographic characteristics and alcohol use as a part of substance use. Clinical as well laboratory testing was done to ascertain the STI.

The overall STI prevalence among adult males was found to be 2.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9-3.1). Over 26% adult men were found to have been using alcohol in the study population. It was higher among men who were illiterate and unskilled industrial workers/drivers. The men who consumed alcohol had higher prevalence of STI (3.6%; 95% CI: 2.9-5.1) than those who did not consume alcohol (2.1%; 95% CI: 1.5-2.6). The degree of association between alcoholism and STI was slightly reduced after adjusting for various sociodemographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio: 1.5; 95% CI: 0.9-2.3; P=0.06).

The findings of present study suggest integrating alcohol risk reduction into STI/HIV prevention programmes.



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Request Rerprint E-Mail: arvindpandey@icmr.org.in

Trends and Social Differences in Alcohol Consumption during the Postcommunist Transition in Lithuania

The aim of the study was to evaluate the trends and social differences in consumption of various types of alcoholic beverages in Lithuania over the postcommunist transition period (1994–2010).

The data were obtained from nine nationally representative postal surveys of Lithuanian population aged 20–64 conducted every second year (). Prevalence of regular (at least once a week) consumption of beer, wine, or strong alcoholic beverages and the amount of alcohol consumed per week were examined.

Regular beer drinking as well as the amounts consumed increased considerably in both genders. The increase in regular consumption of strong alcohol was found among women.

Sociodemographic patterning of regular alcohol drinking was more evident in women than in men. In women, young age and high education were associated with frequent regular drinking of wine and beer.

Social differences in regular alcohol drinking should be considered in further development of national alcohol control policy in Lithuania.


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Relationship of Body Mass Index to Alcohol Consumption in College Freshmen

Assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and drinking in college freshman.

College freshman (N = 199) at a university completed the drinking questionnaires. Drinking amount and the alcohol problem index (RAPI) served as outcomes, and BMI was the independent variable.

RAPI scores were associated with gender, amount of drinking, and BMI (P < 0.001, F = 13.44). Increase of RAPI with drinking amount was larger for females (slope = 0.06) than for males (slope = 0.03).

This information can be helpful when providing health promotion strategies to college students
regarding nutrition modifications that would be most beneficial for their health.


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News Release - Alcohol May Trigger Serious Palpitations in Heart Patients

The term “holiday heart syndrome” was coined in a 1978 study to describe patients with atrial fibrillation who experienced a common and potentially dangerous form of heart palpitation after excessive drinking, which can be common during the winter holiday season. The symptoms usually went away when the revelers stopped drinking. Now, research from UCSF builds on that finding, establishing a stronger causal link between alcohol consumption and serious palpitations in patients with atrial fibrillation, the most common form of arrhythmia. > > > > Read More

Does change talk during brief motivational interventions with young men predict change in alcohol use?

Client change talk (CT) during motivational interviewing and brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have been described as predictors of behavior change, but these links have not been clearly evaluated in research on young people.

Within 127 BMIs with 20-year-old men with at-risk alcohol consumption, each CT utterance was categorized and given a strength rating using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code 2.1. Several ways of categorizing and measuring CT were tested using stepwise regression procedures.

Overall CT measures were not significantly related to changes in drinking at 6-month follow-up. Regarding CT sub-dimensions, the frequency of ability/desire/need to change and of ability/desire/need not to change, as well as the average strength of ability/desire/need, predicted significant change in the expected direction. CT length was not significantly linked to outcome.

The frequency and strength with which some CT sub-dimensions are expressed during BMI seemed to be important predictors of change in drinking among young men and might thus be especially important for clinicians to notice.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: Jacques.Gaume@chuv.ch

American teens are less likely than European teens to use cigarettes and alcohol

The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

The results originate from coordinated school surveys about substance use from more than 100,000 students in some of the largest countries in Europe like Germany, France and Italy, as well as many smaller ones from both Eastern and Western Europe.

Because the methods and measures are largely modeled after the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future surveys in this country, comparisons are possible between the U.S. and European results. The 15- and 16-year-old students, who were drawn in nationally representative samples in almost all of the 36 countries, were surveyed last spring. American 10th graders in the 2011 Monitoring the Future studies are of the same age, so comparisons are possible.

The differences found between adolescent behaviors in the U.S. and Europe are dramatic, according to Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the American surveys.

About 27 percent of American students drank alcohol during the 30 days prior to the survey. Only Iceland was lower at 17 percent, and the average rate in the 36 European countries was 57 percent, more than twice the rate in the U.S. > > > > Read More

The role of sensation seeking, perceived peer pressure, and harmful alcohol use in riding with an alcohol-impaired driver

Alcohol-related motor vehicle collisions have been the top of policy agenda for more than three decades in Korea. Despite implementation of various traffic safety measures, some drivers’ alcohol use and abuse has resulted in a high number of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities every year.

This paper presents the association of theoretical factors with behavior of riding with an alcohol-impaired driver (RAID) among all age groups in the Korean adult sample. The theoretical factors of the drivers are personality factor, socio-psychological factor, and alcohol-related behavioral risk factor.

We utilized national survey data from 1007 respondents consisting of 703 males and 304 females aged 20–66 collected by Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) to test our theorized model.

Our results indicated that there were three major predictors of RAID involvement: sensation seeking propensity, perceived peer pressure, and frequent harmful drinking. Overall, prediction of RAID behavior by gender was mediated entirely through these predictors.

The issue of males’ higher risk of RAID involvements was addressed for effective communication strategies such as campaigns.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: junnh@hanmail.net

Trends in alcohol-impaired driving in Canada

While a general decreasing trend in the number of persons killed in a traffic crash involving a drinking driver has occurred in Canada since the 1980s, it is evident that much of this decrease occurred in the 1990s. Since 2002, less progress has been made as the number of persons killed in crashes involving drinking drivers remains high.

To better understand the current situation, this paper describes trends in drinking and driving in Canada from 1998 to 2011 using multiple indicators based on data collected for the Traffic Injury Research Foundation's (TIRF) Road Safety Monitor (RSM), the National Opinion Poll on Drinking and Driving, and trends in alcohol-related crashes based on data collected for TIR
F's national Fatality Database in Canada.

There has been a continued and consistent decrease in the number of fatalities involving a drinking driver in Canada. This remains true when looking at the number of fatalities involving a drinking driver per 100,000 population and per 100,000 licensed drivers. This decreasing trend is also still apparent when considering the percentage of persons killed in a traffic crash in Canada involving a drinking driver although less pronounced. Data from the RSM further show that the percentage of those who reported driving after they thought they were over the legal limit has also declined.

However, regardless of the apparent decreasing trend in drinking driving fatalities and behaviour, reductions have been relatively modest, and fatalities in crashes involving drivers who have consumed alcohol remain high at unacceptable levels.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: wardv@tirf.ca

Drink-driving in community sports clubs: Adopting the Good Sports alcohol management program

Throughout the developed world, community sports clubs are a high-risk setting for alcohol-impaired driving. The Good Sports program accredits community sports clubs to encourage implementation of alcohol-focussed harm-reduction and safe-transport strategies.

This study tested for associations between participation in the Good Sports program and reduced rates of drink-driving amongst club members.

Multilevel modelling indicated that for each season a club was in the program there was an 8% reduction in the odds of drink-driving.

These findings may arise due to clubs with lower rates of alcohol use maintaining longer involvement in the program.

However, the findings are also compatible with the intention of the Good Sports program to reduce the risk that club members will drive whilst alcohol impaired.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: bosco.rowland@deakin.edu.au

Effects of Interactive Voice Response Self-Monitoring on Natural Resolution of Drinking Problems: Utilization and Behavioral Economic Factors

Most problem drinkers do not seek help, and many recover on their own. A randomized controlled trial evaluated whether supportive interactive voice response (IVR) self-monitoring facilitated such "natural" resolutions. Based on behavioral economics, effects on drinking outcomes were hypothesized to vary with drinkers' baseline "time horizons," reflecting preferences among commodities of different value available over different delays and with their IVR utilization.

Recently resolved untreated problem drinkers were randomized to a 24-week IVR self-monitoring program (n = 87) or an assessment-only control condition (n = 98). Baseline interviews assessed outcome predictors including behavioral economic measures of reward preferences (delay discounting, pre-resolution monetary allocation to alcohol vs. savings). Six-month outcomes were categorized as resolved abstinent, resolved nonabstinent, unresolved, or missing. Complier average causal effect (CACE) models examined IVR self-monitoring effects.

IVR self-monitoring compliers (≥70% scheduled calls completed) were older and had greater pre-resolution drinking control and lower discounting than noncompliers (<70%). A CACE model interaction showed that observed compliers in the IVR group with shorter time horizons (expressed by greater pre-resolution spending on alcohol than savings) were more likely to attain moderation than abstinent resolutions compared with predicted compliers in the control group with shorter time horizons and with all noncompliers. Intention-to-treat analytical models revealed no IVR-related effects. More balanced spending on savings versus alcohol predicted moderation in both approaches.

IVR interventions should consider factors affecting IVR utilization and drinking outcomes, including person-specific behavioral economic variables. CACE models provide tools to evaluate interventions involving extended participation.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: jtucker@uab.edu

Do Substance Use Norms and Perceived Drug Availability Mediate Sexual Orientation Differences in Patterns of Substance Use? Results from the Californi

Illicit drug and heavy alcohol use is more common among sexual minorities compared with heterosexuals. This difference has sometimes been attributed to more tolerant substance use norms within the gay community, although evidence is sparse. The current study investigated the role of perceived drug availability and tolerant injunctive norms in mediating the linkage between minority sexual orientation status and higher rates of prior-year substance use.

We used data from the second California Quality of Life Survey (Cal-QOL II), a followback telephone survey in 2008–2009 of individuals first interviewed in the population-based 2007 California Health Interview Survey. The sample comprised 2,671 individuals, oversampled for minority sexual orientation. Respondents were administered a structured interview assessing past-year alcohol and illicit drug use, perceptions of perceived illicit drug availability, and injunctive norms concerning illicit drug and heavier alcohol use. We used structural equation modeling methods to test a mediational model linking sexual orientation and substance use behaviors via perceptions of drug availability and social norms pertaining to substance use.

Compared with heterosexual individuals, sexual minorities reported higher levels of substance use, perceived drug availability, and tolerant social norms. A successfully fitting model suggests that much of the association between minority sexual orientation and substance use is mediated by these sexual orientation–related differences in drug availability perceptions and tolerant norms for substance use.

Social environmental context, including subcultural norms and perceived drug availability, is an important factor influencing substance use among sexual minorities and should be addressed in community interventions.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: cochran@ucla.edu

"To Believe or Not to Believe?" Religiosity, Spirituality, and Alcohol Use Among Hungarian Adolescents

A growing number of studies focus on the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and substance use, including drinking. Although these studies often find a negative association between religiosity and adolescent alcohol use, different religious variables may play an altering role in alcohol-related activities. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between a set of religious variables (religious denomination, church membership, religious attendance, praying, religiosity, spiritual beliefs, and well-being) and drinking patterns (current alcohol use, lifetime prevalence of drinking, and heavy episodic drinking) among a sample of Hungarian youth.

Data were collected among high school students (N = 592; ages between 14 and 17 years; 48.1% male) from a randomly selected set of schools in Szeged, Hungary, using a self-administered questionnaire and standardized procedures. Student participation was voluntary and confidential.

Despite a high level of alcohol use and a relatively low level of religiosity in the sample, we detected a relationship between the importance of religiousness/religious well-being and alcohol use, although religious denomination and affiliation were not significant correlates. Religious attendance and private praying were associated with lower odds of alcohol use among girls; boys who reported a belief in traditional religion were less likely to engage in alcohol use.

These exploratory results provide further details to a growing body of research showing that despite adolescents' low religious involvement, religiosity can play an important role in some youth's lives and may serve as a protective factor against alcohol use and misuse.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: . pikobettina@yahoo.com

Relationships Between Local Enforcement, Alcohol Availability, Drinking Norms, and Adolescent Alcohol Use in 50 California Cities

This study investigated relationships between local alcohol policies, enforcement, alcohol outlet density, adult alcohol use, and underage drinking in 50 California cities.

Eight local alcohol policies (e.g., conditional use permit, social host ordinance, window/billboard advertising) were rated for each city based on their comprehensiveness. Local alcohol enforcement was based on grants received from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control agency for enforcement of underage drinking laws. Outlet density was based on the number of on- and off-premise outlets per roadway mile. Level of adult alcohol use was ascertained from a survey of 8,553 adults and underage drinking (frequency of past-year alcohol use and heavy drinking) from surveys of 1,312 adolescents in 2009 and 2010. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of policies, enforcement, and other community-level variables on adolescent drinking, controlling for youth demographic characteristics. Mediating effects of adolescents' perceived ease of obtaining alcohol, perceived enforcement, and perceived acceptability of alcohol use also were examined.

None of the eight local alcohol-policy ratings were associated with adolescent drinking. Funding for underage drinking enforcement activities was inversely related to frequency of past-year alcohol use, whereas outlet density and adult drinking were positively related to both past-year alcohol use and heavy drinking. These relationships were attenuated when controlling for perceived ease of obtaining alcohol, enforcement, and acceptability of alcohol use, providing evidence for mediation.

Adolescent alcohol use and heavy drinking appear to be influenced by enforcement of underage drinking laws, alcohol outlet density, and adult alcohol use. These community-level influences may be at least partially mediated through adolescents' perceptions of alcohol availability, acceptability of alcohol use, and perceived likelihood of getting in trouble with local police.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: paschall@prev.org

Who Seeks Care Where? Utilization of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Two National Samples of Individuals with Alcohol Use Disord

Only a fraction of individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) receive any AUD treatment during a given year. If a substantial proportion of individuals with unmet need for AUD treatment are receiving mental health treatment, accessibility of AUD treatment could potentially be improved by implementing strategies to ensure that individuals receiving mental health care are referred to the AUD sector or by increasing rates of AUD treatment in individuals receiving mental health treatment.

We assessed patterns and predictors of mental health treatment and AUD treatment among individuals with 12-month AUDs, using secondary data analyses from two national surveys, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; n = 4,545 individuals with AUDs) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; n = 3,327 individuals with AUDs).

In both NSDUH and NESARC, 8% of individuals with AUDs reported past-year AUD treatment. Among individuals with AUDs, mental health treatment was more common than AUD treatment, with 20% of NSDUH respondents and 11% of NESARC respondents reporting receiving mental health treatment. Greater mental health morbidity increased the odds of mental health treatment, and AUD severity increased the odds of AUD treatment. Mental health morbidity also increased the odds of AUD treatment, mainly by increasing the odds of receiving the category of both AUD and mental health treatment.

Because individuals with AUDs are more likely to receive mental health treatment than AUD treatment, a key opportunity to improve the overall accessibility of treatment for AUDs may be to focus on improving AUD treatment among individuals receiving mental health treatment.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: mjedlund@uams.edu

Cognitive Remediation Therapy During Treatment for Alcohol Dependence

Cognitive impairments in individuals with alcohol dependence may interfere with the progress of treatment and contribute to the progression of the disease. This study aimed to determine whether cognitive remediation (CR) therapy applied during treatment for alcohol dependence improves cognitive functioning in alcohol-dependent inpatients. A secondary aim was to evaluate whether the benefits of CR generalize to noncognitive clinically meaningful outcomes at the end of inpatient treatment.

Forty-one alcohol-dependent patients entering inpatient treatment for alcohol dependence were randomly assigned to receive conventional treatment (n = 21) or an additional 12 sessions of computer-assisted CR focusing on cognitive enhancement in attention/executive function and memory domains (n = 20). Assessments of cognitive abilities in these domains as well as of psychological well-being and alcohol craving were conducted at baseline (at the beginning of inpatient treatment) and after CR (at the end of treatment).

Results indicated that, relative to patients completing conventional treatment, those who received supplemental CR showed significant improvement in attention/executive function and memory domains, particularly in attention (alertness, divided attention), working memory, and delayed memory (recall). In addition, patients receiving CR during alcohol-dependence treatment showed significantly greater improvements in psychological well-being (Symptom Checklist-90–Revised) and in the compulsion aspect of craving (Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale–German version).

CR during inpatient treatment for alcohol dependence is effective in improving cognitive impairments in alcohol-dependent patients. The benefits generalize to noncognitive outcomes, demonstrating that CR may be an efficacious adjunctive intervention for the treatment of alcohol dependence.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: claudia.rupp@i-med.ac.at

Daily College Student Drinking Patterns Across the First Year of College

Despite the long recognized importance and well-documented impact of drinking patterns on health and safety, college student drinking patterns are understudied. This study used a daily-level, academic-year-long, multisite sample to identify subpopulations of college student drinking patterns and to describe how these groups differ from one another before, during, and after their first year of college.

Two cohorts of first-year college students (n = 588; 59% female) reported daily drinking on a biweekly basis using web-based surveys and completed surveys before and after their first year of college.

Cluster analyses based on time series analysis estimates of within-person drinking differences (per weekday, semester, first 6 weeks) and other descriptors of day-to-day drinking identified five drinking patterns: two low (47% and 6%), two medium (24% and 15%), and one high (8%) drinking cluster. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined cluster differences in pre-college characteristics (i.e., demographics, alcohol outcome expectancies, alcohol problems, depression, other substance use) and first-year college experiences (i.e., academic engagement, alcohol consequences, risky drinking practices, alcohol problems, drinking during academic breaks). Low-drinking students appeared to form a relatively homogeneous group, whereas two distinct patterns were found for medium-drinking students with different weekend and Thursday drinking rates. The Thursday drinking cluster showed lower academic engagement and greater participation in risky drinking practices.

These findings highlight quantitative and qualitative differences in day-to-day drinking patterns and suggest a link between motivational differences and drinking patterns, which may be addressed in developing tailored interventional strategies.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: bhoeppner@partners.org

The Ties That Bind: Bonding Versus Bridging Social Capital and College Student Party Attendance

This study explored the relationship between bonding and bridging social capital and college student attendance at alcohol-present parties, a common method for building informal social networks.

A random sample of students (n = 6,291; 52% female) from a large public midwestern university completed a survey regarding their alcohol use and party-related behaviors on targeted weekends. The survey also included questions regarding students' living arrangements, romantic relationships, and membership in student and community organizations.

Based on a dichotomous logistic regression analysis, we concluded that the act of attending parties largely serves as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, more conventional and formal social capital. Membership in bonding groups is associated with increased odds of party attendance, and bridging exerts no direct effect on party attendance. However, bridging capital does mitigate the effect of bonding capital, reducing its apparent tendency to promote or contribute to partying.

Off-campus parties may offer an informal supplement to more conventional social capital as students establish themselves in their new context. These findings may have implications for structural decisions (e.g., number of roommates) as well as the design of context-based prevention programs that address students' need to quickly build social capital without exposing both themselves and the students around them to the harms associated with high-risk drinking.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: buettner.16@osu.edu

Alcohol use disorders and the course of depressive and anxiety disorders

Inconsistent findings have been reported on the role of comorbid alcohol use disorders as risk factors for a persistent course of depressive and anxiety disorders.

To determine whether the course of depressive and/or anxiety disorders is conditional on the type (abuse or dependence) or severity of comorbid alcohol use disorders.

In a large sample of participants with current depression and/or anxiety (n = 1369) we examined whether the presence and severity of DSM-IV alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence predicted the 2-year course of depressive and/or anxiety disorders.

The persistence of depressive and/or anxiety disorders at the 2-year follow-up was significantly higher in those with remitted or current alcohol dependence (persistence 62% and 67% respectively), but not in those with remitted or current alcohol abuse (persistence 51% and 46% respectively), compared with no lifetime alcohol use disorder (persistence 53%). Severe (meeting six or seven diagnostic criteria) but not moderate (meeting three to five criteria) current dependence was a significant predictor as 95% of those in the former group still had a depressive and/or anxiety disorder at follow-up. This association remained significant after adjustment for severity of depression and anxiety, psychosocial factors and treatment factors.

Alcohol dependence, especially severe current dependence, is a risk factor for an unfavourable course of depressive and/or anxiety disorders, whereas alcohol abuse is not.

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l.boschloo@ggzingeest.nl

Minimum prices on alcohol review's wish list

The Government has revealed it is investigating a minimum price for alcohol and that research is being done on health warnings on bottles and cans.

Justice Minister Judith Collins said she had asked the Justice Ministry to research places where a minimum charge had been imposed, and whether the measure had been effective.

The Government was already considering changes to alcohol laws,and legislation which proposed a higher drinking age would return to Parliament for its final stages this month. > > > > Read More

FASD News - 22/2012

NEWS and ARTICLES

Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) - Province to double FASD clinic space

The province will double the capacity of a successful Winnipeg fetal alcohol spectrum disorder support program, while boosting efforts to diagnose the condition in rural and northern communities.

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Montreal Gazette (Canada) - Video game helps students with fetal alcohol disorder

Playing video games isn't often seen as the healthiest pastime for young people, but a new educational game is helping re-train the brains of students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a University of Alberta professor says.

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The Oxford Times (UK) - Avoid alcohol and keep babies safe

A MOTHER who says her adopted daughter is ‘living proof of the dangers of drinking’ has appealed for people to take a few booze-free days to help boost her charity’s coffers.

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Newswise (USA) - New Report Shows More Than One in Five Pregnant White Women Smoke Cigarettes

A new report shows that 21.8 percent of pregnant White women aged 15 to 44 currently (within the past 30 days) smoked cigarettes.

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HealthCanal.com (Australia) - Alcohol's impact on babies - UN looks at Australian experience

An Australian film depicting the life of a young boy exposed to alcohol during his mother's pregnancy was shown at the United Nations headquarters in New York yesterday.

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Alexandria Times (USA) - NOFAS MATERNITY FASHION SHOW RAISES AWARENESS OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

The women walking the runway at the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome’s weekend fundraiser at a private residence on the Potomac were doing more than trotting out the latest fashions; they were showcasing healthy pregnancies.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: One Woman’s Story

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Read about one woman's experience with FASDs. Information about new tools and resources you can use is also provided.

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FARE (Australia) - LIES EXPOSED AS INDUSTRY FRONTS FASD INQUIRY

A detailed analysis of the alcohol industry’s submissions to a Parliamentary Inquiry has exposed a raft of false, misleading and unfounded claims.

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MATERIALS

Indian Country Today Media Network.com (USA) - New Parenting Curriculum Supports Native Families with FASD

The Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) has released a new parenting curriculum focused on supporting American Indian families where fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is suspected. Gifts from the Sacred Circle: A Native Traditional Parenting Curriculum for Families Affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is now available through Hazelden Publishing.

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ARCC Society - Non-judgmental solutions for addiction and FASD

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CDC - CDC Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Application

This application has been designed by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) as a way for users to access the latest information related to alcohol and pregnancy and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)!

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RESEARCH

Medical Xpress - Examining adaptive abilities in children with prenatal alcohol exposure and/or ADHD

Prenatal exposure to alcohol often results in disruption to the brain's cognitive and behavioral domains, which include executive function (EF) and adaptive functioning.

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Journal of Perinatology - Prenatal alcohol exposure, blood alcohol concentrations and alcohol elimination rates for the mother, fetus and newborn

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a common cause of intellectual impairment and birth defects. More recently, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been found to be a risk factor for fetal mortality, stillbirth and infant and child mortality.

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Biological Psychiatry - Male Germline Transmits Fetal Alcohol Adverse Effect on Hypothalamic Proopiomelanocortin Gene Across Generations

Neurons containing proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides, known to control stress axis, metabolic, and immune functions, have a lower function in patients with a family history of alcoholism, raising the possibility that alcohol effects on the POMC system may transmit through generations.

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Alcoholism - Persistent Dose-Dependent Changes in Brain Structure in Young Adults with Low-to-Moderate Alcohol Exposure In Utero

Many children with heavy exposure to alcohol in utero display characteristic alterations in brain size and structure. However, the long-term effects of low-to-moderate alcohol exposure on these outcomes are unknown.

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SAMHSA - Substance Use during Pregnancy Varies by Race and Ethnicity

When pregnant women use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, they incur an increased risk for experiencing health problems themselves and poor birth outcomes for their infants. It is important for doctors, nurses, and midwives to discuss the risks of substance use with all pregnant women.

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Alcohol - Postnatal day 7 ethanol treatment causes persistent reductions in adult mouse brain volume and cortical neurons with sex specific effects on neurogene

Ethanol treatment on postnatal day seven (P7) causes robust brain cell death and is a model of late gestational alcohol exposure (Ikonomidou et al., 2000).

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Maternal and Child Health Journal - Prevalence and Correlates of Drinking in Early Pregnancy Among Women who Stopped Drinking on Pregnancy Recognition

Women of child bearing age that regularly drink alcohol are at risk for drinking in early pregnancy. Evidence indicates a majority of women stop alcohol consumption on pregnancy recognition.

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COMING UP

Vorankündigung der 14. FASD Fachtagung 2012

Jedes Jahr werden in Deutschland immer noch 4000 bis 10 000 Menschen mit fetalen Alkoholspektrumsstörungen (FASD) geboren. Die vermeidbare Ursache für diese geistigen und körperlichen Fehlentwicklungen ist Akloholkonsum während der Schwangerschaft. Im Verlauf dieser Fachtagung werden wir Rückschau halten auf 40 Jahre Forschung und Prävention und auf die neuesten Entwicklungen in Forschung und Therapie ..

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Second European Conference on FASD

The European FASD Alliance is pleased to announce the Second European Conference on FASD – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: clinical and biochemical diagnosis, screening and follow-up, which will take place in Barcelona, October 21 to 24, 2012.

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IN OTHER LANGUAGES

Relevant (Germany) - Wie FASD-Kinder ihren Platz in der Gesellschaft finden können

„Es gibt Schüler, die zunächst aufgrund ihres guten verbalen Ausdrucksvermögens einen durchaus intelligenten Eindruck machen, im Unterricht extrem angepasst sind und zuhause den Druck entladen wie ein Dampfkochtopf, dem der Deckel wegfliegt, oder aber in der Klasse total ausflippen, weil die Reizüberflutung zu groß ist“, beschreibt Gisela Michalowski vom FASD Deutschland e.V.

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Welt Online (Germany) - Der kleine Rausch und die fatalen Folgen fürs Kind

Vielen ist die Gefahr nicht bewusst: Wird während der Schwangerschaft Alkohol konsumiert, drohen dem Nachwuchs schwere Behinderungen. Jedes Jahr sind Tausende Kinder betroffen.

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School Bonding As a Moderator of the Effect of Peer Influences on Alcohol Use Among American Indian Adolescents

Previous research suggests that substance use among American Indian youth is associated with disproportionate rates of morbidity and substance misuse. Additional work to understand risk and protective factors for alcohol use is needed. The current study examined the role of school bonding in buffering the effect of peer alcohol use on a student's own alcohol use among American Indian adolescents.

The present study is part of a larger examination of alcohol use among American Indian youth. Survey data were collected from middle and high school students during the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 school years from 37 school districts in the United States. The sample consisted of 2,582 students ages 11–19 years: 1,606 were younger than 16, and 976 were age 16 or older. All students self-identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native. The sample was approximately equally divided by gender (49% male).

For all students, peer alcohol use was a risk factor for (a) lifetime alcohol use and (b) level of alcohol use among users. School bonding was associated with a lower likelihood of lifetime alcohol use for adolescents younger than age 16 and a lower level of use among users for all adolescents. School bonding emerged as a protective factor that buffers against peer alcohol use among adolescent alcohol users younger than 16.

Results of the study demonstrate the influence of exposure to alcohol-using peers and the protective role of school bonding on alcohol use among American Indian adolescents. Implications for prevention are discussed.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: fred.beauvais@colostate.edu

Daily Variations in Spring Break Alcohol and Sexual Behaviors Based on Intentions, Perceived Norms, and Daily Trip Context

Given the known risks of alcohol use and sexual behavior for college students on Spring Break, this study was designed to document the behaviors and correlates associated with being on a Spring Break trip on a given day (controlling for average time on a trip).

Participants were undergraduate students (n = 261; 55% women) who reported that they planned to go on a Spring Break trip. Web-based survey responses before and after Spring Break documented perceived norms, intentions, and actual behavior on each of the 10 days of Spring Break.

Students who went on longer trips, who previously engaged in more heavy episodic drinking, or who had greater pre–Spring Break intentions to drink reported greater alcohol use during Spring Break. Similarly, students with greater pre–Spring Break intentions to have sex, greater perceived norms for sex, or more previous sexual partners had greater odds of having sex. On days students were on trips, they had a greater likelihood of having sex, drinking to higher estimated blood alcohol concentrations, consuming more drinks, and reporting perceived drunkenness than on nontrip days, especially if they had intentions to have sex and drink alcohol (and, for models predicting sexual behavior and drunkenness, had greater perceived norms for sex and drinking).

Students who went on Spring Break trips engaged in more risk behaviors. In addition, the context of being on a trip on a given day was associated with increased risk, especially if they had stronger intentions and, in some cases, higher perceived norms. Further research is needed to describe the contexts of Spring Break trips and how to intervene effectively.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: meganpat@isr.umich.ed

Alcohol Use Patterns and Trajectories of Health-Related Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A 14-Year Population-Based Stud

A 14-year multiwave panel design was used to examine relationships between longitudinal alcohol-consumption patterns, especially persistent moderate use, and change in health-related quality of life among middle-aged and older adults.

A nationally representative sample of 5,404 community-dwelling Canadians ages 50 and older at baseline (1994/1995) was obtained from the longitudinal National Population Health Survey. Alcohol-consumption patterns were developed based on the quantity and frequency of use in the 12 months before the interview. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). Latent growth curve modeling was used to estimate the change in HUI3 for each alcohol pattern after adjusting for covariates measured at baseline.

Most participants showed stable alcohol-consumption patterns over 6 years. Persistent non-users, persistent former users, those decreasing their consumption levels, and those with unstable patterns (i.e., U shaped and inverted U shaped) had lower HUI3 scores at baseline compared with persistent moderate drinkers. A more rapid decline in HUI3 scores than that observed for persistent moderate users was seen only in those with decreasing consumption (p < .001). In a subgroup identified as consistently healthy before follow-up, longitudinal drinking patterns were associated with initial HUI3 scores but not rates of change.

Persistent moderate drinkers had higher initial levels of health-related quality of life than persistent nonusers, persistent former users, decreasing users, U-shaped users, and inverted U-shaped users. However, rates of decline over time were similar for all groups except those decreasing their consumption, who had a greater decline in their level of health-related quality of life than persistent moderate users.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: kaplanm@pdx.edu

Social Adversity, Stress, and Alcohol Problems: Are Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Poor More Vulnerable?

Experiences of racial/ethnic bias and unfair treatment are risk factors for alcohol problems, and population differences in exposure to these social adversities (i.e., differential exposure) may contribute to alcohol-related disparities. Differential vulnerability is another plausible mechanism underlying health disparities, yet few studies have examined whether populations differ in their vulnerability to the effects of social adversity on psychological stress and the effects of psychological stress on alcohol problems.

Data from the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey (N = 4,080 adult drinkers) were analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess an overall model of pathways linking social adversity, depressive symptoms, heavy drinking, and alcohol dependence. Multiple group analyses were conducted to assess differences in the model's relationships among Blacks versus Whites, Hispanics versus Whites, and the poor (income below the federal poverty line) versus non-poor (income above the poverty line).

The overall model explained 48% of the variance in alcohol dependence and revealed significant pathways between social adversity and alcohol dependence involving depressive symptoms and heavy drinking. The effects of social adversity and depressive symptoms were no different among Blacks and Hispanics compared with Whites. However, the poor (vs. non-poor) showed stronger associations between unfair treatment and depressive symptoms and between depressive symptoms and heavy drinking.

Contrary to some prior studies, these findings suggest that racial disparities in alcohol problems may be more a function of racial/ethnic minorities' greater exposure, rather than vulnerability, to chronic stressors such as social adversity. However, observed differences between the poor and non-poor imply that differential vulnerability contributes to socioeconomic disparities in alcohol problems. Efforts to reduce both differential exposure and vulnerability might help to mitigate these disparities.


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Request Reprint E-Mail: nmulia@arg.org

Contrasting medical models of alcohol problems in Victoria around 1900

This paper examines four specialist medical inebriety institutions in Victoria, Australia between 1870 and 1930, which positioned themselves in distinct ways. It analyses how the treatment in each institution was located within wider medical approaches and contemporary medical ideas and practice.

Medical journals and texts, newspaper articles, government reports and institutional archives are used in the analysis.

Alcohol treatment institutions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were of several types, differentiated according to treatment approaches and their underlying premises as to the nature of the disease being treated, the particular patient groups for which they catered and their funding models and capacity to take patients committed for treatment under legislation. The institutional types identified in other Anglophone countries in this period can be extended to Australia, with some local variations in the timing of the appearance of the models, the longevity of institutions and gender of patients. In Australia there was no tradition of mutual patient support, as seen at the time in the United States. Each institution represented itself differently, in particular in terms of its particular medical model, although the treatments in practice differed less than in theory. The models employed allowed each institution to position itself in relation to trends in medical theory and practice, in particular to different conceptualizations of the type of disease being treated. Evaluating treatment models for alcohol problems in terms of medical theory and practice of the time can explain contrasting approaches.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: carolinec@turningpoint.org.au

Alcohol licensing in Scotland: a historical overview

This paper provides a historical overview of licensing law in Scotland. It seeks to put important contemporary policy developments into their historical context and to draw attention to key themes in licensing policy debates across the United Kingdom.

Based on a survey of statutes, commissions of enquiry and consumption and retail data, this paper draws together historical evidence to present a synopsis of Scottish licensing history.

The article focuses on Scotland, but also discusses UK-wide licensing policy over a 250-year period.

Scottish licensing has diverged from licensing in England and Wales and has addressed some historical licensing weaknesses, including problems of accountability, overprovision and systemic oversight regarding off-sales. Distinctive features of current Scottish legislation include public health protection as a statutory licensing objective; local Licensing Forums and Licensing Standards Officers; a requirement for explicit policies on the ‘overprovision’ of licensed premises; mandatory restrictions on price promotions in the on- and off-trades; and limitations on opening hours for off-licences.

Scotland has developed alcohol policies several times addressing long-standing licensing weaknesses throughout the United Kingdom. Some Scottish alcohol policies have later become the norm in England and Wales

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Request Reprint E-Mail: j.nicholls@bathspa.ac.uk

Alcohol Research UK reports: Internet influences on adolescents; Gender, Alcohol & interventions; Identifiying promising approaches to reducing alcoho

Reports recently published from Alcohol Research UK include:

Internet Influences on Adolescent Attitudes to Alcohol
This study, carried out by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, examined the characteristics and influence of actual Internet content experienced by young people.

Gender, Alcohol and Interventions
This research, led by Dr Richard de Visser at Sussex University, was co-funded with Comic Relief and investigated how gender attributes and attitudes affect young men’s and women’s alcohol use, and whether different health promotion interventions were required for young men and women.

Identifying promising approaches and initiaties to reducing alcohol related harm
This project, co-funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and led by Dr Rachel Herring at Middlesex University, aimed to identify promising approaches that could be included in multi-component programmes (MCPs) to reduce alcohol related harm at local level in the UK. Following on from this study, the group held a workshop in March this year to explore the experiences of working with ‘Frequent Flyers’, who form a set of clients repeatedly admitted to hospital or attending A&E for treatment for alcohol-related conditions. > > > > Read More