Episode Of Alcohol Intoxication Research Articles

The Effect of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Fetal Growth and Cardiovascular Parameters in a Baboon Model of Pregnancy.

Prenatal alcohol exposure often results in an array of fetal developmental abnormalities termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Despite the high prevalence of FASDs, the pathophysiology of fetal damage by alcohol remains poorly understood. One of the major obstacles in studying fetal development in response to alcohol exposure is the inability to standardize the amount, pattern of alcohol consumption, and peak blood alcohol levels in pregnant mothers. In the present study, we used Doppler ultrasonography to assess fetal growth and cardiovascular parameters in response to alcohol exposure in pregnant baboons. Baboons were subjected to gastric alcohol infusion 3 times during the second trimester equivalent to human pregnancy, with maternal blood alcohol levels reaching 80 mg/dL within 30 to 60 minutes following alcohol infusion. The control group received a drink that was isocaloric to the alcohol-containing one. Doppler ultrasonography was used for longitudinal assessment of fetal biometric parameters and fetal cardiovascular indices. Fetal abdominal and head circumferences, but not femur length, were significantly decreased in alcohol-exposed fetuses near term. Peak systolic velocity of anterior and middle cerebral arteries decreased during episodes of alcohol intoxication, but there was no difference in Doppler indices between groups near term. Acute alcohol intoxication affected fetal cerebral blood flow independent of changes in the fetal cardiac output. Unlike fetal growth parameters, changes in vascular indices did not persist over gestation. In summary, alcohol effects on fetal growth and on fetal vascular function have different time courses.

Short- and long-term psychosocial of a single episode of alcoholic intoxication: a cohort study among Dutch adolescents.

The short- and long-term psychological consequences of a single episode of alcohol intoxication in adolescents are unknown. Twenty-four adolescents (12 M, 12 F), mean age 18.3 ± 1.1years, who had been admitted to the pediatric ward with alcohol intoxication (mean age at admission 15.6 ± 1.1) and thirty-two parents were interviewed on the intoxication episode and the subsequent consequences. This interview took place 2-3years after the alcohol intoxication. At the same time, all participants completed questionnaires, assessing general and demographic information, detailed information about current alcohol use, present-day health-related quality of life, and psychological well-being. We observed that short-term (<6months) psychosocial consequences on family life, family rules, friendships, and school were retrospectively judged more neutral and even more positive than negative by adolescents and their parents. Eighty-six percent of all reported changes by adolescents and parents, directly after the intoxication, lasted 6months or less. At follow-up present-day quality of life was comparable to the norm, social functioning was significantly better and their mental health proved to be within the normal range (no emotional and behavioral problems). Since the intoxication, none of the participants had dropped out of school and their present-day alcohol use was comparable to estimated averages for their age. Short- and long-term psychosocial consequences of a single episode of alcohol intoxication were positively judged by adolescents and their parents. • Alcohol abuse among adolescents is a growing concern both in society and pediatrics. What is new: • This manuscript describes short and long term psychological consequences of a single episode of alcohol intoxication in adolescents.

Adolescent Repeated Alcohol Intoxication as a Predictor of Young Adulthood Alcohol Abuse: The Role of Socioeconomic Context

Aims. Trajectories of alcohol abuse from adolescence onwards are not well known. We examined the relationship between repeated alcohol intoxication in adolescence and later alcohol abuse, testing whether this association varies depending on individuals’ socioeconomic context. Methods. Study participants (n = 674, age 22–35 years in 2009) belong to the French TEMPO cohort study; their parents also participate in an epidemiological study—the GAZEL cohort. Repeated alcohol intoxication was assessed by questionnaire in adolescence (1999) (defined by ≥3 episodes of alcohol intoxication in the preceding 12 months). In young adulthood (2009), alcohol abuse was assessed by the WHO AUDIT questionnaire. Socioeconomic characteristic studied was childhood family income. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models controlling for age, sex, childhood temperament, parental history of alcohol use, and the quality of family relations. Results. Among adolescents who reported repeated alcohol intoxication, 30.8% reported alcohol abuse in young adulthood (adjusted OR=4.27, 95%CI 2.21–8.27). This association appeared stronger in participants who grew up in families with low income (adjusted OR=11.86, 95%CI 3.35–41.94 vs. 2.49, 95%CI 1.09–5.68 for youths from families with intermediate or high income). Conclusions. In most adolescents (69.2%), alcohol abuse is a time-limited behavior. Nonetheless, in participants from low income families, the likelihood of persistent alcohol abuse beyond adolescence may be increased. Although some limitations are noted, a preliminary conclusion is that alcohol abuse trajectories over time need to be monitored, particularly in certain subgroups.

The Net Effect of an Alcohol Tax Increase on Death Rates in Middle Age

Alcohol excise taxation increases prices and reduces per capita consumption (Cook and George Tauchen, 1982; Christopher J. Ruhm, 1995; Douglas J. Young and Agnieszka Bielinska-Kwapisz, 2003). In principle, a taxinduced reduction in per capita consumption of alcohol may be the result of both a reduction in the prevalence of alcohol abuse and the prevalence of moderate drinking, with opposite effects on mortality rates. The net effect on mortality could be either positive or negative and has not been established empirically. Some specific mechanisms by which drinking creates health risks and benefits are well documented. For all age groups, episodes of alcohol intoxication cause death from overdose or from injury resulting from accident or intentional violence (Ralph Hingson and Michael Winter, 2003). Chronic heavy drinking may cause death due to organ damage, including liver cirrhosis (Jurgen Rehm et al., 2003). On the other hand, chronic drinking confers some health benefits on middle-aged people, defined here as persons aged 35–69. Alcohol acts as an anti-cholesterol drug, and epidemiological evidence suggests that moderate drinking is associated with reduced mortality from heart disease and stroke (Giovanni Corrao et al., 2000). Thus an increase in alcohol excise taxes may reduce mortality rates to the extent that it induces a lower incidence of risky drinking and lower prevalence of chronic heavy drinking. But if older people drink too little in response to higher prices, then the result may be increased cardiovascular death rates. In what follows, we combine new estimates of the effect of per capita alcohol consumption on drinking patterns with a summary estimate from the epidemiology literature of relative risks associated with different levels of drinking. We calculate that a permanent reduction of 1 percent in alcohol consumption per capita, induced by a tax increase or some other mechanism, would have little net effect on mortality in middle age. Our sensitivity experiments suggest that the effect may be positive or negative but is always close to zero. Since there is no health benefit from drinking for younger people, and considerable risks, we conclude that the public-health case for increased alcohol taxation is strong.

Electrical amygdala kindling in alcohol-withdrawal kindled rats.

Repeated alcohol withdrawal has been shown to kindle seizure activity. The purpose of the present investigation was to study electrical amygdala kindling in rats previously exposed to alcohol-withdrawal kindling. In three independent experiments, male Wistar rats were subjected to multiple episodes each consisting of 2 days of severe alcohol intoxication and 5 days of alcohol withdrawal. In the first experiment, the alcohol-withdrawal kindled animals were divided into two groups depending on whether spontaneous alcohol-withdrawal seizures were observed in episodes 10-13. In the second and third experiments, the alcohol-withdrawal kindled animals were compared to a group in which alcohol-withdrawal kindling was prevented by diazepam treatment during the withdrawal reactions in order to discriminate between the effect of withdrawal and intoxication. Electrical kindling was initiated 28-35 days after the last alcohol dose by exposing the animals to daily electrical stimulations of the right amygdala. The results showed that amygdala kindling was facilitated in alcohol-withdrawal kindled animals which showed spontaneous withdrawal seizure activity, compared with animals exposed to multiple episodes of alcohol withdrawal which did not develop withdrawal seizures or with animals exposed to a single episode of alcohol intoxication. When compared to the control group, the alcohol-withdrawal kindled group with seizures also kindled at a faster rate, but the difference did not reach statistical significance and therefore the results must be regarded as preliminary at present.

Factors in childhood and youth predicting alcohol dependence and abuse in Swedish women: findings from a general population study.

The aim was to assess risk factors during childhood and youth for alcohol dependence/abuse (ADA) in a population-based study of Swedish women. A total of 316 women were interviewed after stratified random sampling in the general population and a screening questionnaire. The interviews focused on social, psychological and behaviour characteristics as well as on early substance use patterns. Alcohol diagnoses were made according to DSM-III-R and CIDI-SAM. Experiences of sexual abuse before the age of 13 years, a history of psychological or psychiatric problems, early deviant behaviour and an episode of alcohol intoxication before the age of 15 years were significantly associated with ADA in a logistic model. General indicators of low social class were not associated with increased risk of ADA in a multivariate analysis. Sexual abuse in childhood was the strongest predictor of ADA. This association has potential public health importance, and should be addressed in future studies on women and alcohol.

The effect of repeated occasions of alcohol intoxication on two processes involved in the visual discrimination of movement.

The focus of this study was the effect of repeated episodes of alcohol intoxication on two processes involved in visual movement discrimination: visual sensitivity and decision-making. Four female subjects were asked to discriminate between a stationary light signal and one that changed position in the center of a dark visual field. Prior to each of 15 alcohol testing sessions, a dose of .66 ml of 95% USP ethanol per kg body weight was administered to each subject and BAL was sampled frequently within sessions. Differences in subjects' pre- and postalcohol performance were evaluated within the framework of a psychophysical model that mathematically characterizes the problem of movement discrimination and yields independent estimates of visual sensitivity and decisional aspects of subjects' performance. Evidence for specificity in the development of sensory versus decisional process tolerance to intoxication effects was found. The major result was that each subject made large and statistically reliable shifts in decisional criteria during the time course of the blood alcohol curve within alcohol testing sessions, even when visual sensitivity had adapted to alcohol intake effects. The results of this study illustrate the utility of tracing acute intake effects over repeated occasions of intoxication, and empirically testing subjects' assumed decisional strategies when modeling these effects.