News Release - First evidence from humans on how alcohol may boost risk of cancer

Almost 30 years after discovery of a link between alcohol consumption and certain forms of cancer, scientists are reporting the first evidence from research on people explaining how the popular beverage may be carcinogenic. The results, which have special implications for hundreds of millions of people of Asian descent, were reported here today at the 244^th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

Silvia Balbo, Ph.D., who led the study, explained that the human body breaks down, or metabolizes, the alcohol in beer, wine and hard liquor. One of the substances formed in that breakdown is acetaldehyde, a substance with a chemical backbone that resembles formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen. Scientists also have known from laboratory experiments that acetaldehyde can cause DNA damage, trigger chromosomal abnormalities in cell cultures and act as an animal carcinogen. > > > > Read More

The 5-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-5): An Effective Brief Screening Test for Problem Drinking, Alcohol Use Disorders and Alco

To identify an optimal brief version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and to evaluate its effectiveness as a screening test for problem drinking (PD), alcohol use disorders (AUD) and alcohol dependence (AD).

A multicenter trial was conducted from March, 2010, to January, 2012, in 101 normal comparison, 203 risky drinking, 92 alcohol abuse and 101 AD men aged below 65 years of age in a Korean population. For the purposes of screening, risky drinking, alcohol abuse and AD were grouped: all the three grouped as PD and the latter two grouped as AUD. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the items among the 10-item AUDIT that provided information predictive of PD, AUD and AD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to investigate the discrimination ability of the brief versions of AUDIT, 10-item AUDIT and Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener as a screen for PD, AUD and AD. Areas under the ROC curve were compare

The 5-item AUDIT (AUDIT-5: AUDIT items 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10) was obtained by stepwise multiple regression analyses for each screening. AUDIT-5 exhibited ad between tests according to the method suggested by Hanley and McNeil.n AUD screening accuracy significantly superior to that of the 10-item AUDIT, but other brief versions of AUDIT and CAGE did not. Furthermore, AUDIT-5 had a high PD and AD screening accuracy equivalent to that of the 10-item AUDIT.

These results strongly support the usefulness of AUDIT-5 for screening of PD, AUD and AD in clinical settings in Korean male populations.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: ihngeun@naver.com

Widening Access to Treatment for Alcohol Misuse: Description and Formative Evaluation of an Innovative Web-Based Service in One Primary Care Trust

To describe the development and evaluation of an innovative web-based service for hazardous or harmful drinkers.

Patients were identified in General Practice and referred to the new service. Mixed methods were used for evaluation.

The service was feasible and acceptable to patients, primary care professionals and commissioners. Users appeared to reduce their alcohol consumption.

This model may be of interest to other primary care commissioners looking to increase access to alcohol treatments at low cost.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: elizabeth.murray@ucl.ac.uk

Alcohol, tobacco and drug use as reasons for abortion

Concern about the effects of alcohol and drug use during pregnancy is intertwined with debates about abortion. There is concern that alcohol abstinence recommendations lead women using low levels of alcohol to terminate otherwise wanted pregnancies. This study examines how women describe alcohol, tobacco and/or drug use (ATOD) as reasons for deciding to have abortions and assesses the differences between women reporting and not reporting ATOD as reasons for deciding to have an abortion.

Data come from the UCSF Turnaway Study which recruited 956 women seeking an abortion at one of 30 US clinics between 2008 and 2010. Mixed methods were used and data were analyzed through thematic coding and logistic regression. Results: Nearly 5% reported ATOD as a reason for abortion. Women worried that their ATOD had affected their baby's health and that their or their partner's ATOD would influence parenting. Most women (84%) who reported alcohol as a reason binge drank or had an alcohol-problem symptom in the month before discovering their pregnancy. Sixty-one percent who reported drugs as a reason used drugs, with 88% using more than once/week. Although two-thirds smoked tobacco, no woman reported tobacco alone as a reason. Ninety-eight percent of women reporting ATOD as a reason had unintended pregnancies.

Women reporting ATOD as a reason drink at levels exceeding a low threshold and do not appear to be terminating otherwise wanted pregnancies. Thus, findings are inconsistent with hypotheses that abstinence recommendations and punitive policies lead women using low levels of alcohol or using drugs to terminate otherwise wanted pregnancies.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: robertss@obgyn.ucsf.edu

Relationship Between Price Paid for Off-Trade Alcohol, Alcohol Consumption and Income in England: A Cross-Sectional Survey

In order to examine the potential impact of an increase in the minimum price per unit of alcohol to 50 pence ($0.78), we examined drinking patterns and household incomes of people who purchase alcohol in England at above and below this price.

Cross-sectional survey of 515 members of the public in seven towns and cities in the south of England. The primary outcome was whether the participant had purchased alcohol at <50 p/unit. The main exposures were annual household income and alcohol consumption, measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C).

The median price paid per unit of alcohol was 53.1 pence (range 16.4–297.0 pence). Those buying alcohol at <50 p/unit had a mean AUDIT-C score of 6.2 compared with 5.5 among those buying alcohol at above this price. The odds ratio (OR) of a person on low income with high-risk drinking purchasing alcohol at <50 p/unit was 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.82–1.79] compared with all other study participants. The OR of a person on low income with low-risk drinking purchasing alcohol below this price was 0.51 (95% CI = 0.30–0.87) compared with all other participants.

These data suggest that an increase in the minimum price of alcohol to 50 pence price per unit is only likely to disproportionately affect people on low incomes if their alcohol consumption is excessive.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: m.crawford@imperial.ac.uk

Maternal Alcohol Use during Pregnancy, Birth Weight and Early Behavioral Outcomes

To examine the effect of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy on infant behavioral outcomes and birth weight, and to investigate the differential susceptibility of infant behavioral outcomes and birth weight to prenatal alcohol exposure.

Data on children born to women taking part in the United States National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) (n = 1618) were analyzed using the sibling fixed-effects model, which helps adjust for maternal, genetic and social confounders when examining effects of pre-natal exposure to possible toxins such as alcohol. Mothers were classified as non-drinkers, light-to-moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers according to their frequency of alcohol use during pregnancy. Infants' behavioral outcomes were assessed using the modified Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire in the NLSY, which measures three dimensions of behavioral outcomes: positive mood, fearfulness and difficultness.

Estimates from the model indicated that drinking during pregnancy was positively associated with infant difficultness, but not with positive mood or fearfulness. Further analysis by frequency of alcohol use suggested that both light-to-moderate and heavy drinking were associated with an increase in infant difficultness. Additionally, while low-to-moderate drinking during pregnancy was associated with infant difficultness, drinking at this level was not associated with low birth weight.

The findings suggest that maternal alcohol use during pregnancy is a risk factor for infant behavioral outcomes, after taking into account many confounding factors. Infant behavioral outcomes appear to be more vulnerable to light-to-moderate levels of alcohol use during pregnancy than birth weight is.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: jenhao@uchicago.edu

Inequalities in the Distribution of the Costs of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland: A Cost of Illness Study

To examine the distribution of the costs of alcohol misuse across Scotland in 2009/2010, in relation to deprivation.

A cost of illness approach was used. Alcohol-related harmful effects were assessed for inclusion using a literature review. This was based upon the following categories: direct healthcare costs, intangible health costs, social care costs, crime costs and labour and productivity costs. An analysis of secondary data supplemented by a literature review was carried out to quantify each harmful effect, determine its value and provide an estimate of the distribution by deprivation. The deprivation distributions used were area measures (primarily the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation).

The overall cost was £7457 million. Two alcohol harmful effects were not included in the overall cost by deprivation due to a lack of data. These were ‘children's social work and hearing system’ and the criminal justice system costs from ‘alcohol-specific offences’. The included alcohol harmful effects demonstrated that 40.41% of the total cost arose from the 20% most deprived areas. The intangible cost category was the largest category (78.65%).

The study found that the burden of alcohol harmful effects is greater in deprived groups and these burdens do not simply arise from deprived groups but are also experienced more by these groups. The study was limited by a lack of data availability in certain areas, leading to less-precise cost estimates.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: marjorie.johnston@nhs.net

Sleep Problems in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Sleep problems in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are reportedly common but not well characterized. Objectives were to: (1) assess sleep concerns in children with FASD using a caregiver-report survey, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ); (2) compare CSHQ results with those of previously reported community sample; and (3) describe pilot polysomnography findings in children with FASD.

Children with FASD were recruited from a behavioral intervention study, and participating caregivers completed the CSHQ. CSHQ results were compared with the original data from a previously published community sample of similar age. Participants with FASD and elevated CSHQ scores were offered overnight polysomnography.

Thirty-three children with FASD (4.1-12.1 years) were enrolled; 85% of children with FASD scored above the clinical cutoff Total Score of 41, reflecting marked sleep disturbance. Elevated subdomain scores occurred primarily in areas concerning for pediatric insomnia. Those with comorbid ADHD had elevated CSHQ on additional subdomains with no difference in Total Scores. Compared with the community sample, children with FASD had higher Total Scores on the CSHQ (52 vs. 39, p < 0.001). Polysomnography, completed in 5 subjects, revealed mild sleep disordered breathing and fragmented sleep with elevated non-respiratory arousal indices.

Clinically significant sleep problems are present in children with FASD on both subjective and objective measures. Further investigation is needed to better describe these sleep disturbances and their impact on overall health and daytime neurobehavioral problems in this clinical population.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: maida.chen@seattlechildrens.org

JRF report: 'A positive choice: Young people who drink little or no alcohol'

A new report into the influences on non or light drinking young people in the UK has been released by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Download the full report 'A positive choice: Young people who drink little or no alcohol' or summary here.

The study examined the lives and choices of young people (aged 16-25) who drink little or no alcohol. It explores the influences that shape their decisions and how their choices and patterns of consumption affect their lives. > > > > Read More

Predicting persistent alcohol problems: a prospective analysis from the Great Smoky Mountain Study

Rates of alcohol disorders peak in late adolescence and decrease substantially into the mid-20s. Our aim was to identify risk factors that predict alcohol problems that persist into the mid-20s.

Data are from the prospective, population-based Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS; n=1420), which followed children through late adolescence and into young adulthood. Alcohol persisters were defined as subjects with an alcohol disorder (abuse or dependence) in late adolescence (ages 19 and 21 years) that continued to meet criteria for an alcohol disorder at the mid-20s assessment.

The 3-month prevalence of having an alcohol disorder (abuse or dependence) decreased markedly from late adolescence into the mid-20s. A third of late adolescents with an alcohol disorder continued to meet criteria for an alcohol disorder in young adulthood (37 of 144 who met criteria in late adolescence). Risk factors for persister status included multiple alcohol abuse criteria during late adolescence but no alcohol dependence criteria. Risk factors for persister status also included associated features of alcohol dependence such as craving alcohol and drinking to unconsciousness. Persister status was also associated with depression, cannabis dependence and illicit substance use, but not with other psychiatric disorders. More than 90% of late adolescents with three or more of the risk factors identified met criteria for a young adult alcohol disorder.

Symptoms of alcohol abuse, not dependence, best predict long-term persistence of alcohol problems. The set of risk factors identified may be a useful screen for selective and indicated prevention efforts.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: William.Copeland@duke.edu

International Recovery Coaching Conference - London

Recovery Coaching is set to transform recovery and recovery communities. If you work, contribute or volunteer to assist people to develop their lives, health and recovery this conference is relevant to you.

Who should attend? Those working in the field including Organisations Providing Services, Commissioners DAAT, Treatment Providers, Recovery Community Organisers/Leaders, Peer recovery volunteers and supporters, Recovery advocates, Counsellors, Therapists, Coaches, Policy makers (MP’s, Civil Servants), Education Professionals, Correctional Services, Probation Professionals; will all find a session(s) important to their work.

Conference speakers and contributors represent the leading pioneers in Recovery Coaching from the US, UK and Europe

Conference sessions will provide compelling insight into why Recovery Coaching is growing so fast, how it works and is structured and what it has to offer our societies.

Conference sessions & workshops include -

Volunteer recovery coaches building recovery communities

Developing Recovery Coach Supervision

Recovery coaching, relationship technology in recovery communities

Research and Outcomes session

Recovery coaching, counselling and therapy

Core competencies, professionalism & ethics

Professional Recovery coaching best practice

Coaching technology in treatment environments

Coaching a recovering system – families and communities

Executive Recovery

Home Page

What Is Recovery?

We hear the term recovery often, yet it is difficult to define. Many former problem drinkers and other substance users who are now trying to pursue an improved way of living, say that they are “in recovery.” Yet with its frequent use, there is no agreed-upon definition of the term recovery. For instance:

•Does recovery require abstinence?

•Can someone be “in recovery” if they are still drinking or using?

•Is recovery more than just being clean and sober? If so, how is that defined?

Scientists at the Alcohol Research Group want to answer these questions, and we need help from people who used to have a problem with alcohol or drugs--an experience some call being in recovery.

The goal is to develop a way of measuring recovery that will illustrate the constructive personal and social ways of being that are associated with recovery. Unlike those in recovery from other chronic disorders, such as cancer, many people in recovery from alcohol or drug problems are cautious about announcing their recovery status. So are their family members. This study should help to dispel the stigma that those in recovery still face.

Please click here to access the survey.

What is Recovery ? Home Page

Alcohol News - 34/2012

Addiction (Finland) - Living in proximity of a bar and risky alcohol behaviours: A longitudinal study

Moving place of residence close to or far from a bar appears to be associated with a small corresponding increase or decrease in risky alcohol behaviour.

Read more

Sverige Radio (Sweden) - Government split over home alcohol delivery

Three out of the four parties in the Swedish center-right government coalition would like to allow the state liquor monopoly to take online orders and make home deliveries. But one party says no.

Read more

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health (Norway) - Alcohol-related hospital admissions: Missed opportunities for follow up? A focus group study about general practitioners’ experiences

Hospital admittances provide important opportunities for change, but hospital care is seen as fragmented and poorly communicated to the GPs. For shared responsibility and follow up, all participating agents, including the patient, must be sufficiently informed about what has happened and what will follow.

Read more

Baku Today (Latvia) - Residents of Latvia to pass the “points” on trade in alcohol

Within two months of inhabitants of Latvia have taken an active part in the creation of an interactive map “dots”, which is the illegal trade in alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. This result was obtained after each was able to announce on Latvian site of State police www.vp.gov.lv on places where illegally selling alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. Such anonymous messages automatically sent to those residents police stations on the territory of these addresses. During this time, the map was 1007 sites with “points”.

Read more

Unity (Latvia) - Saeima to discuss alcohol consumption restriction among young people

Deputies of the Saeima Social and Labour Issues Commission and Defenсe, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee will gather on a joint meeting on Wednesday, August 22, to discuss the work group’s proposals on alcohol consumption restrictions among young people.

Read more

Gallup.com (USA) - Majority in U.S. Drink Alcohol, Averaging Four Drinks a Week

Americans' drinking habits held steady in the past year, with 66% saying they consume alcohol and drinkers consuming just over four alcoholic drinks per week, on average. Beer continues to be Americans' preferred drink, although wine remains a close second, with liquor favored by 22%.

Read more

Telegraph.co.uk - Study shows marriage stops men drinking – as their wives hit the bottle instead

Far from encouraging men to patronise a local pub to escape from domestic duties, marriage actively reduces their alcohol intake, according to research being presented at the American Sociological Association today.

Read more

Daily Mail - Alcohol mixed with energy drinks can raise risk of heart problems and other conditions

Youngsters who mix alcohol with energy drinks risk heart palpitations and disturbed sleep, researchers warn. A study found that the highly-caffeinated drinks used by millions to make them extra-alert on a night out raised the odds of a range of health problems.

Read more

Retford Today (UK) - Poor areas 'hit harder by alcohol'

Poorer communities have substantially higher levels of alcohol-related ill health, anti-social behaviour and premature deaths than their wealthier neighbours, research has suggested.

Read more

Medical Xpress - Both early alcohol use and early intoxication can herald trouble for college students

An early age at first drink (AFD) has been linked to later alcohol-related problems, which is one of the reasons behind the legal drinking age of 21 in the U.S. It is unclear, however, if increased risk is primarily due to initiation of any drinking, or initiation of heavier drinking.

Read more

MedPage Today - When Mom Boozes, Baby Has Effects for Years

The effects on growth and body composition of heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol are largely determined at birth and persist at least until age 9, researchers reported.

Read more

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) - MPs want to keep alcohol age at 18

Parliament is expected to vote on parts of the Alcohol Reform Bill next week, and MPs will have a conscience vote on whether to keep the purchase age at 18, move it back up to 20, or split the age to 18 for on-license venues such as bars and restaurants and 20 for off-licenses such as supermarkets and bottle stores.

Read more

Decoded Science - Age at First Drink: A Measure of Impending Problems

Teens may see experimenting with alcohol as a rite of passage to adulthood, but research by Dr. Meghan Rabbitt Morean of Yale University demonstrates that the age at which the experimentation occurs may make a big difference in the life of a young person.

Read more

Voxy (New Zealand) - Alcohol interlocks a step forward in drink driving battle

Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges launched the devices at Parliament today and, from September, judges will have the option to sentence a repeat drink driver or anyone caught at double the legal blood alcohol limit to have an alcohol interlock installed in their car.

Read more

ABC Online (Australia) - Alcohol plain labels needed, but lobby too powerful: campaigner

The Federal Government has finally won its battle for plain packaging on cigarettes. So host Jon Faine wants to know, why not alcohol? Rob Moodie is the Professor of Public Health at the Melbourne School of Population Health. He says the public needs to be pushed towards safer products, and wants tighter regulation of alcholic content as well as alcohol labelling and marketing.

Read more

GoodTherapy.org - New Study Explores Ways to Motivate the Unmotivated Problem Drinker

Alcohol dependency is increasing across the globe. The physical consequences of problem drinking are well known. And the relational and psychological damage that alcohol addiction causes are those that affect entire families.

Read more

AsiaOne (South Korea) - Korea counts the cost of cheap alcohol

Binge-drinking in Korea was once viewed as a relatively harmless deviation among the nation's workaholics, but its burden on public money and social capital is starting to prompt action.

Read more

TheChronicleHerald.ca - Alcohol consumption may be election issue

Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer has been quite outspoken about the province’s problems with binge drinking, its common pairing with violence in Halifax’s downtown and its link to cases coming into the emergency room on weekend nights.

Read more

Bloomberg (US) - Drivers Twice Limit Involved In Most Drunk-Driving Deaths

Most drunk drivers causing fatal crashes in the U.S. have consumed about twice as much alcohol as laws allow, the top U.S. auto-safety regulator said.

Read more

Otago Daily Times - Booze worse than legal highs - health experts

Health professionals have told the Government that allowing the sale of alcohol while ruling out potentially less-damaging "legal highs" is farcical.

Read more

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Study examines the relationship between marriage and alcohol

New research examining relationships and the use of alcohol finds that while a long-term marriage appears to curb men's drinking, it's associated with a slightly higher level of alcohol use among women. The study, led by the University of Cincinnati (UC), will be presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

Based on survey data and interviews, the authors revealed that married men reported consuming the lowest number of drinks, compared with single, divorced, and widowed men. That's in part because of their wives' lower levels of drinking, write the authors. Men also were more likely than women to turn to drinking after a divorce.

On the other hand, the researchers found that married women consumed more drinks than long-term divorced or recently widowed women, in part because they lived with men who had higher levels of alcohol use.

The authors of the study are Corinne Reczek, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati; Tetyana Pudrovska, an assistant professor of sociology and demography at The Pennsylvania State University; Deborah Carr, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University; and Debra Umberson, a professor of sociology at University of Texas at Austin.

The researchers analyzed survey data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to explore population trends in the relationship between marriage and alcohol. They also analyzed data from two in-depth interview studies, the Marital Quality Over the Life Course Project, conducted between 2003-2006, and the Relationships and Health Habits Over the Life Course Study, conducted between 2007-2010.

The researchers also found that:

• In each marital status category, men consumed a greater average number of drinks than women.

• Across every marital status category, a higher proportion of men than women also reported having at least one drinking-related problem.

• Recently divorced men reported consuming a significantly greater average number of drinks than men in long-term marriages.

• Reporting at least one drinking-related problem was significantly higher among long-term divorced and recently divorced women than long-term married women.

The researchers gauged alcohol consumption by total number of drinks consumed in a month.

The researchers suggest that future research should examine more closely how widowhood shapes alcohol use over time, as well as explore alcohol differences across race-ethnicity. > > > > Read More

Alcohol and smoking consumption behaviours in older Australian adults: prevalence, period and socio-demographic differentials in the DYNOPTA sample

Alcohol consumption and tobacco use are key risk factors for chronic disease and health burden across the adult lifespan. We estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption and smoking by age and time period in adults from mid to old age.

Participants (n = 50,652) were drawn from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project and were compared with Australian National Health Survey data. Alcohol and smoking consumption DYNOPTA data were weighted to the estimated resident population of the sampling frame for each contributing study according to age and sex distributions within major statistical regions.

Comparisons in the rates of smoking and alcohol consumption between DYNOPTA and other national surveys were comparable. Males were more likely to be (RRR = 2.12) or have been smokers (RRR = 2.97), whilst females were more likely to be non-drinkers (RRR = 2.52). Period effects were also identified; higher prevalence rates in consumption of alcohol (RRR = 3.21) and smoking (RRR = 1.67) for those contributing studies from the early 1990’s, in comparison with those studies from the latter half of the decade, were reported.

Over a decade, prevalence rates for high-risk consumption of alcohol and current smoking behaviour declined and suggest the possible impact of government health policy, with targeted-health policies, that included bans on public smoking, and a toughening of legislation against alcohol-related crime.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: Richard.Burns@anu.edu.au.

Experimental Alcohol-Related Peripheral Neuropathy: Role of Insulin/IGF Resistance

The mechanisms of alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy (ALPN) are poorly understood. We hypothesize that, like alcohol-related liver and brain degeneration, ALPN may be mediated by combined effects of insulin/IGF resistance and oxidative stress.

Adult male Long Evans rats were chronically pair-fed with diets containing 0% or 37% ethanol (caloric), and subjected to nerve conduction studies

Chronic ethanol feeding slowed nerve conduction in the tibial (p = 0.0021) motor nerve, and not plantar sensory nerve, but it did not affect amplitude. Histological studies of the sciatic nerve revealed reduced nerve fiber diameters with increased regenerative sprouts, and denervation myopathy in ethanol-fed rats. qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated reduced mRNA levels of insulin, IGF-1, and IGF-2 polypeptides, IGF-1 receptor, and IRS2, and ELISAs revealed reduced immunoreactivity for insulin and IGF-1 receptors, IRS-1, IRS-4, myelin-associated glycoprotein, and tau in sciatic nerves of ethanol-fed rats (all p < 0.05 or better).

The findings suggest that ALPN is characterized by (1) slowed conduction velocity with demyelination, and a small component of axonal degeneration; (2) impaired trophic factor signaling due to insulin and IGF resistance; and (3) degeneration of myelin and axonal cytoskeletal proteins.

Therefore, ALPN is likely mediated by molecular and signal transduction abnormalities similar to those identified in alcoholic liver and brain degeneration.

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Are the 1976-1985 birth cohorts heavier drinkers? Age-period-cohort analyses of the National Alcohol Surveys 1979-2010

To estimate age-period-cohort models predicting alcohol volume, heavy drinking and beverage-specific alcohol volume in order to evaluate whether the 1976-1985 birth cohorts drink relatively heavily.

Data from seven cross-sectional surveys of the US conducted between 1979 and 2010 were utilized in negative binomial generalized linear models of age, period and cohort effects predicting alcohol measures.

General population surveys of the US.

36,432 US adults (aged 18 or older).

Monthly number of alcohol drinks, beer, wine and spirits drinks and days drinking 5 or more drinks in the past year derived from beverage-specific graduated frequency questions.

Relative to the reference 1956-60 birth cohort, men in the 1976-1980 cohort for were found to consume more alcohol (Incidence rate ratio (IRR) =1.222: CI 1.07-1.39) and to have more 5+ days (IRR=1.365: CI 1.09-1.71) as were men in the 1980-85 cohort for volume (IRR=1.284: CI 1.10-1.50) and 5+ days (IRR=1.437: CI 1.09-1.89). For women, those in the 1980-85 cohort were found to have higher alcohol volume (IRR=1.299: CI 1.07-1.58) and more 5+ days (IRR=1.547: CI 1.01-2.36). Beverage-specific models found different age patterns of volume by beverage with a flat age pattern for both genders’ spirits and women's wine, an increasing age pattern for men's wine and a declining age pattern from the early 20's for beer.

In the United States, men born between 1976 and 1985, and women born between 1981 and 1985 have higher alcohol consumption.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: wkerr@arg.org

New RCPI policy group on alcohol to recommend minimum pricing and restricted availability to reduce deaths

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has established a national policy group to address the health and social burden of alcohol in Ireland.

The policy group brings together experts from a wide range of organisations, including the Irish College of General Practitioners, the National Cancer Control Programme, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland, the Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, the Irish Society of Gastroenterology, and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine.

This multi-disciplinary group will address the unacceptably high levels of alcohol health harm in Ireland by proposing practical solutions backed up by a robust, international evidence base. The group’s recommendations will be focused on reducing the harm caused by alcohol to health and society. > > > > Read More

Alcohol E-shot

Welcome to the August issue of the Alcohol E-shot produced by the North West Public Health Observatory on behalf of the Public Health Observatories in England. This bulletin highlights the latest alcohol research evidence, reports, media articles and resources on a monthly basis.

Read Issue 10

Alcohol News - 33/2012

Science Nordic (Norway) - For Norwegian drug
addicts, pregnancy might lead to incarceration
A unique law gives social workers in Norway the
right to lock up pregnant drug addicts to protect the health of unborn children.
A new study looks at how the pregnant users react to being incarcerated.
Read
more
Göteborg Daily (Sweden) - New treatment for
alcoholism
Researchers in Sweden say they have found a
potential treatment for alcohol dependence. The drug candidate, OSU6162, was
developed by Nobel Prize winner Arvid Carlsson in Gothenburg. It has been
studied for treatment of alcohol dependence by researchers at Karolinska
Institutet and the University of Gothenburg.
Read
more
Reuters (South Africa) - Insight: African
alcohol binge raises pressure for crackdown
On a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon in
Worcester, a forlorn rural community near South Africa's southern tip, the queue
at the liquor store is the longest in town.
Read
more
Examiner - Alcohol abuse can be predicted in
adolescents by MRI
Lindsay M. Squeglia, Ph.D., of the University of
California, San Diego led a group of researchers that reported a direct
connection between the lack of brain activity in specific brain regions as
detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and future heavy drinking in the
September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that was reviewed
at the Eureka Alert web site on August 8, 2012.
Read
more
RTT News - Deadly Cocktail: Alcohol Ads In
Youth Magazines Violate Industry Rules
Each year, more than $4 billion is estimated to
be spent by the alcohol industry for marketing its products. That youth are
being disproportionately exposed to appealing alcohol advertisements in
magazines is a known fact.
Read
more
Scottish Daily Record (Scotland) - Revealed:
Shocking figures show one Scottish child in 10 is living with an alcoholic
parent
The research shows that up to 93,000 youngsters
under the age of 16 are living with one or more parents with a drink
problem.
Read
more
GoodTherapy.org - Vigilant Parenting Helps
Prevent Alcohol Misuse in Teens With ADHD
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) are at risk for numerous social, psychological, and academic
challenges. Negative behaviors can draw unwanted attention to children with ADHD
and make them feel like they are different than their peers.
Read
more
ABC Online (Australia) - Blanket alcohol ban
to stamp out drinking in park
In a bid to quell problems with vandalism and
anti-social behaviour Lake Macquarie Council has been asked to place a total ban
on alcohol consumption at Mahrahkah Park and Charlestown Oval.
Read
more
Firstpost (Australia) - End of good times on
Facebook for alcohol brands
In a development which could impact the way
brands in certain categories use Facebook, “The Australian Advertising Standards
Board has ruled that Facebook is an advertising medium, and as such, company
pages must comply with pertinent codes and laws, vetting all public posts to
ensure they are not sexist, racist or factually inaccurate,” says
Brandchannel.
Read
more
ReporterNews.com - Study finds more youth
start using drugs, alcohol, tobacco during the
summer
A recent report by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration indicates that youths between the ages of
12 and 17 are more likely to start using drugs, alcohol and cigarettes during
the summer than other portions of the year.
Read
more
The Daily Post (New Zealand) - MP calls for
tougher drink rules for teens
Tougher rules are needed to deal with
alcohol-fuelled antics of young people, says Rotorua MP Todd McClay.
Read
more

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