Family and peer influences on young people’s drinking

26 January 2011

10:00 hrs - 16:00 hrs

Edinburgh 

 

About the event

This event, supported by the Scottish Government, will examines key influences on young people's alcohol consumption, and explore what implications this may have for policy and practice.

Speakers include:

• Peter Seaman
  Who will present key findings from the recent JRF and Glasgow Centre for Population Health report Young people and alcohol: influences on how they drink. The research investigates the influences, motivators and decision-making underpinning the drinking choices of young adults aged between 18 and 25.
• Douglas Eadie, University of Stirling
  Who will present his recent findings Pre-teens learning about alcohol: drinking and family contexts. This research examines childhood experiences and how they are crucial to forming future drinking habits – focusing on how children learn about alcohol in so-called "ordinary families".    > > > >  Read More

Smoking behaviours, access to cigarettes and relationships with alcohol in 15- and 16-year-old schoolchildren

Adolescent smoking is a significant public health concern in the UK and across Europe. 

This study examines smoking behaviours, methods of accessing cigarettes and use of non-commercial (fake, foreign and single) cigarettes across a sample of schoolchildren. Relationships with alcohol consumption, deprivation, personal income and extra-curricular activities are also explored. 

A cross-sectional survey of 9833 15- and 16-year-old schoolchildren in the North West of England.  

Cigarettes were most commonly accessed from off-licences and newsagents, but pupils also reported non-commercial access through friends, family and street sellers/neighbours. A high percentage of smokers had bought foreign (57%), fake (28%) and single (54%) cigarettes. Frequent binge drinking, not participating in extra-curricular activities, receiving greater personal income, and having parents that smoked were significantly associated with being a regular and heavier smoker. Frequent binge drinking was also significantly associated with buying foreign/fake or single cigarettes. A higher percentage of those living in deprived areas were current smokers, although deprivation was not an independent predictor of cigarette use.  

Strategies that restrict commercial access to cigarettes among adolescents may increase their reliance on social methods of access, and use of fake, foreign and single cigarettes. Interventions to reduce adolescent smoking must recognize the critical role of parents and communities in discouraging smoking and preventing social access to cigarettes in children. 

A joint approach to prevention is required that targets children at risk of smoking, heavy alcohol use and associated health-damaging behaviours. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  s.k.hughes@ljmu.ac.uk

  

Severe Hypertriglyceridemia Influenced by Alcohol (SHIBA)

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between triglyceride (TG) levels and a history of excessive drinking in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia (HT). 

Alcohol intake as well as other risk factors associated with HT were searched for in case records of 300 patients known to the laboratory to have had a T G level over 11.3 mmol/l.

The majority of severe HT could be attributed to obesity, diabetes mellitus, excessive alcohol consumption or combinations of these. Excessive alcohol intake (over 210 g/week for males; over 140 g/week for females) was recorded for 24% of the total, and for 43% in the highest TG quartile. TG levels were significantly higher in the excessive drinkers (P < 0.001) and in patients with acute pancreatitis (P = 0.001). The incidence of pancreatitis in this cohort was 4% and limited to very high TG levels.  

Excessive alcohol consumption was recorded in a quarter of patients with severe HT. Patients with the combination of obesity, diabetes and alcohol excess are prone to develop extremely high TG values. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail:    a.vande.wiel@meandermc.nl

 

Associations of Social Phobia and General Anxiety with Alcohol and Drug Use in A Community Sample of Adolescents

This study explores whether associations between anxiety and alcohol and other substance use are already evident in middle adolescence, and whether general anxiety or symptoms of social phobia affect continuity of frequent alcohol use, frequent drunkenness and cannabis use.  

Data from the Adolescent Mental Health Cohort Study, a school-based Finnish survey among adolescents aged 15–16 years at baseline, was utilized to assess prevalence, incidence and continuity of symptoms of social phobia, general anxiety, frequent alcohol use, frequent drunkenness and cannabis use (which in this context was smoked ‘hashish’ of unknown constituency), and the associations between the substance use variables and the anxiety variables in 2-year follow-up. 

Anxiety preceded substance use while no reciprocal associations were observed. Depression mediated the associations between anxiety and substance use. Symptoms of social phobia did not elevate the incidence of substance use, but general anxiety did. 

Frequent drunkenness was less significantly associated with anxiety than the other two substance use variables. Co-morbid general anxiety increased the persistence of frequent alcohol use while co-morbid social phobia decreased its persistence. Continuity of frequent drunkenness and cannabis use were unaffected by co-morbid anxiety. 

General anxiety in middle adolescence places adolescents at risk for concurrent and subsequent substance use. 

The risk may, however, be associated with co-morbid depression. 

Social phobia in middle adolescence may protect from substance use. Adolescents with internalizing symptoms may need guidance in coping with the symptoms even if the symptoms do not fulfil the criteria of mood or anxiety disorder. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail: sair.frojd@uta.fi

 

Pathological Gambling in Treatment-Seeking Alcoholics: A National Survey in France

To estimate the prevalence of pathological gambling (pG) in people addicted to alcohol and drugs, particularly those with alcohol use disorders (AUDs), including new forms of gambling such as video and on-line games; and to update the socio-demographic profile of people suffering from both AUD and pG.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 1 week of 2009 in 55 French addiction treatment centres, including all consecutive patients attending that centre, using an anonymous questionnaire which included a tool specific for pG screening, the DEBA-jeu questionnaire (Détection et Besoin d'Aide en regard du Jeu Excessif).

A total of 2790 patients entered the study. The most frequent reason for attending the Addiction Centres was AUD (77%). According to the DEBA test, 6.5% of the patients were pathological gamblers and 12% were subsyndromal gamblers. pG affected all age groups and did not decrease with abstinence from alcohol. pG was significantly associated with male sex [relative risk (RR) = 2.4; P < 0.001)] and, at a lower level of significance, with homelessness (RR = 1.52; P = 0.03) and unemployment (RR = 1.47; P = 0.04). 

pG appears to be a common feature of the French people with alcohol and drug disorders. Apart from male sex, no parameter had discriminatory power sufficient to target pG screening on a specific subgroup. Therefore, any patient attending a centre for drug or AUD should be asked about his gambling. Moreover, clinical teams should be trained to treat this addiction. 

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  bertrand.nalpas@inserm.fr

   

Critique 029: Differing opinions on the message to the public regarding alcohol consumption 16 January 2011

Maurizio Ponz de Leon.  Letter to the Editor:  What should we advise about alcohol consumption?  Intern Emerg Med, DOI 10.1007/s11739-010-0487-1.

There has been quite a response to a Letter to the Editor  by Ponz de Leon recently published in Internal & Emergency Medicine, which is copied below.  

Divergent opinions have been expressed in two follow-up Letters to the Editor in that journal, which are also given below.  

Further, we include a number of comments on the subject by members of our International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research.



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The likely impacts of increasing alcohol price: a summary review of the evidence base

This review aimed to summarise the research evidence around the likely impact of policies designed to increase the price of alcoholic drinks in order to answer the following research questions.
 
1) What does the research evidence tell us about the likely impact of increasing alcohol price on social outcomes (specifically crime and disorder, public health and workplace productivity effects)?
 
2) To what extent does the research evidence tell us about the distributional impacts (particularly across different income groups and responsible drinkers but also to binge drinkers and young people) of increasing alcohol price?
 
3) What does the research evidence suggest is the likely impact of increasing alcohol prices on costs and benefits to business (particularly on the on trade and producers)?
 
In answering the above research questions this review also sought to identify limitations and gaps in the research evidence reviewed.


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Afib Risk Rises With Alcohol Intake

Although drinking moderate amounts of alcohol is believed to have cardiovascular benefits, it may also increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, a meta-analysis showed. 

In a pooled analysis of 14 observational studies, the highest intake of alcohol was associated with a 51% increased relative risk of atrial fibrillation compared with the lowest intake (OR/RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.74), according to Hirohito Sone, MD, PhD, of the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Ibaraki, Japan, and colleagues. > > > >  Read More

Alcoholic Marriage: Later Start, Sooner End

Although associations between drinking behavior and marital status are well documented, timing of marital transitions as a function of alcohol use or disorder has received limited empirical attention.

We examine the relationship between lifetime history of alcohol dependence (AD) and timing and survival of first marriages in a sample of 3,575 female and 1,845 male adult Australian twins born mostly between 1940 and 1964. Survival analyses were conducted using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results indicate moderate delays in marriage associated with AD for both women and men. Among ever-married respondents, AD was strongly predictive of early separation, with similar effects observed for women and men. 

Heritable sources of covariation were also documented. For women, genetic influences shared between early-onset AD and marital timing were found. Genetic influences shared between AD and marital survival were observed for women without regard to onset and for men with later-onset AD.

Results confirm the importance of AD as a predictor of both timing and survival of first marriages, with genetic influences contributing to observed associations.




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Request Reprint E-Mail: mwaldron@indiana.edu  

Kudzu Extract Treatment Does Not Increase the Intoxicating Effects of Acute Alcohol in Human Volunteers

Isoflavone administration in the form of a purified extract from the herbal medication kudzu root has been shown to reduce, but not eliminate, alcohol consumption in alcohol-abusing and alcohol-dependent men. 

The precise mechanism of this action is unknown, but 1 possible explanation for these results is that the isoflavones in kudzu might actually increase the intensity or duration of alcohol’s effects and thus delay the desire for subsequent drinks. This study was designed to test this hypothesis.

Twelve (12) healthy adult men and women (27.5 ± 1.89 years old) who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol (7.8 ± 0.63 drinks/wk) participated in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study in which they were treated with either kudzu extract (total isoflavone dose of 750 mg/d) or matched placebo for 9 days. On days 8 and 9, participants received an acute challenge of ethyl alcohol (either 0.35 or 0.7 g/kg alcohol). During the challenges, the following measures were collected: subjective effects, psychomotor (body sway), cognitive performance (vigilance/reaction time), physiological measures (heart rate and skin temperature), and plasma ethanol concentration.

Alcohol resulted in a dose-related alteration in subjective measures of intoxication, impairment of stance stability, and vigilance/reaction time.

Kudzu extract did not alter participants’ subjective responses to the alcohol challenge or to alcohol’s effects on stance stability or vigilance/reaction time. 

However, individuals treated with kudzu extract experienced a slightly more rapid rise in plasma ethanol levels, but only after the 0.7 g/kg dose. This transient effect during the first 30 minutes of the ascending plasma alcohol curve lasted only 10–15 minutes; there were no differences in peak plasma alcohol levels or alcohol elimination kinetics. 

Additionally, kudzu pretreatment enhanced the effects of the 0.7 g/kg dose of alcohol on heart rate and skin temperature.

These data suggest that individuals who drink alcohol while being treated with kudzu extract experience no adverse consequences, and furthermore the reported reductions in alcohol intake after kudzu extract treatment are not related to an alteration in alcohol’s subjective or psychomotor effects.



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Request Reprint E-Mail:   dpenetar@mclean.harvard.edu 

Risky Alcohol Use in Adolescence: The Role of Genetics (DRD2, SLC6A4) and Coping Motives

Drinking to cope (i.e., drinking to forget or alleviate negative feelings) has been found to be associated with adolescents’ heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Additionally, it is widely accepted that genetic factors are involved in alcohol use and dependence. Studies are only beginning to reveal, however, which specific genotypes are related to drinking behaviors, and it is unknown whether they may interact with coping motives in predicting adolescents’ risky drinking. 

The aim of this study was to examine relationships between the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) Taq1A polymorphism (rs1800497), a serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), coping motives, and adolescents’ binge drinking and alcohol-related problems.

Participants in this cross-sectional study were 282 Dutch adolescents (mean age 17.4, 47% men) who had consumed alcohol at least once in their life.

Coping motives were positively related to both binge drinking and alcohol-related problems, while DRD2 and SLC6A4 genotypes were not. DRD2, but not the SLC6A4 genotype, interacted with coping motives. The link between coping motives and alcohol outcomes was stronger among those carrying the DRD2 risk (A1) allele.

This study extends the present literature by providing additional insight into the etiological factors of adolescent drinking behavior. An interaction between a vulnerability gene (DRD2) and a cognitive factor (coping drinking) was found to be related to adolescents’ binge drinking and alcohol-related problems.




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Request Reprint E-Mail:  C.vanderZwaluw@bsi.ru.nl 

'Below cost' ban announced as duty + VAT re-opens pricing debate

The Government has announced measures for a "below cost ban" will be defined as the rate of duty + VAT, despite concernspress release said "This is an important first step in delivering the government's commitment to ban the sale of alcohol 'below cost' price." The measures will prevent the sale of:

• litre of vodka for less than £10.71
• 440ml lager for less than 38p
• litre of cider for less than 40p
• 700ml whiskey for less than £8

There has been controversy over how a 'below cost ban' could be defined since the Coalition pledged a crackdown on cheap alcohol. The on-trade had warned that supermarkets would 'beat a below cost ban' under a duty + VAT definition, arguing production and distribution costs should be factored in. A press release from the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers’(ALMR) said it would “make no difference to pocket money prices on the high street nor the irresponsible retailing practices of Britain’s supermarkets”.  > > > >  Read More

HNO Signaling Mechanisms

 
Due to recent discoveries of important and novel biological activity, nitroxyl (HNO) has become a molecule of significant interest. Although it has been used in the past as a treatment for alcoholism, it is currently being touted as a treatment for heart failure. 

It is becoming increasingly clear that many of the biological actions of HNO can be attributed to its ability to react with specific thiol- and, possibly, heme-proteins. 

Herein is discussed the chemistry of HNO with likely biological targets. 

A particular focus is given to targets associated with the pharmacological utility of HNO as a cardiovascular agent and for the treatment of alcoholism.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:   jon.fukuto@sonoma.edu  

Impact on alcohol-related mortality of a rapid rise in the density of private liquor outlets in British Columbia: a local area multi-level analysis

To study relationships between rates of alcohol-related deaths and (i) the density of liquor outlets and (ii) the proportion of liquor stores owned privately in British Columbia (BC) during a period of rapid increase in private stores.

Multi-level regression analyses assessed the relationship between population rates of private liquor stores and alcohol-related mortality after adjusting for potential confounding.

The 89 local health areas of BC, Canada across a 6-year period from 2003 to 2008, for a longitudinal sample with n = 534.

Population rates of liquor store density, alcohol-related death and socio-economic variables obtained from government sources.

The total number of liquor stores per 1000 residents was associated significantly and positively with population rates of alcohol-related death (P < 0.01). A conservative estimate is that rates of alcohol-related death increased by 3.25% for each 20% increase in private store density. The percentage of liquor stores in private ownership was also associated independently with local rates of alcohol-related death after controlling for overall liquor store density (P < 0.05). Alternative models confirmed significant relationships between changes in private store density and mortality over time.

The rapidly rising densities of private liquor stores in British Columbia from 2003 to 2008 was associated with a significant local-area increase in rates of alcohol-related death.



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Request Reprint E-Mail:  timstock@uvic.ca 

Minimum alcohol price levels planned by coalition

They say banning shops and bars from selling drinks for less than the tax paid on them will cut crime and set a "base price" for the first time. 

It works out at 38p for a can of weak lager and £10.71 for a litre of vodka. 

Health campaigners say that is too low to have an impact, but the drinks industry described the proposals as a "pragmatic solution".

In their coalition agreement, the Conservatives and Lib Dems pledged: "We will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price."

Under government proposals the ban is on sales of alcohol below the rate of duty plus VAT, rather than including the cost of producing the drinks.  > > > >  Read More

Alcohol News - 3/2011

ERR News (Estonia) - Drunk Driving Seen Alarmingly Often Among Truck Drivers

More long-haul truckers are being found to be driving with alcohol in their system, some of them with levels punishable as criminal drunk driving.

Read more

The Medical News (Finland) - Amount of alcohol and pattern of consumption affect risk of cognitive impairment

The study, conducted at the University of Turku, University of Helsinki and National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland based on subjects from the Finnish Twin Cohort, shows that midlife alcohol consumption is related to the risk of dementia assessed some 20 years later.

Read more

Innovations (Sweden) - Consumption Report 2010: Swedes' alcohol consumption is falling

Despite the fact that the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly's sales are rising and statistics from Statistics Sweden indicate that we drink more and more alcohol, the trend is going in the opposite direction – Swedes' alcohol consumption is falling. This emerges from the Consumption Report 2010 (Konsumtionsrapporten 2010) published by the Centre for Consumer Science at the University of Gothenburg.

Read more

AHN All Headline News - Study: Energy drinks don't lessen effects of alcohol

A new study finds that mixing Red Bull with alcoholic beverages such as vodka have no effect on enhancing performance on a driving test or improving sustained attention or reaction times.

Read more

The Media Line (Yemen) - Yemen’s hidden alcohol problem

It’s nine o’clock at night on a busy road on the outskirts of Sana’a and a man is waiting in the shadows. Samir, a 22-year-old university student, has been cruising in his car with his mates and has been engaged in a constant mobile phone negotiation with this man until finally, a location for the deal is made.

Read more

THE NEWSLETTER CONTINUES

Since decades of motorized law enforcement have done little to limit the aftermath of driving under the influence of alcohol (according to a World Health Organization (WHO) statistic, half a million people are killed each year in crashes caused by drunk driving), automotive suppliers have been trying for the past ten years or so, with various degrees of success, to develop an on-board anti-alcohol cop.

Read more

UPI.com (Romania) - Alcohol blamed for bird deaths in Romania

Dozens of dead starlings found in a Romanian city were not victims of avian flu, as first feared, but were the victims of alcohol poisoning, officials said.

Read more

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (Kenya) - Nacada says law on alcohol still in force

National Campaign Against Drug Abuse -Nacada- says the law on alcohol is still in force irrespective of a court order suspending its implementation.

Read more

Examiner.com - Past alcohol consumption detected by new tests using hair and fingernails

Two new tests have been developed, and launched by the United States Drug Testing Laboratories (USDTL) on January 7, 2011 that monitor long-term alcohol exposure using hair, and fingernail samples.

Read more

Wall Street Journal (Turkey) - Alcohol Hits Nerve In Turkey

In the running debate over whether Turkey's government is chipping away at the foundations of one of the region's few secular democracies, a new front has opened: alcohol.

Read more

Nursing Times (UK) - 'Alcohol misuse is the most daunting of public health challenges'

Joint chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health Sean Duggan examines the challenge ahead for the NHS in tackling alcohol misuse.

Read more

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - Sports can be 'bigger than booze'

Boozy post-match celebrations and liquor-sponsored sports events are set to cause a stir next month. New Zealand is leading the world in researching and discussing the complicated relationship between sports and alcohol.

Read more

Metro Canada (Canada) - City could open tap on alcohol ad revenue for ETS

Advertisements for beer, vodka and other alcoholic beverages could be seen on Edmonton Transit vehicles, benches and bus shelters sometime this year.

Read more

BBC News (Sri Lanka) - Sri Lanka alcohol healthcare restrictions criticised

A union representing doctors in Sri Lanka has protested against government plans to stop free healthcare for those addicted to alcohol.

Read more

Victoria Advocate (USA) - National Birth Defects Prevention Month

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month. How does that relate to nutrition and diet? Some birth defects aren't preventable, but others may be. Diabetes during pregnancy can cause some serious birth defects and even fetal death if not well controlled during pregnancy.

Read more

The Guardian (UK) - The price of super-strength lagers should reflect their alcohol content

Heavily discounted super-strength lagers target the most vulnerable people in society, writes David Nutt. Setting minimum prices per unit of alcohol would save thousands of lives.

Read more

UPI.com - Class drinking patterns, cirrhosis linked

Death from liver cirrhosis may be linked more to drinking patterns than to social class, researchers in Scotland suggest.

Read more

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - Alcohol level 'astronomical'

A 20-year-old and his pillion passenger caught riding a motorcycle without helmets might as well have hoisted a flag saying "come and get me", the judge said during sentencing in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday.

Read more

autoevolution - New Alcohol Detection Tech in the Works 

 

 

 

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Risk and Protection Factors for Substance Use Among Young People: A Comparative Study of Early School-Leavers and School-Attending Students

This report presents the results of a study of substance use among young people in Ireland based on information collected in 2008 during face-to-face interviews with 991 people, aged between 15 and 18. The target population comprised school-attending students and young people who, having left school, were attending either a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre. This latter population is described in this study as “early school-leavers” and represents approximately 12% of the full annual cohort of early school-leavers.


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Editorial - Binge drinking: all too prevalent and hazardous

Alcohol use is the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease, estimated to cause 3.8% of all deaths.  Among people aged 15 to 44 years, alcohol is estimated to result in 4.6% of all disability adjusted life years lost and a disproportionate number of fatal injuries.

Heavy drinking is classified as the consumption of more than 210 g of alcohol per week for men and more than 140 g per week for women, owing to differences in clearance and body size. As a metabolic poison, heavy alcohol use is associated with cardiovascular disease, oral cancers and liver cirrhosis. As an intoxicant, it causes dependency, injuries and trauma as well as substantial social harms.

Binge drinking is a particularly dangerous form of alcohol consumption. Men who consume five drinks (50 g) or more or women who consume four drinks (40 g) or more in one sitting are binge drinkers. Binge drinking is reported to be twice as likely as daily heavy drinking to cause acute myocardial infarction or death.  It is also associated with unwanted or unsafe sex, violence and injuries of all types.

> > > >  Read More

Acceptance of Private Health Insurance in Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

• In 2008, nearly two thirds (65 percent) of substance abuse treatment facilities accepted some private health insurance as a form of client payment

• Facilities with a primary focus of providing mental health services (85 percent), general health care (82 percent), or a mix of mental health services and substance abuse treatment (78 percent) were more likely than facilities with a substance abuse treatment focus (56 percent) or other focus (37 percent) to accept private health insurance

• Facilities that accepted private health insurance were more likely than those that did not to accept adolescents into treatment (58 vs. 33 percent)

•  Facilities in urban areas were less likely than facilities in non-urban areas to accept private health insurance

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New Course in Psychopathology and Behavioral Evaluation

Vatsalya Vatsalya M.D., M.S., P.G.D., of the Section on Human Psychopharmacology, will be the principal instructor for a new course developed by NIAAA to be offered at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at NIH. The course, MEDI 505: Psychopathology and Behavioral Evaluation, is aimed at students preparing for careers in clinical work, academics, and research related to psychology, mental health, nursing, and other health care fields. 

The course will familiarize students with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–IV–TR) standards of classification, psychological pathologies, neuroimaging concepts, and methods for evaluating patients using advanced statistical techniques.

This course will familiarize students with clinical cases and assist them in learning how to correlate and apply basic and clinical scientific concepts related to behavioral measures. 

The course also will provide a foundation for understanding and applying the factual and conceptual information gained from research in areas such as etiology and epidemiology. There will be an emphasis on occurrence, symptoms, and criteria for differential diagnoses of various disorders, with an evidence-based review of relevant scientific literature. 

The 3-credit course will take place at FAES, One Cloister Court, Bethesda, MD, from January 24, 2011, through May 13, 2011. Registration begins January 10, 2011. For more information, contact the FAES Graduate School at 301–496–7976.