Low Alcohol Consumers Research Articles

Dietary Inflammatory Index and risk of breast cancer: evidence from a prospective cohort of 67,879 women followed for 20years in France.

Inflammation is implicated in breast cancer development, and diet is one of the modifiable risk factors involved in the regulation of chronic inflammation. Previous studies on the association between breast cancer risk and Dietary Inflammatory Indexes (DII) derived from food frequency questionnaires and data on inflammatory potential of dietary components have reported inconsistent results. To investigate the association between the DII and the risk of breast cancer using data from a large population-based cohort study. A total of 67,879 women from the E3N cohort were followed from 1993 to 2014. A total of 5686 breast cancer cases were diagnosed during the follow-up. The food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline in 1993 was used to calculate an adapted DII. Cox proportional hazard models using age as the time scale were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Spline regression was used to determine any dose-response relationship. We also evaluated effect modification by menopausal status, body mass index, smoking status and alcohol consumption. The median DII score of the study population was slightly pro-inflammatory (DII = + 0.39); ranged from -4.68 in the lowest quintile to + 4.29 in the highest quintile.The HR increased linearly with the DII (HR per 1SD = 1.04 [95% CI: 1.01, 1.07]), and reached 1.13 [95% CI: 1.04, 1.23] in the 5th quintile group as compared to the first. A positive linear dose-response relationship was also observed when modeling DII with spline functions. Slightly higher HRs were observed in non-smokers (HR for 1-SD increase 1.06 [95% CI: 1.02, 1.10]; p trend = 0.001) and in low-alcohol consumers (≤ 1 glass/day) (HR for 1-SD increase 1.05 [95% CI: 1.01, 1.08]; p trend = 0.002). Our results suggest a positive association between DII and breast cancer risk. Consequently, the promotion of anti-inflammatory diet may contribute to breast cancer prevention.

O5-3 Behavioural risk patterns among overweight and obese adolescents participating in the PRALIMAP-INES trial

BackgroundIt has been suggested that risk behaviours including diet, physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), smoking and alcohol consumption cluster among adolescents. Our objective was to investigate clustering of risk behaviours in overweight and obese adolescents from the French PRALIMAP-InèS trial and to identify their socioeconomic correlates.MethodsInformation on diet (fruit, vegetables, sugary products and beverages), PA, SB (week and week-end days), smoking and alcohol consumption (current frequency and intoxication episodes) and socio-demographical data were collected using self-reported questionnaires at the trial inclusion. Behavioural risk factors were entered as categorical variables in a two-step clustering procedure: multiple correspondence analyses followed by a two-way clustering procedure based on hierarchical methods. Associations between cluster membership and socio-economic variables were investigated using multivariable multinomial logistic regression.ResultsA total of 1391 participants were included in analyses and four clusters were identified: (1) “Moderate to high PA, low soft drinkers, low alcohol consumers low SB, non-smokers” (n = 543; 39.0%), (2) “High SB and low fruits and vegetables consumers” (n = 376; 26.8%), (3) “Smokers and alcohol consumers” (n = 247; 17.7%) and (4) “High fruits and vegetable consumers, soft drinkers and low PA” (n = 229; 16.5%). Compared to the healthiest cluster (cluster 1), adolescents from cluster 2&3 (unhealthy clusters) were more likely boys, older, attending vocational high school and not living with their two parents. Adolescents from cluster 4 were more socially advantaged (according to the WHO family affluence scale) than those of cluster 1.ConclusionsRisk behaviour patterns in adolescents were shown to be clustered in both healthier and less healthy ways, with a complex interplay with socio-economic factors. Adapted to cluster Public health interventions may bring some benefits.

Factor analysis and normative scores of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a representative sample of the general population of Greece.

The most widely used screening instrument for alcohol use disorders (AUD) is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) which, although initially developed for use in primary care, is increasingly used in general population studies. Previous studies that have assessed the screening properties and the factorial structure of AUDIT were mostly based on clinical samples and did not take into consideration the possible differences in AUDIT factorial properties between subgroups according to age, sex and mental health status. Aim of the current study was to explore the distribution of AUDIT and AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores and the factorial structure of AUDIT in subgroups of participants according to sex, age and the presence of mental health disorder. Descriptive statistics and Exploratory/Confirmatory Factor Analysis of AUDIT were extracted in a general population representative sample of 4,894 Greek participants. Different cut-offs are suggested in order to screen 10% of the population with the highest severity of AUD into the aforementioned subgroups. Generally, a cut-off between 10-12 at AUDIT score is suggested for screening the 10% with the highest severity of alcohol use problems in subgroups of frequent alcohol consumers (e.g. younger males) and a cut-off between 4-5 would screen the 5% with the highest severity of alcohol use problems in subgroups of low alcohol-consumers (e.g. older women). A cut-off of 3 in AUDIT-C score is suggested for screening 25% of individuals with the heaviest alcohol consumption. The traditional three-factor model does not explain better the factorial structure of AUDIT compared to the 2-factors model. The AUDIT is a reliable instrument for assessing AUD and heavy alcohol consumption in the Greek general population. Age, sex and the presence of mental health disorders should be taken into consideration when selecting cut-offs for screening purposes in non-clinical samples.

Alcohol consumption, endogenous estrogen and mammographic density among premenopausal women.

IntroductionAlcohol consumption may promote aromatization of androgens to estrogens, which may partly explain the observations linking alcohol consumption to higher breast cancer risk. Whether alcohol consumption is associated with endogenous estrogen levels, and mammographic density phenotypes in premenopausal women remains unclear.MethodsAlcohol consumption was collected by self-report and interview, using semi quantitative food frequency questionnaires, and a food diary during seven days of a menstrual cycle among 202 premenopausal women, participating in the Energy Balance and Breast Cancer Aspects (EBBA) study I. Estrogen was assessed in serum and daily in saliva across an entire menstrual cycle. Computer-assisted mammographic density (Madena) was obtained from digitized mammograms taken between days 7–12 of the menstrual cycle. Multivariable regression models were used to investigate the associations between alcohol consumption, endogenous estrogen and mammographic density phenotypes.ResultsCurrent alcohol consumption was positively associated with endogenous estrogen, and absolute mammographic density. We observed 18 % higher mean salivary 17β-estradiol levels throughout the menstrual cycle, among women who consumed more than 10 g of alcohol per day compared to women who consumed less than 10 g of alcohol per day (p = 0.034). Long-term and past-year alcohol consumption was positively associated with mammographic density. We observed a positive association between alcohol consumption (past year) and absolute mammographic density; high alcohol consumers (≥7 drinks/week) had a mean absolute mammographic density of 46.17 cm2 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 39.39, 52.95), while low alcohol consumers (<1 drink/week) had a mean absolute mammographic density of 31.26 cm2 (95 % CI 25.89, 36.64) (p-trend 0.001). After adjustments, high consumers of alcohol (≥7 drinks/week), had 5.08 (95 % CI 1.82, 14.20) times higher odds of having absolute mammographic density above median (>32.4 cm2), compared to low (<1 drink/week) alcohol consumers.ConclusionAlcohol consumption was positively associated with daily endogenous estrogen levels and mammographic density in premenopausal women. These associations could point to an important area of breast cancer prevention.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0620-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract 8500: Alcohol Effect on Incident Atrial Fibrillation in Individuals with Cardiovascular Disease: Analysis of Data from the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND Studies

The relationship of alcohol consumption with atrial fibrillation (AF) is inconsistent, and little is known about the impact of alcohol intake on AF incidence in older people with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) or diabetes. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the association between alcohol consumption and incident AF among older individuals with CVD or diabetes mellitus with end organ damage. A cohort of individuals (n=30,430) without AF at baseline, aged ≥55 years, with established CVD or high risk diabetes mellitus, and participating in two randomized trials, the ONTARGET or TRANSCEND (median follow-up of 56 months), were included in the analysis. Alcohol intake was classified as low (Group 1, &lt;1 drink/week, referent), medium (Group 2, 1-14 drinks/week for women and 1-21 drinks/week for men) and high (Group 3, &gt;14 drinks/week for women or &gt;21 drinks/week for men) consumption, according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Multivariable Cox regression was used to model the relationship between alcohol intake and incident AF. There were 2093 new onset AF events in these patients. The age- and sex-standardized incidence rates were 14.47, 17.29 and 20.89 events per 1000 person years in Group 1, 2 and 3, respectively with an additional 6.42 events per 1000 person years in high compared to low alcohol consumers. The unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios of incident AF associated with alcohol intake were shown in the Table. A significant linear dose response relationship was found (p for trend &lt;0.0001 and =0.0019, respectively in the unadjusted and full-adjusted models). In conclusion, moderate alcohol intake is associated with an increased incidence of AF in older individuals with CVD or diabetes mellitus and in a linear fashion with increasing consumption. Recommendations made about the protective effects of moderate alcohol intake in patients at high risk of CVD should be tempered with this new finding.

Mental and personality disorders and abstinence from alcohol: results from a national household survey

The beneficial outcomes associated with moderate compared with low alcohol intake or abstinence may be due to the inclusion of people as 'low consumers', who have stopped consumption because of poor health. We investigated the association between alcohol abstinence and symptoms of common mental disorder and personality disorder, distinguishing between lifelong abstinence and abstinence following previous consumption. Analyses were based on the British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity 2000, which sampled 8580 residents aged 16-74 years. Hazardous drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) was excluded. Symptoms of common mental disorder (depression/anxiety) were identified by the Clinical Interview Schedule. The screening questionnaire of the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis II Personality Disorders was used to identify potential personality disorder. Self-reported alcohol abstinence was divided into lifelong abstinence and previous consumption. Previous consumers were asked why they had stopped. Covariates included socio-economic status, social activity and general health status. After adjustment, alcohol abstinence was associated with both common mental disorder symptoms and any personality disorder, but only for previous consumers, in whom odds ratios were 1.69 (95% CI 1.23-2.32) and 1.45 (95% CI 1.09-1.94). Associations were non-specific, being apparent for most individual mental disorder symptoms and personality disorder categories. More detailed analysis indicated that associations were again limited to previous consumers who reported ceasing alcohol consumption for health reasons. Worse mental health in low alcohol consumers, particularly those who have previously ceased for health reasons, should be taken into account when interpreting associations between moderate (compared with low) alcohol consumption and beneficial health outcomes.

Validation of the CAST, a general population Cannabis Abuse Screening Test

Background: Although the use of cannabis among young people has become a major public health concern, there is no such test in France for general population surveys.Objective: This article aims to present a short screening test for cannabis abuse among adolescents and young adults in general population surveys, the CAST (Cannabis Abuse Screening Test) designed at the French Monitoring Center for Drug and Drug addictions (OFDT).Methods: The survey was conducted in France among 1728 scholars aged 14–22, in secondary schools, high schools, and university. After presenting internal consistency and factorial structure, the authors compared the CAST with the part of the POSIT (Problem‐Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers) dealing with alcohol and drug abuse among cannabis users in order to validate the optimal thresholds of the CAST for the high risk of abuse defined for the POSIT.Results: The CAST appears to be unidimensional and have high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha equals 0.81). Among cannabis users whoa are low alcohol consumers, CAST presents very high sensitivity and specificity compared with the POSIT (respectively, 93 and 81%).Conclusions: The CAST seems to be an efficient tool in order to screen for cannabis use disorders among adolescents and young adults. Further research is needed to confirm this result.

Polymorphisms in the mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase gene (Aldh2) determine peak blood acetaldehyde levels and voluntary ethanol consumption in rats

Dependence on alcohol, a most widely used drug, has a heritability of 50-60%. Wistar-derived rats selectively bred as low-alcohol consumers for many generations present an allele (Aldh2(2)) of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase that does not exist in high-alcohol consumers, which mostly carry the Aldh2(1) allele. The enzyme coded by Aldh2(2) has a four- to five-fold lower affinity for NAD than that coded by Aldh2(1). The present study was designed to determine whether these polymorphisms account for differences in voluntary ethanol intake and to investigate the biological mechanisms involved. Low-drinker F0 Aldh2(2)/Aldh2(2) rats were crossed with high-drinker F0 Aldh2(1)/Aldh2(1) rats to obtain an F1 generation, which was intercrossed to obtain an F2 generation that segregates the Aldh2 alleles from other genes that may have been coselected in the breeding for each phenotype. Data show that, with a mixed genetic background, F2 Aldh2(1)/Aldh2(1) rats voluntarily consume 65% more alcohol (P<0.01) than F2 Aldh2(2)/Aldh2(2) rats. A major phenotypic difference was a five-fold higher (P<0.0025) peak blood acetaldehyde level following ethanol administration in the lower drinker F2 Aldh2(2)/Aldh2(2) compared to the higher drinker F2 Aldh2(1)/Aldh2(1) animals, despite the existence of identical steady-state levels of blood acetaldehyde in animals of both genotypes. Polymorphisms in Aldh2 play an important role in: (i) determining peak blood acetaldehyde levels and (ii) modulating voluntary ethanol consumption. We postulate that the markedly higher peak of blood acetaldehyde generated in Aldh2(2)/Aldh2(2)(2) animals is aversive, leading to a reduced alcohol intake in Aldh2(2)/Aldh2(2) versus that in Aldh2(1)/Aldh2(1) animals.

Polymorphism in the Thymidylate Synthase Promoter Enhancer Region and Risk of Colorectal Adenomas

AbstractThymidylate synthase (TS), a key one-carbon metabolizing gene, encodes an enzyme that converts dUMP to dTMP, the rate-limiting nucleotide in DNA synthesis. We recently reported that a promoter polymorphism in TS modified the risk of colorectal cancer as well as the survival rate after the disease. To explore whether TS may play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis early in the multistaged pathogenic pathway, we investigated the relation between the TS promoter polymorphism and risk of colorectal adenoma in a nested case-control study within the prospective Health Professionals Follow-up Study. We ascertained the TS genotype from 373 incident colorectal adenoma cases and 720 control subjects. Although there was no overall association between the TS promoter polymorphism and adenoma risk, we observed a significant TS-alcohol interaction (P for interaction = 0.009); relative to low alcohol consumers with the 2R/2R genotype, those with high alcohol consumption (&amp;gt;30 g/d) were not at elevated risk if they had the 2R/2R genotype [relative risk (RR), 0.80; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.34-1.90], but were at higher risk if they had the 2R/3R genotype (RR, 1.70; 95% CI, 0.87-3.31), and at the highest risk (RR, 3.16; 95% CI, 1.50-6.63) if they had the 3R/3R genotype. In addition, a significant interaction was observed between the TS promoter polymorphism and the 677C &amp;gt; T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR; P for interaction = 0.007). These findings lend additional support that one-carbon metabolism is an important process in pathogenesis of colorectal cancer.

Test-retest reliability of the alcohol use disorder identification test in a general population sample.

A number of different screening tests are frequently used in alcohol research, but our knowledge about the reliability of many of them is quite limited. Recently, this problem has received more attention. This article examines the test-retest reliability of one of these instruments-the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)-in a general population sample. A general population sample (n = 457) was tested and, after approximately 1 month, was retested by using the AUDIT. Correlation between the two tests has been examined with the intraclass correlation coefficient and the kappa coefficient in analysis of dichotomous variables. Specificity and sensitivity at a number of different cutoff scores have also been analyzed by using the first test as a criterion. On the item level, the correlations ranged between 0.6 and 0.8. The overall reliability of total AUDIT scores was 0.84. When stratified by gender, age, and consumer status, the total score reliability approximated 0.80 for all the categories except low alcohol consumers (0.51). Agreement using the recommended cutoff score of 8+ was also examined. The reliability (kappa) observed in the whole sample was 0.691, which was interpreted as a substantial agreement. By this cutoff, 91% were correctly classified at retest compared with the first test. AUDIT 8+ showed higher reliability for males, young people, and moderate consumers and low reliability among low consumers. In terms of reliability, the most optimal cutoff for women turned out to be 6 or more. According to these results, the test-retest reliability of AUDIT is high. The next step might be to examine to what extent the findings apply within health-care settings, which is what the test originally was designed for.

Alcohol-preferring rats in colonies show withdrawal, inactivity, and lowered dominance

Rats with free access to water and 10% alcohol were raised in enriched, social colonies for prolonged periods of time. Then those animals which had developed extreme alcohol or water preferences were identified for further study. These selected animals were marked and returned to the colony. Both high and low alcohol consumers showed increased alcohol consumption just prior to feeding, but only the high consumers had a peak of alcohol consumption during the early morning hours. Compared to low consumers, high alcohol consumers ate less food, ran less in the activity wheel, spent more time in the burrows, and ranked low on several dominance measures. When access to alcohol was removed in the colony, these high alcohol consumers became more active but remained low in dominance. When tested in photocell cages, they showed a pattern of hyperactivity suggesting withdrawal effects. This sub-population of animals from rat colonies who voluntarily prefer alcohol to water represent a novel and social animal model of chronic alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Consumption and Blood Pressure in a Group of Young Australian Males

Several studies have suggested that regular consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with hypertension. Recent studies, however, have implied tht whilst moderate or high ingestion of alcohol may be detrimental, a threshold exists for alcohol consumption below which alcohol may even exert a beneficial effect. As part of a larger study of a male, service population (average age 23 years) undergoing an initial training course of ten weeks duration, we measured both blood pressure and alcohol consumption in 350 men at entry and/or exit from the course. Alcohol intake was assessed using a supervised, self-administered dietary questionnaire which included two pre-tested measures of alcohol consumption. High alcohol consumption in these young men was not related to elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressure; neither was the recently reported lowering of blood pressure in low alcohol consumers compared to non-drinkers, apparent in this young population. The lack of relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure in this predominantly young group suggests that the relationship, if there is one, between these two factors only becomes clinically obvious either with longer exposure to alcohol, or in an older age group in whom the mechanism of control of blood pressure may already be somewhat compromised by other age-related physiological changes which are not readily measurable.

Psychosocial Factors in Alcohol‐Discordant Twins

SummarySixty‐three alcohol‐discordant male twin pairs, aged 45–65 years, have been investigated with respect to psycho‐social conditions, psychiatric symptoms and use of psychotropic drugs. The low consumers were significantly more often found to be married and to remain married in their first marriage, to have children and to have a higher education than their high consuming co‐twins. No differences were obtained as regards employment, income, living standard or criminality. A significantly larger number of the high consumers had been convicted for being drunk. As far as political and social activities are concerned the high alcohol consumers showed less interest and activity than their low‐consuming co‐twins. No evident disparities were found with respect to psychiatric symptoms and use of psychotropic drugs but a significantly larger number of the high consumers had seen a physician because of nervousness. The results indicate different life styles and personality traits in the group of high consumers as compared to the low alcohol consumers but no differences as to serious social disturbances between the two groups.