Moderate Alcohol Drinking Research Articles

‘I don’t think it’s risky, but…’: pregnant women’s risk perceptions of maternal drinking and smoking

In Switzerland, official recommendations relating to alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy are based on a zero-tolerance policy. However, epidemiological research indicates that some pregnant women do not adhere to the abstinence principle, and this raises the issue of how pregnant women identify and respond to health risks. This article draws on a sociocultural study of 50 mainly white, partnered and educated pregnant women carried out in Switzerland between May 2008 and June 2009. The study used semi-structured interviews that examined how and in what ways pregnancy had changed women’s consumption of alcohol and tobacco and their perceptions of their riskiness. In this article we draw on these data to examine participants’ perceptions of the risks of smoking and drinking during pregnancy. We examine three main issues: women’s understandings of official recommendations, their contextualisation of risk in daily life and the moral issues which they saw surrounding smoking and drinking during pregnancy. We found that the women in our study perceived drinking and smoking during pregnancy as different types of risks with different meanings. The participants contextualised official recommendations about drinking during pregnancy and had their own views about its riskiness. In contrast all participants saw smoking as harmful and risky irrespective of the level of consumption. The pregnant women in our study saw smoking during pregnancy as a risk-taking behaviour and a failure to act in the best interest of the foetus. In contrast, under certain conditions, they saw moderate drinking of alcohol during pregnancy as acceptable and responsible behaviour.

Daily mood–drinking slopes as predictors: A new take on drinking motives and related outcomes.

Motivational models of alcohol consumption have articulated the manner in which positive and negative experiences motivate drinking in unique social contexts (e.g., M. L. Cooper, M. R. Frone, M. Russell & P. Mudar, 1995, Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 69, pp. 990-1005). Daily process methodology, in which daily events, moods, and drinking behaviors are reported daily or multiple times per day, has been used to examine behavioral patterns that are consistent with discrete motivations. We advance the notion that repeated patterns of drinking in various social contexts as a function of positive or negative mood increases can provide evidence of individual-level if-then drinking signatures, which in turn can predict drinking-related outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of slopes to predict longer term drinking motivations and alcohol problems by employing a daily-process study of nonclinical moderate alcohol drinkers (N = 47; 49% women). Participants responded to thrice daily interviews administered via handheld computer for 30 days, followed by a longitudinal telephone survey for 12 months. Participants' daily mood-drinking relationships were extracted from hierarchical linear modeling and employed as predictors of 12-month outcomes in multiple regression analyses. Daily mood-drinking patterns demonstrated significant variability across persons, such that moderate drinkers could be reliably differentiated based on those patterns in terms of distinct drinking-related outcomes. Among the results, negative-mood-solitary-drinking slopes were associated with lower subsequent coping motives but positive-mood-solitary-drinking slopes were predictive of higher coping and lower social motives. Conversely, positive-mood-social-drinking associations were predictive of higher enhancement motives and brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test scores. Results are interpreted in light of motivational models of consumption.

The comparative effects of clozapine versus haloperidol on initiation and maintenance of alcohol drinking in male alcohol-preferring P rat

Alcohol use disorder, characterized by modest levels of alcohol use, commonly occurs in patients with schizophrenia and dramatically worsens their course. Recent data indicate that the atypical antipsychotic clozapine, but not the typical antipsychotic haloperidol, decreases alcohol drinking both in patients with schizophrenia and also in the Syrian golden hamster, an animal model of moderate alcohol drinking. The present study was designed to assess the comparative effects of clozapine and haloperidol in the alcohol-preferring (P) rat, an animal model of alcoholism. First, the study investigated the comparative effects of clozapine and haloperidol on initiation of alcohol consumption in P rats, which models the early stage of alcoholism. Second, the study assessed the comparative effects of clozapine and haloperidol on maintenance of chronic alcohol consumption in P rats to provide a clue as to whether either drug may also limit alcohol consumption in alcohol-dependent patients. Clozapine attenuated the initiation of alcohol drinking and development of alcohol preference while haloperidol did not. However, neither clozapine nor haloperidol attenuated maintenance of chronic alcohol drinking. Taken together, the current data suggest that clozapine, but not haloperidol, may be effective at reducing alcohol abuse or non-dependent drinking and the P rat, used within an alcohol initiation paradigm, and may differentiate the effects of clozapine and haloperidol on alcohol drinking.

Alcohol consumption in stage 1 hypertensive subjects increases the risk of developing prediabetes

Purpose: The association of alcohol use with risk of prediabetes is controversial. We did a prospective study to investigate whether alcohol consumption was an independent predictor of risk of prediabetes in the early stage of hypertension. Methods: The study was conducted in a cohort of 1177 stage 1 hypertensive subjects from the HARVEST. Data were adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, physical activity habits, duration of hypertension, and cigarette smoking. Participants were divided into four groups: 1) nondrinkers, 2) mild drinkers (< 50 g/day), 3) moderate drinkers (50-100 g/day), and 4) heavy drinkers (> 100 g/day). Mean follow-up duration was 6.5 years. Results: Participants with alcohol consumption ≥50 g/day had higher serum glucose (p=0.02) and total cholesterol (p=0.03) concentrations. Heavy alcohol drinkers had an increased risk of sustained hypertension compared to nondrinkers (hazard ratio, 95% CI: 3.1, 1.4-7.2). At follow-up end, 282 subjects met the criteria for prediabetes (serum glucose between 100 and 125 mg/dL). In a multivariable Cox regression model using prediabetes as the outcome variable, alcohol use was significantly associated with prediabetes (p<0.006). However, the risk of prediabetes was not increased among the mild alcohol users (p=0.42), whereas it was increased among the moderate users (hazard ratio, 95% CI: 1.6, 1.1-2.5) and the heavy users (4.2, 1.5-11.9). The association between alcohol consumption and risk of prediabetes remained unchanged when change of body weight during follow-up was included in the Cox model (p=0.006) and was slightly attenuated when baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressures were incorporated (p=0.01). When baseline serum glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides were included in the model, moderate alcohol drinking was no longer associated with outcome (p=0.38) but the risk of prediabetes remained elevated in the heavy alcohol drinkers (hazard ratio, 95% CI: 6.4, 1.9-21.1). Conclusion: Moderate and heavy alcohol drinking (≥ 50 g/die) is associated with a poorer metabolic profile and an increased risk of developing prediabetes.

Combined impact of smoking and heavy alcohol use on cognitive decline in early old age: Whitehall II prospective cohort study

Identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline may inform prevention of dementia. To examine the combined impact of cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption on cognitive decline from midlife. Prospective cohort study (Whitehall II cohort) with three clinical examinations in 1997/99, 2002/04 and 2007/09. Participants were 6473 adults (72% men), mean age 55.76 years (s.d. = 6.02) in 1997/99. Four cognitive tests, assessed three times over 10 years, combined into a global z-score (mean 0, s.d. = 1). Age-related decline in the global cognitive score was faster in individuals who were smoking heavy drinkers than in non-smoking moderate alcohol drinkers (reference group). The interaction term (P = 0.04) suggested that the combined effects of smoking and alcohol consumption were greater than their individual effects. Adjusting for age, gender, education and chronic diseases, 10-year decline in global cognition was -0.42 z-scores (95% CI -0.45 to -0.39) for the reference group. In individuals who were heavy alcohol drinkers who also smoked the decline was -0.57 z-scores (95% CI -0.67 to -0.48); 36% faster than the reference group. Individuals who were smokers who drank alcohol heavily had a 36% faster cognitive decline, equivalent to an age-effect of 2 extra years over 10-year follow-up, compared with individuals who were non-smoking moderate drinkers.

A meta-analysis of alcohol consumption and the risk of brain tumours

Alcohol is capable of traversing the blood-brain barrier and is thus a possible risk factor for brain cancer. Several epidemiological studies have been published on the issue, a number of those during recent years, with inconsistent findings. We performed a systematic literature search in the Medline and EMBASE databases. We found a total of 19 studies providing risk estimates for total alcohol or specific alcoholic beverages. Pooled estimates of the relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects models. The pooled RR of brain cancer for alcohol drinkers versus non-drinkers was 0.97 (95% CI 0.82-1.15; based on 12 studies). Moderate (<2 drinks/day) and heavy alcohol drinkers had RRs of 1.01 (95% CI 0.81-1.25) and 1.35 (95% CI 0.85-2.15), respectively. With reference to specific alcoholic beverages, the RRs were 1.01 (95% CI 0.70-1.48) for wine, 0.96 (95% CI 0.82-1.12) for beer, and 1.20 (95% CI 1.01-1.42) for spirit consumption. The RRs for drinkers versus non-drinkers were 0.93 (95% CI 0.81-1.07) for glioma and 0.71 (95% CI 0.45-1.12) for meningioma. Alcohol drinking does not appear to be associated with adult brain cancer, though a potential effect of high doses deserves further study.

Recent alcohol consumption and risk of incident ovarian carcinoma: a pooled analysis of 5,342 cases and 10,358 controls from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium

BackgroundStudies evaluating the association between alcohol intake and ovarian carcinoma (OC) are inconsistent. Because OC and ovarian borderline tumor histologic types differ genetically, molecularly and clinically, large numbers are needed to estimate risk associations.MethodsWe pooled data from 12 case-control studies in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium comprising 5,342 OC cases, 1,455 borderline tumors and 10,358 controls with quantitative information on recent alcohol intake to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to frequencies of average daily intakes of beer, wine, liquor and total alcohol.ResultsTotal alcohol intake was not associated with all OC: consumption of >3 drinks per day compared to none, OR=0.92, 95% CI=0.76-1.10, P trend=0.27. Among beverage types, a statistically non-significant decreased risk was observed among women who consumed >8 oz/d of wine compared to none (OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.68-1.01, P trend=0.08). This association was more apparent among women with clear cell OC (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.22-0.83; P trend=0.02), although based on only 10 cases and not statistically different from the other histologic types (P value for statistical heterogeneity between histologic types = 0.09). Statistical heterogeneity of the alcohol- and wine-OC associations was seen among three European studies, but not among eight North American studies. No statistically significant associations were observed in separate analyses evaluating risk with borderline tumors of serous or mucinous histology. Smoking status did not significantly modify any of the associations.ConclusionsWe found no evidence that recent moderate alcohol drinking is associated with increased risk for overall OC, or that variation in risk is associated strongly with specific histologic types. Understanding modifiable causes of these elusive and deadly cancers remains a priority for the research community.

The Effects of Ethanol on the Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Safety, and Tolerability of Ezogabine (Retigabine)

BackgroundThe antiepileptic drug ezogabine (EZG; US adopted name for retigabine [the international nonproprietary name]) reduces neuronal excitability by enhancing potassium channel activity. EZG has been approved as adjunctive treatment for adults with partial-onset seizures. ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to examine the impact of coadministration of ethanol 1 g/kg on the safety and tolerability of EZG and the consequences of coadministration on pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) parameters in healthy volunteers. MethodsIn a randomized, 4-way crossover, partially double-blind study, volunteers received 4 oral treatments (EZG 200 mg + ethanol placebo [light apple juice]; placebo + ethanol 1 g/kg; EZG 200 mg + ethanol 1 g/kg; or placebo + ethanol placebo) separated by 5 to 21 days. ResultsPK and PD parameters were evaluated in 17 healthy volunteers (19 to 55 years) who were currently moderate alcohol drinkers. Ethanol coadministration increased EZG AUC0–∞ and Cmax by 36% and 23%, respectively. EZG had no impact on ethanol PK. Ethanol alone impaired balance, blurred vision, and increased intoxication and dizziness. Objective tests (reaction times, response accuracy, attention, and manual tracking) were also impaired by ethanol. EZG treatment alone had no impact on PD measures other than a variable, transient increase in blurred vision (vision clear–crisp visual analog scale scores). Treatments were generally tolerated, with no serious adverse events or discontinuations owing to adverse events. ConclusionsEthanol increased EZG exposure, which did not seem to be clinically relevant. Except for an increase in blurred vision, impairment effects observed were related primarily to ethanol and were not exacerbated by the addition of EZG, which was generally tolerated with or without ethanol.

Is ‘metabolically healthy’ obesity a benign condition?

Is ‘metabolically healthy’ obesity a benign condition?

Intake and blood concentrations of folate and their association with health-related behaviors in Korean college students

The purpose of this study is to assess folate intake, and serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations, and investigate the association between folate status and health-related behaviors among Korean college students. A total of 169 students, aged between 18 and 27 years, participated in this study. Dietary intake data were collected by trained interviewers using a 24-hour recall method for three non-consecutive days in 2009. Information on health-related behaviors was obtained by a self-administered questionnaire. Serum and RBC folate concentrations were measured by microbiological assay. The average intakes of folate were 456 µgDFE and 347 µgDFE in male and female students, respectively. While the average serum folate concentration was significantly lower in male students (8.9 ng/mL) compared to female students (12.5 ng/mL), RBC concentrations were not significantly different between male (398.6 ng/mL) and female students (405.3 ng/mL). In male students, low serum folate concentrations were associated with total folate intake less than the Estimated Average Requirement, non-use of folic acid supplements, smoking, alcohol drinking at least once a week and low physical activity. In female students, low serum folate concentrations were associated with smoking and alcohol drinking at least two drinks at a time and BMI ≥ 25. Alcohol drinking and low physical activity were also associated with low RBC folate concentrations in both male and female students. In order to improve folate nutritional status of college students, the practice of desirable health-related behaviors, such as non-smoking, moderate alcohol drinking, regular physical activity, and maintenance of healthy BMI should be encouraged along with consumption of folate-rich foods and supplements.

Association between alcohol consumption and symptom severity and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia

IntroductionAlthough alcohol consumption is a common lifestyle behavior with previous studies reporting positive effects of alcohol on chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis, no studies to this date have examined alcohol consumption in patients with fibromyalgia. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and symptom severity and quality of life (QOL) in patients with fibromyalgia.MethodsData on self-reported alcohol consumption from 946 patients were analyzed. Subjects were grouped by level of alcohol consumption (number of drinks/week): none, low (≤3), moderate (>3 to 7), and heavy (>7).Univariate analyses were used to find potential confounders, and analysis of covariance was used to adjust for these confounders. Tukey HSD pairwise comparisons were used to determine differences between alcohol groups.ResultsFive hundred and forty-six subjects (58%) did not consume alcohol. Low, moderate, and heavy levels of alcohol consumption were reported for 338 (36%), 31 (3%), and 31 patients (3%), respectively. Employment status (P <0.001), education level (P = 0.009), body mass index (P = 0.002) and opioid use (P = 0.002) differed significantly among groups with drinkers having higher education, a lower BMI, and a lower frequency of unemployment and opioid use than nondrinkers. After adjusting for these differences, the measures including the number of tender points (P = 0.01), FIQ total score (P = 0.01), physical function (P <0.001), work missed (P = 0.005), job ability (P = 0.03), and pain (P = 0.001) differed across groups, as did the SF-36 subscales of physical functioning (P <0.001), pain index (P = 0.002), general health perception (P = 0.02), social functioning (P = 0.02), and the physical component summary (P <0.001). Pairwise comparison among the 4 groups showed that the moderate and low alcohol drinkers had lower severity of fibromyalgia symptoms and better physical QOL than nondrinkers.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that low and moderate alcohol consumption was associated with lower fibromyalgia symptoms and better QOL compared to no alcohol consumption. The reasons for these results are unclear. Since recent studies have demonstrated that γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) levels are low in fibromyalgia, and alcohol is known to be a GABA-agonist, future studies should examine whether alcohol could have a salutary effect on pain and other symptoms in fibromyalgia.

Equiano Narratives: An Historical Inquiry into Igbo Drinking Culture

The drinking habits of the lgbo people changed with their contact with Europeans around 1600s through their coastal neighbours. Prior to this contact, the only alcoholic brand known to the people was palm wine. Prominent Igbo merchants such as the Aro played vital role in spreading European trade goods such as alcohol in exchange for slaves, As a result of the absence of written source ,Equaino narratives of 1789 offers a useful alternative in understanding the fact that the Europeans importation of brands such as Schnapps, Brandy, Whiskey, Rum, etc altered the cultural habits of the people with regards to alcohol use. Using Equiano narratives therefore, this paper concludes that Igbo people were moderate alcohol drinkers relying solely on palm wine prior to their contact with Europeans.

Influence of daily alcohol consumption on serum adiponectin levels in men

BackgroundThe risk of cardiovascular diseases is lower among moderate alcohol drinkers than among both nondrinkers and heavy drinkers. However, factors that can account for the U-shaped or J-shaped relationship between daily alcohol consumption and incident cardiovascular diseases remain obscure. PurposeThe present cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and serum adiponectin levels. MethodTotal adiponectin was measured in 527 males participating in health check-up programs (age range 40–86 years, mean 60.5 years). Based on questionnaire responses, alcohol intake was categorized into three groups: none or occasional (A1); <50 g/day and ≥3 days/week (A2); and ≥50 g/day and ≥3 days/week (A3). ResultsNo significant differences in adiponectin levels were observed among the three alcohol consumption groups of subjects without the metabolic syndrome (MetS). In subjects with the MetS, the adiponectin level was significantly higher in the A2 (moderate drinker) group than in both the A1 and A3 groups. MetS subjects in group A2 had higher HDL-C levels than those in A1, but levels in group A3 were not significantly different from those in group A2. ConclusionAn increased adiponectin level in moderate alcohol drinkers who have MetS may contribute to the U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of cardiovascular events, in addition to the involvement of HDL-C.

A Theoretical Analysis of Smoking and Alcoholism

A mathematical model for the spread of alcoholism and smoking is designed and analysed to gain insights into this growing health and social problem. The reproduction number and equilibria states of the model are determined and their local asymptotic stabilities investigated. Analysis of the reproduction number have shown conditions under which encouraging and supporting moderate alcohol drinkers (smokers) to quit alcohol consumption (smoking) is more effective in the control of alcoholism (smoking) than supporting and encouraging alcoholics (smoking addicts) to quit and vice-versa. Numerical simulations show that smoking greatly enhances alcoholism and vice-versa. Thus, as shown by the numerics encouraging and supporting all smokers (alcohol drinkers) to quit smoking (alcohol drinking) also contribute meaningfully to alcohol (smoking) control programmes.

Alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking and subtypes of haematological malignancy in the UK Million Women Study.

Background:Previous research suggests associations of lower alcohol intake and higher tobacco consumption with increased risks of haematological malignancy. The prospective Million Women Study provides sufficient power for reliable estimates of subtype-specific associations in women.Methods:Approximately 1.3 million middle-aged women were recruited in the United Kingdom during 1996–2001 and followed for death, emigration and cancer registration until 2009 (mean 10.3 years per woman); potential risk factors were assessed by questionnaire. Adjusted relative risks were estimated by Cox regression.Results:During follow-up, 9162 incident cases of haematological malignancy were recorded, including 7047 lymphoid and 2072 myeloid cancers. Among predominantly moderate alcohol drinkers, higher intake was associated with lower risk of lymphoid malignancies, in particular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (relative risk 0.85 per 10 g alcohol per day (95% confidence interval 0.75–0.96)), follicular lymphoma (0.86 (0.76–0.98)) and plasma cell neoplasms (0.86 (0.77–0.96)). Among never- and current smokers, higher cigarette consumption was associated with increased risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (1.45 per 10 cigarettes per day (1.22–1.72)), mature T-cell malignancies (1.38 (1.10–1.73)) and myeloproliferative/myelodysplastic disease (1.42 (1.31–1.55)).Conclusion:These findings confirm and extend existing evidence for associations of subtypes of haematological malignancy with two common exposures in women.

Alcohol consumption and prostate cancer risk

Inconsistent results on the relationship between alcohol drinking and prostate cancer have been found. In order to provide a definite quantification of the dose-risk relation, we investigated the risk of prostate cancer at different levels of alcohol consumption, by conducting a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. We performed a literature search using PubMed of all case-control and cohort studies published as original articles in English up to December 2010. We identified 50 case-control and 22 cohort studies, including a total of 52 899 prostate cancer cases. We derived pooled meta-analytic estimates using random-effects models, taking into account the correlation between estimates. We performed a dose-risk analysis using nonlinear random-effects meta-regression models. The overall relative risk for any alcohol drinking compared with non/occasional drinking was 1.06 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.10]. The relative risks were 1.05 (95% CI, 1.02-1.08), 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01-1.11), and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.97-1.20) for light (≤1 drink/day), moderate (>1 to <4 drinks/day), and heavy alcohol drinking (≥4 drinks/day), respectively. This comprehensive meta-analysis provided no evidence of a material association between alcohol drinking and prostate cancer, even at high doses.

Abstract P055: Diet, Lifestyle And Blood Pressure of Non-alcohol Drinkers and Alcohol Drinkers in The Intermap Study

Background: Non-drinkers and alcohol drinkers differ in social and cultural traits, lifestyle habits (e.g., smoking, exercise, diet) and blood pressure (BP). Objective: Assess whether differences in lifestyle traits, particularly food intake, among non-alcohol drinkers, moderate and heavy alcohol drinkers account for higher BP of heavy drinkers. Methods: The INTERMAP Study is a cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation of 4,680 men and women ages 40–59 years from 17 population samples in China, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. With standardized quality-controlled methods, four 24-hour dietary recalls, 2 timed 24-hour urine collections, 8 BP measurements and questionnaire data were accrued. Data on lifetime alcohol use and daily alcohol consumption over the previous 7 days were obtained at two visits (14 days total). Results: Heavy alcohol drinkers (&gt;26 g alcohol/day for men; &gt;13 g alcohol/day for women) were more likely to be cigarette smokers, and had lower age-sex-sample adjusted mean body mass index (BMI) and higher adjusted total energy intake than moderate and non-alcohol drinkers (P&lt;0.001). Heavy alcohol drinkers had mean systolic and diastolic BP higher by 3.2/2.1 mm Hg (P&lt;0.001) compared to non/moderate drinkers adjusted for sex, population sample, age, years of education, cigarette smoking, physical activity, employment, marital status, family history of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus diagnosis, supplement intake, and special diet. With additional adjustment for BMI, the BP differences between non/moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers increased 8% to 3.5 mm Hg for systolic and 2.3 mm Hg for diastolic (P&lt;0.001). Heavy drinkers had significantly lower intakes of pasta and rice, bread, cereals, milk, ice-cream, table spread, vegetable oil, fresh fruits, fruit juices, raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, sweet snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, and higher intakes of meat, fish, shellfish and nuts compared to non-drinkers and moderate drinkers. Of 17 foods with significantly different intakes between heavy drinkers and non/moderate drinkers had little or no influence on the higher BP of heavy drinkers (range from 0.00 to 0.16 mm Hg, 0 to 5% changes). With adjustment for possible confounders and multiple foods, the adjusted mean BP differences between non/moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers were 3.2 mm Hg for systolic (P&lt;0.001) and 2.1 mm Hg for diastolic (P&lt;0.001). Results were similar for men and women analysed separately. Conclusions: Differences in food intake did not account for the significantly higher BP among heavy drinkers suggesting that other lifestyle traits may operate, and/or that heavy drinking per se is the responsible trait.

Polymorphism of the DNA repair genes RAD51 and XRCC2 in smoking- and drinking-related laryngeal cancer in a Polish population

IntroductionCigarette smoke and alcohol can generate reactive oxygen species, which may induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), the most serious DNA lesion. In humans, DSBs are repaired mainly by non-homologous end joining and homologous recombination repair (HRR). Several polymorphisms in the DNA repair gene have been extensively studied in the association with various human cancers. In the present work we investigated the association between polymorphisms of two HRR genes, XRCC2 and RAD51, and tobacco- and alcohol-related larynx cancer in a Polish population.Material and methodsTwo polymorphisms of the XRCC2 gene, –41657C > T (rs718282) and 31479G > A (rs3218536), as well as one polymorphism of the RAD51 gene, –135G > C (rs1801320), were investigated by PCR-RFLP in 253 patients with larynx cancer and 253 age- and sex-matched non-cancer controls.ResultsAnalysis of the gene-smoking and -drinking interactions revealed a weak association between larynx cancer and the –41657C > T polymorphisms of the XRCC2 gene among the moderate alcohol drinkers. The C allele of the –135G > C polymorphism of RAD51 increased cancer risk in the smoker group. Increased risk was also found for heavy drinkers. Additionally, there were no significant differences between distributions of genotypes in subgroups assigned to different TNM stages and grades.ConclusionsThe results indicated that the –135G > C polymorphism of the RAD51 gene may be associated with smoking- and drinking-related larynx cancer in Poland.

Moderate allcohol intake for even a short duration has deleterious effects on hematologic profile in Indian men

Background: The damage that long-term alcohol abuse can do to the hematologic profile, is well documented; but, whether moderate alcohol intake for a short duration; alters hematologic profile or not, has not been established. Objective: In the present study, we examined hematologic profile in a group of short-term moderate alcohol drinkers and age and sex matched controls. Materials and Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted in one of the tertiary care hospital. We recruited thirty young (20-40 years) men with history of daily 2 to 3 units of alcohol intake/day for the past 1 to 3 years duration. Another thirty age matched men, who were alcohol abstainers, served as controls. Two ml of blood was collected from anterior cubital vein after 12 hours of fasting. Hematological parameters were measured by using KX-21 Sysmex Automated Hematology Analyzer. Data were presented as means ± SD, and analysed using the one tailed unpaired (equal variance) ‘t’ test. The level of significance was taken at P values < 0.05. Results: We observed that the MCV value was significantly higher and platelet count was significantly lower in the moderate drinkers as compared to controls. Conclusion: Moderate alcohol intake for even a short duration has deleterious effects on hematologic profile in Indian men.

Alcohol Consumption Patterns, Beverage Type, and Long-Term Mortality Among Women Survivors of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Although moderate alcohol drinkers have lower rates of incident coronary artery disease than abstainers, much less is known about the health effects of different patterns of alcohol use in women with established coronary artery disease. In the Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study, 1,253 women hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (MI) at 64 centers nationwide from 1989 to 1996 were followed for mortality through December 31, 2007. Of the women, 761 (61%) reported abstention in the year before their MIs, 280 (22%) reported consumption of <1 serving/week, 75 (6%) reported consumption of 1 to 3 servings/week, and 137 (11%) reported consumption of ≥3 servings/week. Using Cox proportional-hazards models, the associations between total weekly volume of consumption, drinking days per week, drinks per drinking day, and beverage type with 10-year mortality were investigated, adjusting for clinical and socioeconomic potential confounders. Compared with abstention, adjusted hazard ratios were 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.50 to 0.86) for <1 serving/week, 0.65 (95% confidence interval 0.38 to 1.11) for 1 to 3 servings/week, and 0.65 (95% confidence interval 0.38 to 1.11) for ≥3 servings/week (p for trend = 0.008). No differences were found by beverage type, and generally inverse associations of drinking frequency and quantity with mortality were found. In conclusion, in women who survive MI, moderate drinking is associated with a decreased risk for mortality, with no clear differences on the basis of pattern or beverage type. These results suggest that women who survive MI need not abstain from alcohol, but any derived benefit would appear to occur well below currently recommended limits in alcohol consumption.