Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Multidomain Approach to Understanding Risk for Underage Drinking: Converging Evidence From 5 Data Sets



We examined the independent and combined influence of major risk and protective factors on youths’ alcohol use.

 Five large data sets provided similar measures of alcohol use and risk or protective factors. We carried out analyses within each data set, separately for boys and girls in 8th and 10th grades. We included interaction and curvilinear predictive terms in final models if results were robust across data sets. We combined results using meta-analytic techniques.

 Individual, family, and peer risk factors and a community protective factor moderately predicted youths’ alcohol use. Family and school protective factors did not predict alcohol use when combined with other factors. Youths’ antisocial attitudes were more strongly associated with alcohol use for those also reporting higher levels of peer or community risk. For certain risk factors, the association with alcohol use varied across different risk levels.

Efforts toward reducing youths’ alcohol use should be based on robust estimates of the relative influence of risk and protective factors across adolescent environment domains. Public health advocates should focus on context (e.g., community factors) as a strategy for curbing underage alcohol use.



Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:   dej10@psu.edu
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A Model to Determine the Likely Age of an Adolescent’s First Drink of Alcohol




With the use of a new cohort of adolescent subjects, predictors from the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) interview and the Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) were combined to model age of first drink (AFD).

Subjects consisted of 820 adolescents (ages 14–17) drawn from the current phase of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. Three Cox proportional hazards models were considered. Model 1 contained SSAGA variables equivalent to AFD predictors from our previous study: interview age, family history of alcohol dependence, and number of conduct disorder symptoms. Model 2 incorporated 2 additional SSAGA questions (best friends drink and smoked a cigarette before a reported AFD) plus 8 YSR-derived scale scores. Model 3 was a reduced version of model 2, retaining only significant predictors.

Model 2 was a significant improvement over model 1. Model 3 was the best and the most parsimonious of the 3 with respect to likelihood ratio and Wald χ2 tests and retained only 5 variables from model 2. Included variables were the following: (1) best friends drink, (2) membership in a high-risk alcohol dependence family, (3) number of conduct disorder symptoms, (4) YSR externalizing score, and (5) YSR social problems score.

Adding variables to those from our original study improved our ability to model the likely age of alcohol initiation. In addition to the SSAGA, the YSR appears to have utility as a research tool to predict the age of alcohol initiation.



Request Reprint E-Mail:   samuel-kuperman@uiowa.edu

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Shorter and proximal Timeline Followback windows are representative of longer posttreatment functioning.



Very little research has been conducted on what time window provides a representative picture of daily drinking. With respect to pretreatment drinking, one study that used the Timeline Followback (TLFB) with problem drinkers found that a 3-month window is generally representative of annual pretreatment drinking. 

The objective of the present study was to determine the shortest representative time window for reports of annual posttreatment drinking. A second objective was to determine which of two time windows, 90 days from the end of treatment or 90 days prior to the end of follow-up, was the most representative proxy for annual posttreatment drinking. 

TLFB reports from 467 problem drinkers who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a mail-based intervention were used in the present analysis. 

The results show that a 3-month posttreatment window (i.e., first 90 days after the intervention) is sufficiently representative (r = .94) of annual posttreatment drinking for problem drinkers (i.e., less severely dependent alcohol abusers). 

In addition, although there were no clinically significant differences in drinking behavior between the two 90-day posttreatment windows, the use of proximal windows (i.e., closer to the end of treatment) would minimize participant attrition. 

In addition, a 3-month versus 12-month TLFB follow-up time frame resulted in
 a much higher percentage of participants completing the full TLFB (89% vs. 71%). 

 Further research is needed to determine if these findings will generalize to more severely dependent alcohol abusers
Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:  
sobelll@nova.edu
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Personal and contextual factors in the escalation of driving after drinking across the college years.



College students continue to drive after drinking at alarmingly high rates. Age trends suggest that driving after drinking increases from late adolescence across the college years, largely mirroring trends in binge drinking. Relatively little research, however, has examined change over time in driving after drinking among college students or tested whether some students might be at greater risk of escalations in driving after drinking. 

Using a sample of 1,833 nonabstaining students who completed surveys for seven semesters across the college years, we tested whether personal (i.e., age of drinking onset, gender, risk perceptions, and sensation seeking) and contextual (i.e., college residence) factors were associated with changes in driving after drinking. 

 Using latent growth curve modeling, we found significant individual differences in rates of change in driving after drinking. Male students and students who began drinking earlier in life increased in driving after drinking more rapidly, whereas living in on-campus housing was associated with time-specific decreases in driving after drinking. 

These results demonstrate the value of considering driving after drinking from a longitudinal perspective and suggest possible avenues toward preventing the public health consequences of intoxicated driving. 

 Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:   Lindsay_Orchowski@brown.edu  
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Correlates of alcohol-related regretted sex among college students.



The prevalence of alcohol-related regretted sex in college students warrants a better understanding of the characteristics of students who report such experiences. 

Therefore, the present study examined correlates of regretted sexual experiences involving alcohol use among 2 specific high-risk college student samples: students mandated to alcohol intervention (n = 522) and volunteer 1st-year students transitioning to college (n = 481). 

 Results indicated that alcohol-related regretted sex occurred at similar rates in mandated and volunteer students, with approximately 25% of the students reporting at least 1 occurrence in the past month. Women were more likely to report alcohol-related regretted sex compared with men. The belief that alcohol use would result in “liquid courage” was associated with alcohol-related regretted sex among college students, even after accounting for greater alcohol use and problem alcohol use behaviors. 

 These findings have significant implications for intervention efforts and future research. 
Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail:   Lindsay_Orchowski@brown.edu
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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.
Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:     fillmore@uky.edu
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Monday, January 14, 2013

Is ADH1C genotype relevant for the cardioprotective effect of alcohol?


The cardioprotective effect of ethanol has been suggested to be linked to one of the ethanol metabolizing enzymes (ADH1C), which constitutes a high Vmax and a low Vmax variant. This has been demonstrated in some studies, while others have not been able to replicate the findings. 

 The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between the different ADH1C genotypes, death from coronary heart disease (CHD) and alcohol in a material larger than the previously published studies.

 Eight hundred CHD deaths as well as 1303 controls were genotyped for the high Vmax (γ1) and the low Vmax (γ2) ADH1C variant. Information of alcohol use was available for all subjects. Multiple logistic regression analyses was used to study if the decreased risk of death from CHD in alcohol consuming subjects was more pronounced in subjects homozygous for the γ2 allele (γ2γ2 subjects) compared to γ1γ1 and γ1γ2 subjects.

 The odds ratio (OR) for death from CHD in alcohol consumers compared to abstainers was similar in the genotype groups, i.e., 0.62 (95% CI: 0.43–0.88) in γ1γ1 subjects and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.42–0.91) in γ2γ2 subjects. 

 Also when stratifying the results by gender and when dividing alcohol consumers into different alcohol consumption groups, there was no difference in the OR between the different genotype groups. 

 This study, which included the largest study group published so far, failed to find any link between the ADH1C genotype and the cardioprotective effects of alcohol.
Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:    gudrun.hoiseth@diakonsyk.no
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Identification of cell-specific patterns of reference gene stability in quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction studies of embryonic, placental and neural stem models of prenatal ethanol exposure



Identification of the transcriptional networks disrupted by prenatal ethanol exposure remains a core requirement to better understanding the molecular mechanisms of alcohol-induced teratogenesis. In this regard, quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has emerged as an essential technique in our efforts to characterize alterations in gene expression brought on by exposure to alcohol.

 However, many publications continue to report the utilization of inappropriate methods of qPCR normalization, and for many in vitro models, no consistent set of empirically tested normalization controls have been identified. 

 In the present study, we sought to identify a group of candidate reference genes for use within studies of alcohol exposed embryonic, placental, and neurosphere stem cells under both conditions maintaining stemness as well as throughout in vitro differentiation. To this end, we surveyed the recent literature and compiled a short list of fourteen candidate genes commonly used as normalization controls in qPCR studies of gene expression. This list included: Actb, B2m, Gapdh, Gusb, H2afz, Hk2, Hmbs, Hprt, Mrpl1, Pgk1, Ppia, Sdha, Tbp, and Ywhaz. 

 From these studies, we find no single candidate gene was consistently refractory to the influence of alcohol nor completely stable throughout in vitro differentiation.

 Accordingly, we propose normalizing qPCR measurements to the geometric mean CT values obtained for three independent reference mRNAs as a reliable method to accurately interpret qPCR data and assess alterations in gene expression within alcohol treated cultures. Highlighting the importance of careful and empirical reference gene selection, the commonly used reference gene Actb was often amongst the least stable candidate genes tested. In fact, it would not serve as a valid normalization control in many cases. 

Data presented here will aid in the design of future experiments using stem cells to study the transcriptional processes driving differentiation, and model the developmental impact of teratogens.
Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:   mgolding@cvm.tamu.edu
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Alcohol News - 2/2013







YLE uutiset (Finland) - Alcohol lobbyists want law changed
January is traditionally a drier month after the Christmas indulgence. Big breweries and retailers, however, want more freedom to tempt abstinent customers into a tipple.
The Foreigner (Norway) - Norway Rightists say ‘no time, gentlemen, please’
The Progress Party (FrP) emphasises the next parliamentary period is ripe for a more consumer-friendly alcohol policy.
Tispol (Sweden) - Arne Winerdal discusses drink-driving and safety in Sweden
We have been fighting for a sober traffic in Sweden all these years and we have been rather successful. MHF pushed the Members of Parliament to vote for a law already in 1989 for a maximum allowance of alcohol in traffic to be set at 0.2g/l. I have been the CEO of MHF since spring 2012.
China Daily (China) - Hainan bans alcohol at official receptions
Hainan province has banned alcohol ban at official receptions, the People's Daily reported on Jan 15. Over the past few years, authorities in Hainan province have issued rules regulating the consumption of alcohol among civil servants.
PsychCentral.com - It Takes A Village to Curb Teenage Alcohol Use
Living in a caring community may help curb teenage alcohol use, according to new research. For the study, researchers at Penn State evaluated how seven categories of risk and protective factors can predict teen alcohol use.
MorningAdvertiser.co.uk (Scotland) - Legal challenge against minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland kicks off this week
A legal challenge to the Scottish Government’s plan for minimum pricing on alcohol kicks off this week in Edinburgh, with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) claiming it would break UK and European Union law.
Radio New Zealand (New Zealand) - Police boss believes alcohol behind most crime
Police Commissioner Peter Marshall says solving the country's alcohol problems would get rid of most criminal offending, and education and legislation are needed to achieve this.
Telegraph.co.uk (UK) - Alcohol companies 'encourage drinking on Facebook'
Alcohol companies are using Facebook to encourage drinking, undermining a government drive they signed up for, experts warn.
Daily Nation (Kenya) - Bar owners to sue if MPs pass alcohol law
Bar owners have threatened to go to court if the proposed alcoholic drinks control law is implemented. The traders have opposed proposals by Naivasha MP John Mututho to ban sale of alcoholic beverages two days to the General Election.
Daily Mail (UK) - Is alcohol ageing YOU? Deep wrinkles, red skin and chubby cheeks... new app shows the long-term effects alcohol has on looks - and it's not a pretty sight
Whether it's meeting up with friends for cocktails after work, enjoying a drink with an evening meal or having a glass of wine at home to unwind after a busy day, modern women are consuming more alcohol than ever.
Daily News & Analysis - Revealed: Effects of alcohol on sex life
Experts have analysed what a cocktail or glass of wine, which can help us relax and even feel a little 'sexier', actually does to our sex life.
TopNews New Zealand (Australia) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Dept Warns Australians about Alcohol
A Perth teenager lost its life after having alcohol-based drink in Indonesia. Controversy took place as people demanded security when they travel to other countries across the globe.
BBC News (Wales) - Nurses in Wales to give patients advice after drink injuries
Nurses are being put on the front line of fighting the growing tide of binge drinking and alcohol related injuries and illnesses in Wales.
TheSouthAfrican (South Africa) - ‘No evidence’ for Sky claim that SA women drink to harm babies
According to Africa Check, there is little in the way of hard evidence to back up the claim in a Sky News report that mothers in one of South Africa’s poorest areas are drinking heavily to deliberately damage their unborn babies – just so that they can claim the disability benefit
FRANCE 24 (USA) - Binge drinking serious problem for US women: study
Binge drinking is an under-recognized problem for US women, nearly 14 million of whom engage in it about three times a month, downing about six drinks each time, says a study released Tuesday.


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A longitudinal study of influences on alcohol consumption and related harm in Central Australia: with a particular emphasis on the role of price




This report outlines the findings of a study undertaken by the National Drug Research Institute in collaboration with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. The study examined the impact of various alcohol control measures on levels of alcohol consumption and related harm in Central Australia for the period 2000-2010. This report includes details on:
  • study aim and research methods
  • alcohol control measures
  • alcohol consumption
  • alcoholic beverage prices
  • health indicators
  • crime and public order.
The study found that imposing additional alcohol control measures has contributed significantly to the reduction of estimated per capita consumption in Central Australia. The study found that most effective measures have been those which indirectly increased the average price per litre of alcoholic beverages.
Read Full Report    (PDF)
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When does change begin following screening and brief intervention among depressed problem drinkers?



Brief interventions are effective for problem drinking and reductions are known to occur in association with screening and assessment. 

The present study sought to assess, among participants (N = 202) in a clinical trial, how much change occurred between baseline assessment and a one-session brief intervention (S1), and the predictors of early change. The primary focus was on changes in the Beck Depression Inventory Fast Screen scores and alcohol consumption (standard drinks per week) prior to random allocation to nine further sessions addressing either depression, alcohol, or both problems.

There were large and clinically significant reductions between baseline and S1, with the strongest predictors being baseline scores in the relevant domain and change in the other domain. Client engagement was also predictive of early depression changes.

Monitoring progress in both domains from first contact, and provision of empathic care, followed by brief intervention appear to be useful for this high prevalence comorbidity.
Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail:    Amanda.Baker@newcastle.edu.au
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Criminal justice and alcohol treatment: Results from a national sample



This study investigates the associations of recent criminal justice involvement with perceived need for alcohol treatment and alcohol treatment utilization, adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics.

 We examined a national sample of adults with alcohol use disorders (N=4390) from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 

Almost 15% reported criminal justice involvement in the past year. Generalized logit models regressed perceived need for alcohol or drug treatment and past year treatment utilization (versus neither) on past year legal involvement, demographic, and clinical information.

In general, results found stronger associations between frequency of criminal justice involvement for treatment utilization compared to perceived need for treatment alone. Treatment utilization was also associated with being on probation, arrests for drug possession/sale and driving under the influence but perceived need was not. 

 Study results suggest opportunities for interventions to increase treatment rates or treatment need, a major correlate of treatment utilization.


Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:   boothbrendam@uams.edu
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Factor analysis and validity of a short six-item version of the Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire



Reductions in cravings have been associated with improved recovery from alcohol and other drug use problems. Self-report assessments of cravings provide a way of monitoring progress over the course of treatment particularly in residential settings. There is a need to develop brief craving measures suitable for repeat administration. 

 The aim of the study was to assess the reliability and validity of a six-item version of the Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ-6). In study 1 exploratory factor analysis involving 710 participants attending residential treatment revealed two factors: ‘expectancy of negative reinforcement’ and ‘strong desires and intentions’. In study 2 confirmatory factor analysis replicated this factor structure in an independent sample of 116 participants. 

 Both studies provided evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the DAQ-6 when compared to other measures. The DAQ-6 shows promise as a brief self-report measure of cravings but the utility of the separate subscales in treatment contexts requires further research.


Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:  fdeane@uow.edu.au

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Driving After Drinking Among Young Adults of Different Race/Ethnicities in the United States: Unique Risk Factors in Early Adolescence?





National guidelines for alcohol screening and brief interventions advise practitioners to consider age, drinking frequency, and context to identify at-risk youth. The purpose of this study was to identify the contextual risk and protective factors in high school-aged adolescents associated with future driving after drinking (Drinking Under the Influence [DUI] at age 21) by race/ethnicity.

 Data included 10,271 adolescents (67% white, 12% Hispanic, 16% black, 3.6% Asian; 49% Male) who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Waves I, II, and III) from 1995 to 2001. A lagged panel design and survey logistic regression was used to examine the association between multiple contextual factors (e.g., demographics, parents, peers, social context) during adolescence and self-reported DUI in young adulthood.

 As expected, the likelihood of DUI was higher among whites followed by Hispanics, Asians, and blacks in all models. Perception of easy home access to alcohol increased risk for future DUI for whites (OR: 1.25 CI: 1.04–1.49), Hispanics (OR: 2.02 CI: 1.29–3.16), and Asians (OR: 1.90 CI: 1.13–3.22), but not for black youth. Drinking frequency and prior DUI were not risk factors for Hispanics. Risk-taking attitudes, marijuana use, and religious affiliation were risk factors for whites only.

 Findings suggest that in addition to screening for drinking behaviors, brief interventions and prevention efforts should assess perceived home access to alcohol and other race-specific factors to reduce alcohol-related injuries and harm.
Read Full Abstract

 Request Reprint E-Mail:   chris.delcher@gmail.com 
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The adenosine A2A receptor agonist CGS 21680 decreases ethanol self-administration in both non-dependent and dependent animals



There is emerging evidence that the adenosinergic system might be involved in drug addiction and alcohol dependence. We have already demonstrated the involvement of A2A receptors (A2AR) in ethanol-related behaviours in mice. 

 Here, we investigated whether the A2AR agonist CGS 21680 can reduce ethanol operant self-administration in both non-dependent and ethanol-dependent Wistar rats. To rule out a potential involvement of the A1R in the effects of CGS 21680, we also tested its effectiveness to reduce ethanol operant self-administration in both heterozygous and homozygous A1R knockout mice. 

 Our results demonstrated that CGS 21680 (0.065, 0.095 and 0.125 mg/kg, i.p.) had a bimodal effect on 10% ethanol operant self-administration in non-dependent rats. The intermediate dose was also effective in reducing 2% sucrose self-administration. Interestingly, the intermediate dose reduced 10% ethanol self-administration in dependent animals more effectively (75% decrease) when compared with non-dependent animals (57% decrease). 

These results suggest that the A2AR are involved in CGS 21680 effects since the reduction of ethanol self-administration was not dependent upon the presence of A1R in mice. 

 In conclusion, our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the A2AR agonist CGS 21680 in a preclinical model of alcohol addiction and suggested that the adenosinergic pathway is a promising target to treat alcohol addiction.
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 Request Reprint E-Mail:   hakim.houchi@u-picardie.fr
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Ethanol affects acylated and total ghrelin levels in peripheral blood of alcohol-dependent rats



There is a hypothesis that ghrelin could take part in the central effects of alcohol as well as function as a peripheral indicator of the changes which occur during long-term alcohol consumption. 

 The aim of this study was to determine a correlation between alcohol concentration and acylated and total form of ghrelin after a single administration of alcohol (intraperitoneal, i.p.) (experiment 1) and prolonged ethanol consumption (experiment 2). 

 The study was performed using Wistar alcohol preferring (PR) and non-preferring (NP) rats and rats from inbred line (Warsaw High Preferring, WHP; Warsaw Low Preferring, WLP). It was found that ghrelin in ethanol-naive WHP animals showed a significantly lower level when compared with the ethanol-naive WLP or Wistar rats. After acute ethanol administration in doses of 1.0; 2.0 and 4.0 g/kg, i.p., the simple (WHP) or inverse (WLP and Wistar) relationship between alcohol concentration and both form of ghrelin levels in plasma were found. 

 Chronic alcohol intake in all groups of rats led to decrease of acylated ghrelin concentration. PR and WHP rats, after chronic alcohol drinking, had lower levels of both form of ghrelin in comparison with NP and WLP rats, respectively, and the observed differences in ghrelin levels were in inverse relationship with their alcohol intake. 

In conclusion, it is suggested that there is a strong relationship between alcohol administration or intake, ethanol concentration in blood and both active and total ghrelin level in the experimental animals, and that ghrelin plasma concentration can be a marker of alcohol drinking predisposition.
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Request Reprint E-Mail:   mszulc@ump.edu.pl
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The Effectiveness of the ‘What Do You Drink’ Web-based Brief Alcohol Intervention in Reducing Heavy Drinking among Students: A Two-arm Parallel Group Randomized Controlled Trial



To evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention ‘What Do You Drink’ (WDYD) among heavy drinking students at 1- and 6-month post-intervention. Additionally, it was investigated whether certain subgroups would benefit more than others from the WDYD intervention.

A two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial was conducted online in the Netherlands in 2010–2011. Inclusion criteria were: (1) being between 18- and 24-year old, (2) reporting heavy drinking in the past 6 months, (3) being motivated to change alcohol consumption, (4) having access to the Internet and (5) giving informed consent. Participants (n = 913) were randomized to the experimental (WDYD intervention) or control condition (no intervention). Measures were heavy drinking, frequency of binge drinking and weekly alcohol consumption. 


Analyses according to the intention-to-treat principle revealed no significant main intervention effects in reducing the alcohol measures at the follow-up assessments. Secondary analyses revealed that gender, freshmen and fraternity or sorority membership did not moderate the effect of the WDYD intervention at both follow-ups. Readiness to change, problem drinking and carnival participation moderated intervention effects such that contemplators, those with severe symptoms of alcohol abuse or dependence, and those who participated in carnival benefited more than others from the WDYD intervention regarding weekly alcohol consumption at 1-month follow-up. 

 The WDYD intervention was not effective in reducing the alcohol measures among heavy drinking students at 1- and 6-month post-intervention. However, there is preliminary evidence that the WDYD intervention is effective in lowering drinking levels for subgroups of heavy drinking students in the short term.                  
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 Request Reprint E-Mail:   voogt@bsi.ru.nl
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Comparing Alcohol Mortality in Tsarist and Contemporary Russia: Is the Current Situation Historically Unique?



This study compared the level of alcohol mortality in tsarist and contemporary Russia.

 Cross-sectional and annual time-series data from 1870 to 1894, 2008 and 2009 on the mortality rate from deaths due to ‘drunkenness’ were compared for men in the 50 provinces of tsarist ‘European Russia’: an area that today corresponds with the territory occupied by the Baltic countries, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian provinces to the west of the Ural Mountains. 
In 1870–1894, the male death rate from ‘drunkenness’ in the Russian provinces (15.9 per 100,000) was much higher than in the non-Russian provinces. However, the rate recorded in Russia in the contemporary period was even higher—23.3.

Russia has had high levels of alcohol mortality from at least the late 19th century onwards. While a dangerous drinking pattern and spirits consumption may underpin high alcohol mortality across time, the seemingly much higher levels in the contemporary period seem to be also driven by an unprecedented level of consumption, and also possibly, surrogate alcohol use. 

 This study highlights the urgent need to reduce the level of alcohol consumption among the population in order to reduce high levels of alcohol mortality in contemporary Russia.
Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail:   andrew.stickley@sh.se
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Is ADH1C genotype relevant for the cardioprotective effect of alcohol?



The cardioprotective effect of ethanol has been suggested to be linked to one of the ethanol metabolizing enzymes (ADH1C), which constitutes a high Vmax and a low Vmax variant. This has been demonstrated in some studies, while others have not been able to replicate the findings. 

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between the different ADH1C genotypes, death from coronary heart disease (CHD) and alcohol in a material larger than the previously published studies. Eight hundred CHD deaths as well as 1303 controls were genotyped for the high Vmax (γ1) and the low Vmax (γ2) ADH1C variant. Information of alcohol use was available for all subjects. Multiple logistic regression analyses was used to study if the decreased risk of death from CHD in alcohol consuming subjects was more pronounced in subjects homozygous for the γ2 allele (γ2γ2 subjects) compared to γ1γ1 and γ1γ2 subjects. 

The odds ratio (OR) for death from CHD in alcohol consumers compared to abstainers was similar in the genotype groups, i.e., 0.62 (95% CI: 0.43–0.88) in γ1γ1 subjects and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.42–0.91) in γ2γ2 subjects. Also when stratifying the results by gender and when dividing alcohol consumers into different alcohol consumption groups, there was no difference in the OR between the different genotype groups. 

This study, which included the largest study group published so far, failed to find any link between the ADH1C genotype and the cardioprotective effects of alcohol.


 Read Full Abstract


Request Reprint E-Mail:    gudrun.hoiseth@diakonsyk.no
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Friday, January 11, 2013

Alcohol Policy UK news 10.1.13




This is a digest of news and information for the UK alcohol harm reduction field,
brought to you by Alcohol Policy UK, courtesy of the Alcohol Academy. For more information, visit Alcohol Policy UK at www.alcoholpolicy.net or visit www.alcoholacademy.net.

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