When exposed to stress, people with alcohol use disorder engage parts of the brain associated with both stress and addiction, which may cause them to drink or crave alcohol after a stressful experience, suggest the authors of a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Low-to-moderate drinking may not be protective against certain health conditions, and “safe” alcohol use guidelines may be substantially off base. These are among the implications of a review of studies that use a novel research method.
When drinking choices are perceived as “just one drink,” with each single drink representing relatively slight risk, it may ironically lead to heavier drinking and alcohol-related harms.
Certain drinking behaviors beyond just the quantity of alcohol consumed may predict the likelihood a person will experience an alcohol-induced blackout, a condition where someone is conscious and engaging with their surroundings but will be unable to remember some or any of what occurred.
When and how mothers drink alcohol during pregnancy has major implications for fetal and child development, according to two new studies in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research. The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) include stillbirth, preterm delivery, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
People who are able to adapt their self-regulation skills depending on the context are more likely to be successful in quitting harmful drinking.
People with symptoms of insomnia may be likely to increase their drinking over time, according to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. In the study of adult drinkers, people who had worse insomnia symptoms at the outset of the study tended to increase the amount they drank and the number of times they binge drank during the subsequent year. The researchers found that, even at subclinical levels, insomnia symptoms were a significant predictor of future drinking in adults, suggesting that insomnia symptoms should be addressed to help reduce the risk of problem drinking.
While highly effective, specialty alcohol treatment may present barriers, such as cost and stigma. A variety of strategies and other factors—often in combination—help people address their problem drinking without the use of specialized alcohol services, according to a study of untreated people in recovery from alcohol use disorder.
Skilled facilitators of an alcohol intervention based on motivational interviewing are key to promoting safer drinking behaviors among young adults experiencing homelessness, a new study suggests. The study is the first to examine the effects of the group process on emerging adults’ drinking outcomes using several different measures of group dynamics. Some young adults experiencing homelessness can access services at drop-in centers, but interventions must be brief and feasible in resource-stretched environments. Previous studies of AWARE, an intervention based on motivational interviewing in a four-session group format, found reductions in drinking in this vulnerable population. It is not well understood, however, which aspects of the group experience—process, structure, and clinician behavior—contribute to these outcomes. Research points to the importance of change talk (e.g., “I’m quitting for the summer”), cohesion (group bonding), climate (group engagement and mutual support), and
People who experienced a disaster had a higher prevalence of problem alcohol use in the years after the disaster, and the rates of problem alcohol use increased over time. A study of nuclear power plant workers who experienced a disaster found that those who were exposed to life-threatening danger, discrimination, death of a colleague, or major property loss had an increased prevalence of problem alcohol use. However, for some, the increase in problem drinking did not occur until more than a year after the disaster. The study’s findings, recently published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, point to the prolonged impacts on people who experience disaster and the importance of providing long-term monitoring and support beyond the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
People who tend to act rashly when upset may be more likely to expect alcohol to affect them—both positively and negatively—and may be more likely to want to drink to improve their mood. Mood changes, whether positive, negative, or neutral, did not alter these beliefs, according to a study of college students published in a recent issue of Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. This study helps to inform further research on the relationship between impulsivity and alcohol misuse.
At least one in four contemporary songs references alcohol, according to an analysis of multiple studies that hints at the effects of music exposure on listeners’ drinking.
An intersectional study of alcohol treatment completion rates reveals striking disparities for racial and ethnic minoritized women when compared to White men.
The brains and blood of people with a history of excessive drinking show cellular evidence of premature aging.
Many people with a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) struggle with certain cognition issues that often accompany AUD itself, even if they don’t themselves drink dangerously, according to a novel study. The findings suggest that these issues may be markers of vulnerability for the condition. A family history of AUD—having one or more first-degree relatives with the disorder—increases the risk of developing it, owing to genetic and environmental factors. Differences in cognitive functioning, especially in executive function (EF) and social cognition (SC), may predispose people to AUD and be amplified by chronic drinking. EF involves mental flexibility, inhibiting responses, and working memory, among other processes. SC facilitates social interactions through theory of mind (understanding others’ mental states), emotion recognition, and empathy. Research on healthy people with a family history of AUD has identified EF and SC differences in their neural networks, though little i
Following a brief intervention delivered to certain heavy drinkers, alcohol use and risky social ties decreased among those students’ close social connections who were also heavy drinkers, according to a novel study of first-year college students’ alcohol consumption and social networks.
Veterans with alcohol use disorder (AUD) appear to benefit from a non-invasive technique that uses magnetism to stimulate neurons in areas of the brain linked to psychiatric disorders.
Hepatitis linked to alcohol, the most severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, is increasingly prevalent, severe, and likely to involve emergency departments, according to a new analysis.
An artificial intelligence-based program efficiently and accurately identified patients’ risky alcohol use by analyzing their health records, according to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
College students with social anxiety may be driven by social motives to ‘pre-game,’ meaning drink prior to a party or event.
An online treatment for insomnia may improve both sleep and problem drinking patterns in people who drink heavily, according to a study in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
College students reporting increased mental distress during the pandemic also reported greater quantity and frequency of alcohol use, and distress was linked to certain pandemic-related factors which differed by race.
Alcohol use on certain special occasions may contribute to harsher parenting by mothers, according to an innovative study.
Learning that their peers’ alcohol use is declining over time may help reduce young adults’ drinking, according to the first study that tested this approach among community-based participants (versus college students).
The process contributing to an individual’s alcohol consumption may be linked to the consequences that person experiences from drinking, a new study suggests.
Emotional support was the simplest and most common means of helping others in an online forum related to recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), according to a new study.
Treating people for alcohol use disorder, even multiple times, results in long-term cost savings. When accounting for societal benefits of treatment, such as reduced crime and increased productivity, cost savings are realized in both the short- and long-term.
Therapy by videoconference may be as effective, and in some cases more effective, than in-person treatment for alcohol use disorder. Rates of stopping drinking are similar for those who receive treatment for their alcohol use disorder via videoconference and those who receive in-person treatment.
Highly vulnerable patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) who received regular assessments after their initial intervention had substantially better outcomes a year later than those who did not receive the same follow-up, according to a new study. Fewer than one in ten people with SUD receive any form of treatment in a given year; among those who do, relapse and treatment reentry are common. A Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol is intended to facilitate treatment referrals, especially among patients with more severe SUDs, but research has shown it to be relatively ineffective in that regard. Adding a Recovery Management Checkup (RMC) intervention can improve treatment rates; RMC conceptualizes AUD and SUD as chronic conditions requiring longer-term monitoring via regular check-ins, early re-intervention in cases of relapse, and treatment retention strategies. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Resear
Adults aged 60 and older reported better overall health and quality of life after treatment for their alcohol use disorder, according to a new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
The brains of people who reduce their drinking, as well as of people who quit drinking entirely, have greater volume in certain regions than people who drink more heavily, according to a new study of adults treated for alcohol use disorder.
Certain characteristics of people seeking remission from alcohol use disorder (AUD) are linked to their choice of recovery meeting, a new study suggests. Informal peer recovery groups—mutual-help organizations—play a crucial role for many individuals with AUD or other drug disorders. Such groups are proliferating and differ substantially in approach.
Women aged 18 to 44 living in states that outlaw Sunday liquor sales or driving with a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08 drink less than their counterparts in other states, according to a new study recently published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Eighteen U.S. states have laws that allow insurance companies to deny health care payments to treat people who were intoxicated when they sustained an injury, despite evidence showing that these laws prevent people from receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder and shift costs from insurance companies to the health care system, the government, individuals and families.
Up to one in four young adults use alcohol and marijuana simultaneously (i.e., use at the same time with overlapping effects), a behavior linked to a greater risk of adverse consequences. Given the expanding legalization of non-medical marijuana use, there is an urgent need to better understand the effects of simultaneous use and who is most vulnerable to adverse outcomes.
Certain genetic influences contribute to disordered eating and problematic alcohol use, leaving some people vulnerable to both conditions, according to a large study of late adolescent twins. Previous research has found concurrent eating disorders and risky drinking in younger teens amplify the chance of worse outcomes, including death.
People who drink heavily experience heightened pleasurable effects throughout a drinking episode, which may be what motivates them to continue drinking, and not, as is commonly believed, that they require more alcohol in order to experience these effects.
People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are less able to learn from others' negative experiences, potentially rendering them more vulnerable to maintaining their dangerous drinking or relapsing, according to the first study of its type. The study explored social cognition, processes that enable us to understand and interact with others, and specifically social learning, our ability to learn by observing others' experiences.
Brain imaging of neuron activity in certain areas of the brain may predict whether an individual is likely to successfully respond to interventions to reduce their drinking. In a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, individuals whose baseline imaging showed decreased activity in areas of the brain associated with reward processing and impulsivity and increased activity in regions responsible for complex cognitive processes and emotional regulation were more likely to reduce their drinking following an intervention.
Young adults whose drinking lands them in the emergency room respond differently to different interventions to reduce their hazardous drinking, and those differences may be driven by certain personal characteristics.
People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly cut back on drinking in the weeks before entering treatment, a new study has affirmed. Further, this self-driven “pretreatment change” is linked to better outcomes up to one year following treatment.
Brief electronic intervention providing personalized feedback can help hazardous drinkers substantially reduce their drinking, according to a new study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Even low levels of alcohol use can increase the likelihood of developing diseases like cancer and heart disease. A systematic review of studies of the relationship between alcohol use and risk of disease published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that disease risk increases as alcohol use increases and high levels of alcohol use have clear detrimental health effects. While lower-level alcohol use can be protective against certain diseases, it can have significant adverse health effects for many other diseases. The authors urge greater awareness that any level of alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of developing serious, even fatal, diseases.
People living in states with expanded Medicaid access were more likely to be screened by their doctor for alcohol use compared to people who lived in states that did not expand Medicaid access, but they did not necessarily receive effective interventions. A study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that living in a state with expanded Medicaid access was associated with a higher prevalence of lower-income adults’ receiving some alcohol screening at a recent checkup but not receiving higher quality screening or brief counseling. The authors suggest that expanded Medicaid access may increase screening via increased access to primary care but that policies that target healthcare provider constraints are also needed to increase high-quality, evidence-based screening and counseling around alcohol use.
Alcohol consumption is known to be pervasive and problematic among college and university student populations. New research has found that while online interventions alone can effectively help a typical student cut back on excessive drinking, emailed boosters after online interventions may be needed for heavier drinking students. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
Co-existing use of alcohol and cannabis can lead to negative outcomes such as the development of a substance-use disorder, poor academic and occupational performance, and psychiatric disorders when compared to use of either drug alone. New research that examines simultaneous alcohol/cannabis use has found higher levels of drinking after 18 months. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
Parental supply of alcohol is a relatively common practice in Australia, believed by some parents to be an effective means of teaching their children to drink responsibly. New research shows that family and peer factors each play a role in the development of excessive and risky drinking in early adulthood and associated harms. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
One in four Americans live with a disability, which is associated with stigma and disparities in health care. New research examined differences in alcohol use by disability status and types of disability, and found a need for a range of accommodations in alcohol treatment and recovery services – including technology-based options. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states expanded online alcohol sales and alcohol home delivery laws. One of the first U.S. studies of the impact on adults of home delivery of alcohol during the early months of the pandemic found significantly more alcohol consumption and binge drinking among those who obtained their alcohol through home delivery than those who did not. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
Experiencing and sharing emotions is a fundamental human experience. Empathy is the ability to understand another’s perspective and share their emotions. Recent research has found that empathy can help adolescents reduce their substance use. These results will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.
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