Feature Channels: Alcohol and Alcoholism

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students drinking outside the home or at home alone experienced a wider range of drinking consequences compared to those more frequently drinking at home with others, either in-person or virtually, according to a new study. Drinking at home also carried considerable risk. The findings, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, suggest that intervention and prevention efforts may be more effectively tailored by considering the contexts in which students are drinking.

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Giving some homeless mothers with young children a place to live may do little to help them if it is not combined with support services, a first-of-its-kind study showed.

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State laws designed to prevent dangerous drinking behaviors do not appear to have that effect, according to a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Alcohol exclusion laws allow insurance companies to deny payment for injuries caused by alcohol consumption and were adopted more than seventy years ago to prevent problem drinking and related insurance costs. But a rigorous analysis of drinking behaviors found no evidence that repealing these laws increases alcohol consumption or binge drinking. Previous reports have found these laws to be a barrier to screening and treatment for alcohol issues, resulting in billions of dollars in added healthcare costs.

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The number of stores selling alcohol in a neighborhood is linked to cases of child abuse and neglect in the same area, a new study suggests.

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UC San Diego researchers used human brain organoids to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neural development, revealing significant harms in molecular detail.

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Chronic alcohol misuse including Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is an overlooked risk factor for severe or fatal COVID-19, according to a review of medical and scientific studies.

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Teens who perceived their friends posted alcohol-related content on social media reported drinking more than those who weren’t exposed to such posts, a new study has found. In addition, adolescents overestimated the frequency of their peers’ alcohol-related posts online, a misperception that potentially shaped their drinking. Perceptions of peers’ alcohol use, even if inaccurate, generate a social norm — a standard that tends to guide human behavior. Adolescents are especially susceptible to peer influence. Previous research has highlighted teens’ exaggerated perceptions of peers’ drinking in raising the risk for their alcohol use. Social media may amplify this effect, with its unique features (“likes” and sharing) that potentially create the illusion of widespread drinking. A discrepancy between a teen’s own alcohol-related posting and their perception of peers’ posting may be linked to an increased willingness to drink, but the issue is under-researched. The new study, in Alcoholism:

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Two habits are riskier than one when it comes to surgery-related problems, according to a new study of cigarette and alcohol use before an operation. A second study shows coaching about drinking-related surgical risks in the weeks before their operation helped patients cut their drinking in half on average.

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Here are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Arthritis channel on Newswise.

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People in their 20s and 30s who drink moderate to heavy amounts of alcohol may be more likely to have a stroke as young adults than people who drink low amounts or no alcohol, according to a study published in the November 2, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The risk of stroke increased the more years people reported moderate or heavy drinking

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Here are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Drugs and drug abuse channel.

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Researchers at the Miller School are looking for solutions to the continued effects of alcohol use, its harmful impact, and treatment. Understanding the mechanisms of alcohol abuse has gained importance, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher alcohol consumption led to an increased burden of pancreatic diseases in society.

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Motives for drinking — to party, to conform, to cope, or to feel good — are consistent through young adulthood, and genes play a role in how those motives influence alcohol use, a new study of college students suggests. Understanding the mechanisms linking genetic variants to differences in drinking behaviors could present opportunities for predicting individuals’ vulnerability to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and intervening to prevent it. Genetic factors are responsible for about 50% of individual risk of AUD. Much of how that heritability functions is unexplained, however. The relationship between genes and drinking behavior is complex, involving thousands of genetic variants that each have small effects. Critical factors known as endophenotypes, or intermediary phenotypes, affect how an individual’s genetic predisposition manifests as a behavioral trait. For the new study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Environmental Research, investigators sought to determine whether drinking motives are o

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American Indian (AI) adolescents who expect to relate strongly to their racial culture in the future are less likely than their peers to experience negative alcohol outcomes - like fighting with friends, being arrested, and memory gaps - even if they do not relate strongly to their culture now, a new study suggests. Although AI communities overall have higher rates of abstention from alcohol than other racial groups, AI teens are particularly vulnerable to drinking and its negative consequences. This may be related to cultural identity, which is known to influence substance use.

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A new algorithm has been found to identify images of alcohol in electronic media with a high degree of accuracy. Possible applications for this algorithm include public health research to quantify exposure to images of alcohol and mobile or web applications to allow individuals to filter unwanted exposure to online alcohol advertising or alcohol-related content. The development and testing of the algorithm are described in a paper published in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. The algorithm has been made publicly available at no charge.

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A study by UChicago researchers identifies the role that the BNIP3 protein plays in the development of fatty liver and liver cancer.

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Front-loading alcohol, or drinking faster at the outset of a drinking session, may be associated with harmful patterns which can lead to alcohol use disorders and should be studied, according to the authors of an analysis published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. The analysis suggests increasing evidence that front-loading drinking behavior is driven by reward effects more than by other factors, such as metabolic tolerance or negative reinforcement.

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Research from the Arizona State University Department of Psychology has shown that positive communication among family members contributes to less depressive symptoms and alcohol use in Latino students during their transition to college. The study also found that parent awareness of their child’s daily lives predicted less alcohol use.

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An 8-year study of nearly 1300 low-income adolescents in Los Angeles found that students who attended high performing charter high schools were much less likely to engage in risky substance use by the time they reached age 21. Males who attended the high-performing schools also had better physical health and lower obesity rates as young adults while females had substantially worse outcomes in those two areas.

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Clemson geneticists Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt will work to discover why some people become addicted to drugs while others don't.

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Mariam F. Eskander, MD, MPH, surgical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health, and assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School whose clinical expertise includes liver tumors, shares more information on liver cancer and excessive alcohol use.

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A report released today by the Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA) at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life helps voters understand the potential impact of Massachusetts Ballot Question 3, which changes some key rules for alcohol sales at convenience stores, supermarkets, and other chains.

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Rutgers Institute for Health researchers analyze subgroups of women and how their substance-use patterns and personal characteristics correlate to how they have been impacted by COVID-19.

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Teen use of alcohol and alcohol in combination with cannabis is decreasing, but use by girls is decreasing more slowly than it is for boys, according to a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. And, rates of cannabis use among teens who didn’t use alcohol, which more than doubled in the last decade, are increasing more rapidly in female students than in their male counterparts. Despite the declines in alcohol use, teen alcohol use remains high, and far more prevalent than cannabis use. The simultaneous use of cannabis and alcohol amplifies the health risks for teens, including risk of intoxication, injury, impairment and other short- and long-term consequences for adolescents. As one in five students reports simultaneously using both substances, continued public health efforts to reduce teen alcohol and cannabis use, as well as interventions specifically aimed at female students, are important.

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Low-income children with special needs or socioemotional problems who moved to more advantaged neighborhoods were less likely to ever use alcohol than those who remained in public housing, according to a study just published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Researchers also found reduced alcohol use among the mothers of some of these children. The study compared alcohol use patterns in low-income families who received different kinds of housing support. The findings point to a need for programs and policies to extend the beneficial effects of housing mobility and voucher programs to all families.

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Alcohol misuse in adolescence affects physical health and life satisfaction over multiple decades, outcomes that are driven by ongoing alcohol problems, a new study has found. The link between teen drinking and poor health into the 30s held even after accounting for the effects of nature (genes) and nurture (early family environments). Problematic drinking in adolescence is known to be linked to ongoing health and life struggles. Better understanding this process could inform early targeted interventions that may prevent or ameliorate long-term negative consequences. The new study, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, sought to clarify the pathways — direct or indirect — by which teen drinking has such far-reaching effects. Investigators explored participants’ alcohol misuse in adolescence and early adulthood, and physical health and life satisfaction in their mid-30s. The study sample was restricted to twins, allowing for consideration of shared genetic and environmental f

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Young children’s exposure to their mothers’ and fathers’ drinking influences their perceptions of who consumes alcohol, with “vast implications” for their own future use, a new study suggests. The study, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, provides compelling evidence of intergenerational transmission of drinking behaviors to children, including gender-based perceptions — the first time these effects have been demonstrated in children aged 4–8. Children’s exposure to the use of alcohol around them is known to shape their perceptions of “typical” alcohol consumption (norms). Those perceptions influence drinking initiation, usually as adolescents, and alcohol consumption over time. Recent research has shown that how much parents drink in general is less relevant in this regard than their alcohol use in the presence of children. For the new study, investigators explored how exposure to mothers’ and fathers’ drinking influences young children’s perceptions of alcohol-related n

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A new rodent study shows that even small quantities of alcohol can trigger epigenomic and transciptomic changes in brain circuitry in an area that is crucial in the development of addiction.

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The latest research and expert commentary on pain management.

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The September issue of AJG highlights new clinical science, including a potential therapy to improve IBS-C symptoms, reintroduction of infliximab for Crohn’s disease, and population-based data to examine incidence and mortality of certain GI and hepatology diseases.

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Pulling from extensive interviews, the latest research and national data, Sociology Professor Susan Stewart says women are drinking more alcohol to cope with stress, move up at work, feel confident and have fun – or be perceived as having fun – in her new book “On the Rocks: Straight talk about women and drinking.”

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Drinkers’ mood shifts and exposure to alcohol-related cues — beer cans, bars, and drinking buddies — contribute to alcohol cravings in opposite ways for men and women, a new study suggests. The findings have implications for how men and women develop dangerous drinking habits and ways that this might be prevented or treated. Various theories link alcohol use to positive and negative emotions: drinking to either enhance good mood or cope with stress, potentially becoming a self-reinforcing cycle. Studies have yielded mixed findings, however, suggesting that mood interacts with subconscious cognitive processes to prompt alcohol-seeking.

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During the pandemic, on days that adults felt particularly lonely or when lockdown restrictions were more limiting, they used more drugs (other than cannabis), a new study suggests.

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The typical rise and fall of alcohol and cannabis consumption from late adolescence into adulthood does not hold for people with certain personality traits, a new study suggests. Among individuals who used both alcohol and cannabis, those with high impulsivity as adolescents showed a different developmental trajectory from their peers, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research — the first to assess co-use of the two substances well into adulthood. Alcohol and cannabis are the two most frequently used psychotropic drugs in the US. High use is associated with negative health outcomes, particularly when the two substances are used concurrently or simultaneously. Little is known about the developmental course of alcohol and cannabis co-use into adulthood and whether it is influenced by sensation seeking and reduced conscientiousness, markers of disinhibition associated with hazardous substance use. Researchers at Arizona State University explored whether those pe

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People who self-medicate pain with alcohol may be vulnerable to hazardous drinking, with their experience of pain relief a potentially powerful driver of alcohol consumption, a new study suggests. Both pain and dangerous alcohol use are major public health issues. Each affects millions of US adults and costs hundreds of billions of dollars annually in health care and lost productivity. Recent studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between pain and alcohol use; people with chronic pain are more likely than others to report heavy drinking, and those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are more likely to report chronic pain. Alcohol has known analgesic effects. Evidence of shared neural mechanisms underlying chronic pain and substance misuse suggest alcohol’s pain-relieving capacity might be influenced by individuals’ experience of chronic pain. Better understanding the relationship between chronic pain and alcohol use could inform improved prevention and treatment approaches. For the

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In mouse studies, UC San Diego researchers find that excess alcohol consumption alters gut microbiome but latter is not directly or significantly linked to liver disease.

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Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Food Science channel on Newswise, a free source for journalists.