ALCOHOL REPORTS

Monday, December 12, 2011

Alcohol approach tendencies in heavy drinkers: Comparison of effects in a relevant stimulus-response compatibility task and an approach/avoidance Simo

Several recent studies suggest that alcohol-related cues elicit automatic approach tendencies in heavy drinkers. A variety of tasks have been used to demonstrate these effects, including Relevant Stimulus-Response Compatibility (R-SRC) tasks and variants of Simon tasks.

Previous work with normative stimuli suggests that the R-SRC task may be more sensitive than Simon tasks because the activation of approach tendencies may depend on encoding of the stimuli as alcohol-related, which occurs in the R-SRC task but not in Simon tasks.

Our aim was to directly compare these tasks for the first time in the context of alcohol use. We administered alcohol versions of an R-SRC task and a Simon task to 62 social drinkers, who were designated as heavy or light drinkers based on a median split of their weekly alcohol consumption

Results indicated that, compared to light drinkers, heavy drinkers were faster to approach, rather than avoid, alcohol-related pictures in the R-SRC task but not in the Simon task.

Theoretical implications and methodological issues are discussed.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: m.field@liverpool.ac.uk

Associations between depression, distress tolerance, delay discounting, and alcohol-related problems in European American and African American college

Although levels of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems are high in college students, there is significant variability in the number and type of problems experienced, even among students who drink heavily

African American students drink less and experience fewer alcohol-related problems than European American students, but are still at risk, and little research has investigated the potentially unique patterns and predictors of problems among these students.

Depression, distress tolerance, and delay discounting have been implicated in adult substance abuse and may be important predictors of alcohol problem severity among college students.

We examined the relationship between these variables and alcohol-related problems among African American and European American students (N = 206; 53% female; 68% European American; 28% African American) who reported recent heavy drinking.

In regression models that controlled for drinking level, depression, distress tolerance, and delay discounting were associated with alcohol problems among African American students, but only depression was associated with alcohol problems among European American students.

These results suggest that negative affect is a key risk factor for alcohol problems among college student drinkers. For African American students, the inability to tolerate negative emotions and to organize their behavior around future outcomes may also be especially relevant risk factors.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: dennhardt.ashley@gmail.com

Associations between energy drink consumption and alcohol use behaviors among college students

To explore associations between energy drink consumption and alcohol use among college students.

Participants included 585 students (m age = 18.7; 47.0% White, 21% Hispanic, 25% Asian, 7% other race/ethnicity; 56.0% female). Energy drink behaviors included past month and past week consumption. Alcohol use behaviors included past month and past two week consumption, as well as heavy drinking and quantity of alcohol consumed. Consumption of energy drinks mixed with alcohol was also measured. Linear and logistic regression analyses between energy drink consumption and alcohol use were run controlling for gender, age, and race/ethnicity.

For each one unit increase in past month (i.e., additional day used) energy drink use, the likelihood of past month alcohol use increased by 80%, heavy drinking by 80% and past month energy drinks mixed with alcohol use by 90%. Similar results were found for past week energy drink use. A positive relationship between energy drink use and quantity of alcohol consumed during a single episode of drinking was also found (p < 0.001). Significant gender interactions between energy drink consumption and alcohol use as well as quantity of alcohol consumed were found, with relationships stronger among males than females. There were no significant interactions by race/ethnicity.

Energy drinks are readily available to students and pose potential health risks. Students who report greater energy drink consumption also consume more alcohol, are more likely to mix energy drinks and alcohol, and experience heavy episodes of drinking, which is problematic given the potential negative consequences of these drinks.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: kpasch@mail.utexas.edu

Gender differences in factors associated with alcohol drinking: Delay discounting and perception of others’ drinking

Excessive alcohol consumption in college students is associated with impulsivity and with overestimating levels of others’ drinking; however, females’ and males’ drinking may be differently impacted by their overestimations. We examined whether moderate drinkers discount alcohol rewards differently from money rewards and whether their estimate of others’ drinking is more closely associated with own-drinking for males than females.

College students completed two delay discounting tasks in which they chose between money rewards and between alcohol rewards, varying in amount and delay to receipt. Participants also completed questionnaires about their own and others’ drinking.

Area under the curve (AUC) relating delay to subjective value was smaller for alcohol than money rewards, implying steeper discounting of alcohol rewards. Regression analyses showed that females’ number of drinks per sitting was related only to AUC for money, while males’ drinks per sitting was related to their estimates of others’ drinks.

The relationship between alcohol consumption and discounting was replicated. This study also indicated that social norms play a larger role in determining males’ drinking than females’.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: yankelevitz@gmail.com

Four-yearoutcomes from the Early Re-Intervention (ERI) experiment using Recovery Management Checkups (RMCs)

While drug abuse is the 10th leading cause of mortality in the US, the public health care system has been slow to adopt a chronic disease approach with aggressively timed monitoring and interventions. Drug abuse remains isolated from adoption into the “chronic condition” model of care. This paper evaluates the efficacy of quarterly Recovery Management Checkups (RMCs) on treatment reentry and long-term substance use in the context of chronic substance use disorders.

446 adult substance users were randomly assigned to RMC or a control group and assessed quarterly for 4 years (94% completion). The main outcome measures were: time from need of treatment to treatment reentry, frequency of treatment reentry, days of treatment, number of substance use related problems per month, and total days abstinent.

Participants in the RMC condition were significantly more likely than participants in the control group to return to treatment sooner, to return at all, to return more times, and to receive more total days of treatment. They subsequently had significantly fewer quarters in need of treatment, fewer substance related problems per month, and more total days of abstinence. Effects were larger for those with earlier onset and higher crime/violence scores.

RMC is an effective method of monitoring and re-intervening with chronic substance users and is associated with improved long-term outcomes. A subgroup of people for whom RMC did not appear to be “enough,” signals a need to explore more intensive models to address chronicity.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mdennis@chestnut.org

FASD News - 49/2011

NEWS and ARTICLES

Net Newsledger (Canada) - “Ontario needs to step up and get serious with the prevention of FASD”

Anishinabek Nation Deputy Grand Council Chief Glen Hare says that Ontario needs to step up and get serious with the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Reno Gazette-Journal (USA) - John Packham: Prevention plays powerful role in fight against Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs is the leading cause of preventable birth defects and intellectual disabilities in Nevada. Children born to women who use alcohol during pregnancy have an elevated risk for a number of lifelong negative health and developmental outcomes.

PR Web - Film about Preventable Birth Defects Subject of Christmas Release

Award-winning film maker, Tom Monson announced the world-wide release of Last Call, the Sobering Truth about Drinking During Pregnancy. Amazingly, 20% women drink alcohol while they are pregnant. One of the most comprehensive documentaries on the subject, the producer believes a timely release will save babies from a life of pain and unfulfilled dreams.

The Daily Telegraph (Australia) - Alcohol labels to warn mums-to-be

THE country's leading health experts will today call on the federal government to impose mandatory warning labels for pregnant women on all alcoholic drinks.

Twin Cities Planet (USA) - Fetal alcohol program takes unique cultural approach

A parenting program developed in Minnesota and aimed at helping Indian families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder goes national early next year.

Asian Scientist Magazine (Australia) - Study: Some Pregnant Women Still Smoke And Drink

A recent study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies has found a minority of Australian women still report drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes during pregnancy.

ERR News (Estonia) - Temperance Activists Seek Warning Labels for Pregnant Women on Booze Bottles

The Temperance Union is participating in a Pan-European initiative which aims to introduce labels on liquor bottles, warning women of the hazards of consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Nunatsiaq News (Canada) - KRG wants health board to adopt a “zero-tolerance” for drinking by pregnant women

Women in Nunavik should not drink when they are pregnant. That’s the clear position of counsellors at the Kativik Regional Government.

The Nation (Nigeria) - ‘First three months of pregnancy are critical’

There are actually many things that can cause heart defects. When we say Hole in the heart, it comprises of a whole bunch of problems. It is just a layman’s terminology to describe congenital heart diseases.

Detroit Free Press -Risk of disease partially established in womb, scientists say

Pregnant women sacrifice many of life's simple pleasures -- caffeine, sushi, a glass of wine -- in the hope that their babies will be born healthy.

iPolitics (Canada) - Feds fund study to determine cost of fetal alcohol disorders

The Conservative government is tasking a study to determine the financial toll of various disabilities in children and adults whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy.

The Star (Canada) - Better testing needed to diagnose fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Canadian expert Sterling Clarren says

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the leading cause of developmental disability in Canada, is an umbrella term used to describe a range of disabilities that result from prenatal exposure to alcohol.

MATERIALS

Healthy Child Manitoba - InSight Mentoring Program

InSight is an outreach program where mentors provide intensive support to women who are pregnant or have recently had a baby and are struggling with alcohol or drug use. This is a voluntary program for women who aren’t well connected to community support services.

CanFASD Northwest - Evaluation of FASD Mentoring Programs

This team is focused on the research and evaluation of Parent Child Assistance Programs (PCAP), or other mentoring support programs, that provide intensive mentorship support services to women considered most at risk to have a child with FASD.

SAFE Babies program – Caring for Babies with Prenatal Substance Exposure

Check out the 3rd edition of Baby Steps: caring for babies with prenatal substance exposure. The 92-page handbook is for parents and caregivers of babies who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or other drugs.

helsenorge.no - Alkoholfritt svangerskap

Watch here

COMING

Eurocare - 2ND International SAFFrance Colloquium, 15- 16 December 2011, Strasbourg, France

The second international conference of SAFFrance to be organised on the 15th and 16th of December in Strasbourg is linked to the first conference organised in the Senate in September 2009 to which the higher head of state participated.

EUFASD – 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.

RESEARCH

Alcoholism - Callosal Thickness Reductions Relate to Facial Dysmorphology in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Structural abnormalities of the corpus callosum (CC), such as reduced size and increased shape variability, have been documented in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Alcoholism - Ethanol Exposure During Pregnancy Persistently Attenuates Cranially Directed Blood Flow in the Developing Fetus: Evidence from Ultrasound Imaging in a Murine Second Trimester Equivalent Model

These data show that binge-type maternal EtOH exposure results in rapid and persistent loss of blood flow from the umbilical artery to the fetal brain, potentially compromising nutrition and the maternal/fetal endocrine environment during a critical period for neuron formation and angiogenesis in the maturing brain.

IN OTHER LANGUAGES

De Stentor (Netherlands) - 'Verplicht logo alcohol en zwangerschap'

Een zwangere vrouw in silhouet met daaromheen een rode cirkel en een streep erdoor. Dat logo moet op alle alcoholhoudende dranken worden aangebracht. Dat vinden de FASstichting, de European FASD Alliance en het Nederlands Instituut voor Alcoholbeleid.

BarniMagen (Norway) - Slik kommer gravide seg unna drikkepresset

Fest er forbundet med moro og hygge, men for gravide kan det være vanskelig. Særlig i julebordsesongen opplever de drikkepress.

Delfi (Estonia) - Üleeuroopaline aktsioon nõuab pudelitele silte: rasedad peaksid alkoholist loobuma

Organisatsioonid enam kui 20 Euroopa riigist kutsuvad üles edastama sõnumit, et lapseootuse perioodil peaksid naised alkoholist täielikult hoiduma.

Kehitysvammaliitto (Finland) - Kehitysvammaliitolta lyhytelokuva Alkoholin synnyttämät

Odottavan äidin alkoholinkäyttö voi aiheuttaa syntyvälle lapselle pysyvät vauriot. Vakavasti vaurioituneet lapset päätyvät usein sijaisperheeseen asumaan.

Kehitysvammaliitto (Finland) - Kun äiti joi raskauden aikana

Tälle sivulle tallennetaan Kehitysvammaliiton järjestämien seminaarien ja asiantuntijatapahtumien aineistoja. Aineistot julkaistaan tilaisuuden jälkeen ja ne ovat sivulla kolmen kuukauden ajan.

Results From the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings

This report presents the first information from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The survey is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. The survey interviews approximately 67,500 persons each year. Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons in this report described using terms such as "increased," "decreased," or "more than" are statistically significant at the .05 level.

Alcohol Use

Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2010 survey (51.8 percent). This translates to an estimated 131.3 million people, which was similar to the 2009 estimate of 130.6 million people (51.9 percent).
In 2010, nearly one quarter (23.1 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking. This translates to about 58.6 million people. The rate in 2010 was similar to the estimate in 2009 (23.7 percent). 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 2010, heavy drinking was reported by 6.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older, or 16.9 million people. This rate was similar to the rate of heavy drinking in 2009 (6.8 percent). 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 2010, the rate of binge drinking was 40.6 percent, and the rate of heavy drinking was 13.6 percent. These rates were similar to the rates in 2009.
The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 13.6 percent in 2010, which was lower than the 2009 rate (14.7 percent). Youth binge and heavy drinking rates in 2010 (7.8 and 1.7 percent) were also lower than rates in 2009 (8.8 and 2.1 percent).
There were an estimated 10.0 million underage (aged 12 to 20) drinkers in 2010, including 6.5 million binge drinkers and 2.0 million heavy drinkers.
Past month and binge drinking rates among underage persons declined between 2002 and 2010. Past month use declined from 28.8 to 26.3 percent, while binge drinking declined from 19.3 to 17.0 percent.
In 2010, 55.3 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 29.9 percent reported that it had occurred in their own home. About one third (30.6 percent) paid for the alcohol the last time they drank, including 8.8 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.6 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it. Among those who did not pay for the alcohol they last drank, 38.9 percent got it from an unrelated person aged 21 or older, 16.6 percent from another person younger than 21 years old, and 21.6 percent from a parent, guardian, or other adult family member.
In 2010, an estimated 11.4 percent of persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. This percentage had 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 (23.4 percent).

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

An overview of the genetic susceptibility to alcoholism

Alcoholism is a multifactorial, genetically influenced disorder. It is a major health and social issue, a highly frequent disease and a cause of premature death. It is also the most expensive addictive disorder due to morbidity, mortality, societal and legal problems. Besides their involvement in alcohol-related fatalities, forensic scientists are also required to assess driving and working ability as well as permanent invalidity due to alcohol-related conditions. Greater knowledge of the genetic basis of alcoholism could improve prevention by identifying specific risk factors and mechanisms, leading to effective therapeutic strategies and eventually to personalized treatments.

This overview of the recent scientific literature on the genetic basis of alcoholism summarizes the analytical strategies currently applied to the identification of candidate genes involved in alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) and discusses some genes and related phenotypes that have been shown to influence the risk of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a complex heterogeneous genetic disease. It is a quantitative disorder, in which the combined incidence of multiple genetic factors and environmental factors varies from one subject to another. Family, twin and adoption studies indicate that 50–60% of the risk of alcoholism is due to genetic factors. Risk loci for AUDs include both genes involved in alcohol pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics as well as genes moderating neurophysiological responses such as impulsivity, disinhibition, sensation-seeking and externalizing behaviours. Alcoholism also co-exists with other addictions and psychiatric disorders. Such co-morbidity suggests the existence of shared aetiological factors.

Despite several genes that influence the risk for AUDs having been identified, the genetic bases of alcoholism remain largely unknown. Particularly the mechanism of action or the understanding of the physiology of some genes, as well as the gene–environment interactions, is still unknown. Technological progress and advances in transcriptomics, epigenomics and proteomics are expected to enhance our knowledge of the genetic susceptibility to alcoholism.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: buscemi@univpm.it

OPRM1 and Diagnosis-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Binge-Drinking Patients Living with HIV

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to numerous negative outcomes in persons living with HIV (PLH) and there is evidence that PTSD symptoms may play a role in maintaining alcohol use problems. The opioid receptor mu-1 (OPRM1) gene may play a role in both PTSD and alcohol use.

We examined the association between PTSD and drinking motives as well as variation in the OPRM1 as a predictor of both PTSD and drinking motives in a sample of 201 PLH reporting recent binge drinking.

Self-reported PTSD symptom severity was significantly associated with drinking motives for coping, enhancement, and socialization.

OPRM1 variation was associated with decreased PTSD symptom severity as well as enhancement motives for drinking.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: John_McGeary@Brown.EDU

Do the effects of a family intervention on alcohol and drug use vary by nativity status?

To examine whether the intervention effects of Familias Unidas, compared to community practice, on Hispanic adolescent alcohol and drug use varies by nativity status (i.e., U.S.-born and foreign-born).

A total of 213 eighth grade Hispanic adolescents with behavior problems and their primary caregivers were assigned randomly to one of two conditions: Familias Unidas or Community Control. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 18, and 30 months post baseline.

Results showed that, the effects of Familias Unidas on alcohol use was moderated by nativity status.

Specifically, Familias Unidas was efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use for U.S.-born youth, but not foreign-born. No moderating effects were found for drug use.

These findings suggest that prevention interventions may be more efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use among certain Hispanic adolescent subgroups.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: dcordova@med.miami.edu

Acute tolerance to alcohol in at-risk binge drinkers.

Studies of the impairing effects of alcohol on behavior often show greater tolerance in heavy drinkers compared with light drinkers, suggesting a causal link between heavy consumption and tolerance. Tolerance also develops during the time course of a single drinking episode, and this “acute tolerance” might play an important role in the escalation to heavy drinking.

The present study examined the development of acute tolerance to the impairing effects of alcohol on motor coordination and inhibitory control in a group of at-risk binge drinkers (n = 20) and a group of nonrisk moderate drinkers (n = 20).

Participants performed the testing battery in response to placebo and a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg) twice at comparable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs): once on the ascending limb and once on the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve.

Results showed marked acute tolerance to the impairing effects of alcohol on motor coordination in the at-risk drinkers.

By contrast, no recovery of motor skill was observed in the nonrisk drinkers.

Regarding inhibitory control, both groups remained impaired on both the ascending and descending limbs, indicating no acute tolerance in either group.

The findings suggest that at-risk binge drinkers display a faster recovery in their ability to execute versus inhibit action under alcohol.

Such an “activational bias” of behavior could account for their continued alcohol consumption and impulsive behaviors while intoxicated, especially as BAC begins to decline.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: fillmore@uky.edu

Alcohol expectancies, alcohol use, and hostility as longitudinal predictors of alcohol-related aggression

The direct and interactive effects of alcohol expectancies for aggression, dispositional hostility, and heavy alcohol consumption on alcohol-related physical aggression were examined across the first four years of marriage in a sample of 634 newlywed couples.

For husbands, alcohol aggression expectancies predicted increases in alcohol-related aggression; across husbands and wives, however, aggression expectancies were not found to interact with hostility or alcohol consumption to predict physical aggression.

Consistent with previous research, hostility and alcohol consumption interacted with each other to predict alcohol-related aggression.

Specifically, for both husbands and wives high in dispositional hostility, heavy alcohol consumption was positively associated with the occurrence of alcohol-related aggression; for those low in dispositional hostility, however, there was no association between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression.

Findings are contrasted with previous longitudinal research on alcohol aggression expectancies and physical aggression in married couples.

The article discusses the extent to which findings may vary depending on whether expectancies are assessed in relation to alcohol's effect on one's own behavior versus alcohol's effect on others' behavior.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: Lkk2@buffalo.edu

Internalizing and externalizing dimensions and alcohol use in first time DWI offenders: Indirect effects through coping self-efficacy

Using cross-sectional data and structural equation modeling, we evaluated whether coping self-efficacy to abstain from drinking in various situations accounted for the relationship between internalizing (depression, anxiety) and externalizing (aggression, low socialization) dimensions with problematic alcohol use in 292 first-time DWI offenders.

Results indicated that an internalizing dimension indirectly predicted problematic alcohol use through coping self-efficacy in negative situations only, whereas an externalizing dimension indirectly predicted problematic alcohol use through coping self-efficacy in positive situations only.

These findings support two potential pathways to problematic drinking behavior among DWI offenders and suggest that internalizing and externalizing dimensions may differentially predict high risk drinking situations due to one's inability to abstain in specific situations.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: RSchlauch%20@ria.buffalo.edu

Aims

Monday, December 12, 2011

Alcohol Use

Sunday, December 11, 2011