Percentage Of Drinkers Research Articles

Technical Report—Applying Physics and Sensory Sciences to Spirits Nosing Vessel Design to Improve Evaluation Diagnostics and Drinking Enjoyment

Ethanol is the direct by-product of distillation. The vast majority of straight spirit beverages are bottled at 40%+ ABV (alcohol by volume). Aficionados, critics, spirits judges, and a significant percentage of drinkers choose to drink and evaluate spirits at bottled strength from traditional vessels. Olfactory perceptions are quickly compromised by abundant ethanol, numbing olfactory sensors and severely inhibiting aroma detection during evaluation. Traditional vessel redesigns have concentrated on minor styling changes, ignoring olfactory and physical sciences. Consumers’ continued search for value and quality and increased dependency on spirits competitions as a primary source of ratings emphasizes the need for a functional diagnostic vessel which displays and delivers aromas unobscured by ethanol olfactory numbing. The application of olfactory and physical science creates an engineered tasting vessel which eliminates severe ethanol olfactory numbing, optimizes aroma definition, and significantly improves diagnostics for those who evaluate, judge, rate, distill, and enjoy flavor nuances of spirits.

Lifestyles and Complementary Medicine: A Survey in the Region of Tuscany

Background: According to the international literature, users of Complementary Medicine (CM), Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) are more active, less overweight and have healthier lifestyles. Aim: To evaluate the lifestyle of patients of CM public clinics in the Region of Tuscany and compare it with general data of the surveillance system Multiscopo in Tuscan population (Istat 2013) adjusted for sex and age. Methods: In 2014, the Tuscan Network of Integrative Medicine (now called Tuscan Regional Center for Integrative Medicine) in co-operation with the Regional Health Agency of Tuscany distributed to 1,064 patients (age≥18) visited in CM public clinics, questionnaires on lifestyles. Data included exercise, smoking, diet, alcohol, etc. For data comparison, the sample was divided according to the level of education (medium-low and medium-high). Results: All the subjects who used CM had less sedentary (statistically significant) habits compared to controls in both groups. The consumption of fruit and/or vegetables was also significantly higher among the patients who used CM. Smoking was significantly lower among CM users with medium-low educational level and obesity was higher compared to the corresponding control group. The percentage of drinkers at risk was higher in CM users with medium-low level of education compared to general Tuscan population. Conclusions: CM patients ate more fruit and vegetables, were moderately less sedentary than the general Tuscan population and smoked less compared to the control group (medium-low educational level). However, lifestyles of our sample were not as healthy as the literature usually reports regarding alcohol consumption and obesity.

Briefer assessment of social network drinking: A test of the Important People Instrument-5 (IP-5).

The Important People instrument (IP; Longabaugh et al., 2010) is one of the most commonly used measures of social network drinking. Although its reliability and validity are well-supported, the length of the instrument may limit its use in many settings. The present study evaluated whether a briefer, 5-person version of the IP (IP-5) adequately reproduces scores from the full IP. College freshmen (N = 1,053) reported their own past-month drinking, alcohol-related consequences, and information about drinking in their close social networks at baseline and 1 year later. From this we derived network members' drinking frequency, percentage of drinkers, and percentage of heavy drinkers, assessed for up to 10 (full IP) or 5 (IP-5) network members. We first modeled the expected concordance between full-IP scores and scores from simulated shorter IP instruments by sampling smaller subsets of network members from full IP data. Then, using quasi-experimental methods, we administered the full IP and IP-5 and compared the 2 instruments' score distributions and concurrent and year-lagged associations with participants' alcohol consumption and consequences. Most of the full-IP variance was reproduced from simulated shorter versions of the IP (ICCs ≥ 0.80). The full IP and IP-5 yielded similar score distributions, concurrent associations with drinking (r = 0.22 to 0.52), and year-lagged associations with drinking. The IP-5 retains most of the information about social network drinking from the full IP. The shorter instrument may be useful in clinical and research settings that require frequent measure administration, yielding greater temporal resolution for monitoring social network drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record

Drinking patterns and drunk-driving behaviour in Catalonia, Spain: A comparative study

This study explores three alcohol-related databases so as to provide a comprehensive understanding of drinking patterns and the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving in Catalonia (Spain). The rate of alcohol-impaired drivers is compared with the percentage of drinkers in this population, with a particular focus on heavy episodic drinkers. Two strategies adopted by law enforcement agents when conducting alcohol breath tests are examined: (i) non-random and (ii) random approaches to roadblock location and driver selection. We find that heavy drinker profiles (in terms of age and gender) closely match those of alcohol-impaired drivers detected at strategically located, non-random sobriety checkpoints (especially in the case of female drivers), and that they also correlate with the age-gender distribution of drivers involved in road accidents with victims. Different drink driving patterns are detected when sobriety checkpoints are located randomly and drivers are tested at random. Older drivers are identified as a risk group as they abandon the safer driving habits in relation to alcohol shown when they were middle-aged. A combination of non-random and random controls would increase driver perception of their chances of being detected when drink driving. As such, the whole population, regardless of their drinking profile, would be alerted to the serious personal, social and legal implications of alcohol-impaired driving.

건강증진 관점에서 본 음주와 음주폐해 감소 정책

Objectives: This is to review drinking behavior and policies to reduce harms caused by alcohol use in Korea and to discuss their implications from a health promotion perspective. Methods: A purported selection was made to include extant literature on drinking behaviors and alcohol control policies into this review. For drinking behaviors reports of national health statistics were used while reports of alcohol control policies submitted to public institutes/organizations were selected for review. Results: Alcohol consumption per capita indicates stable trends over the last two decades. However, percentages of drinkers with high risk drinking over time vary; men remains stable while female appears to increase. Relatively, a few data and/or reports were available about harms derived from alcohol use. Although there are alcohol policies being cost-effective to deal with alcohol related harm in Western society, few alcohol policy available in Korea of being effective, cost-effective with respect to reduction of harms associated with alcohol use. Conclusions: Policy emphasis should be shift from drinkers to availability of alcohol to reduce alcohol related harms with taking health in all policies into consideration. Both statutory mechanism and public acceptance should be of high priority in putting recommended alcohol policy into action.

Alcohol consumption is inversely associated with stage 3 chronic kidney disease in middle-aged Taiwanese men

BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global public health burden, but there is limited understanding of the relationship of alcohol consumption with CKD.MethodsIn this cross-sectional multivariable study, all participants of a health check-up program in Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital in Taiwan from 2003 to 2009 (15 353 women and 11 900 men) were included for analysis. Estimated glomerular filtration rate was used to define CKD stage and history of alcohol consumption was obtained by self-reporting. Multivariable logistic regression analyses of gender-specific association of alcohol drinking with stage 3 CKD were conducted. A trend tests was conducted to check the dose–response relationship of alcohol consumption with renal disease. A sensitivity test was conducted to rule out the likelihood of reverse causality.ResultsThe prevalence of stage 3 CKD was lower in drinkers than non-drinkers (p < 0.001) and the percentage of drinkers with stage 3 CKD was less than that of non-drinkers. Multivariable analysis indicated that alcohol consumption was negatively associated with the presence of stage 3 CKD in men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for occasional drinking: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.59 ~ 0.78, p < 0.001; aOR for frequent drinking: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.35 ~ 0.63, p < 0.001). Advanced age, hypertension, anemia, BMI of at least 24, hyperuricemia, and proteinuria were also associated with stage 3 CKD in men. Trend tests indicated lower odds of having stage 3 CKD with increased alcohol consumption in both genders. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity tests also indicated the reverse association between alcohol consumption and stage 3 CKD in men regardless of age, diabetes status, and other risky behaviors.ConclusionsAlcohol consumption was inversely associated with stage 3 CKD in Taiwanese men. However, considering the potential of other health damage with alcohol consumption, the current results should be interpreted cautiously.

GW24-e3877 ansporter gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension

ObjectivesEssential hypertension (EH) is an etiological risk factor that poses a serious threat to human health. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the correlation between the two...

Investigation of the correlation between norepinephrine transporter gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension

Essential hypertension (EH) is an etiological risk factor that poses a serious threat to human health. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the correlation between the two SNPs (rs1805067 and rs2397771) of the norepinephrine (NE) transporter gene in the sympathetic nervous system and essential hypertension (EH). A total of 96 hypertensive patients (EH group) and 96 normal subjects (control group) were selected by epidemiological investigation and the sequences at rs1805067 and rs2397771 in the two groups were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing. In the EH group, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), levels of creatinine, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and the percentage of drinkers were found to be higher compared with those of the control group (P<0.05). The results of the analysis of the allele frequencies of rs1805067 (A/G) revealed that there was no difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The analysis results of the allele frequencies of rs2397771 (C/G) in the EH group revealed that G accounted for 48.96% and C for 51.04% of the patients, while in the control group, these values were 64.58 and 35.42%, respectively. These results indicated a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). In the population studied, the onset of EH may be correlated with BMI, TG, LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). EH may be related to the rs2397771 (C/G) C allele polymorphism of the NE transporter gene but not to rs1805067 (A/G).

Decreased cognitive functioning in patients with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma

Cognitive impairment causes a delay in diagnosis and treatment of the various cancer entities, resulting in reduced surgical outcomes and patient survival. However, no investigations have been carried out as to whether an association exists between cognitive functioning and tumour size in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In this study, 46 patients with OSCC were evaluated by using a screening test for dementia, consisting of a combination of the mini-mental state examination and the clock test (81% sensitivity and 90% specificity). Test scores were correlated with tumour size according to the TNM staging system, which was categorized as being either limited (T1, T2; n=24) or advanced (T3, T4; n=22). No difference in age (P=0.172), sex (P=0.330), the percentage of drinkers (P=0.090) or the percentage of smokers (P=0.484) was evident between the groups. Patients with advanced tumour size scored significantly lower (median 5.5 of 9 possible points) when compared with those having tumours of a limited size (median 9 of 9 possible points; P=0.005). The median score of patients with T3/T4 tumours suggested the need for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for dementia. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the correlation of reduced cognitive functioning in patients with advanced OSCC. As a consequence, instructions for the identification of early signs and of symptoms of oral cancer are strongly recommended for relatives and nursing staff of patients with cognitive impairment. Such patients might need immediate treatment for oral cancer but might not be able to understand the significance of their symptoms and therefore present late, often too late.

Impact of Body Weight on the Relationship between Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure

The reduction of habitual alcohol drinking is recommended for the prevention of hypertension. Daily or weekly alcohol consumption, which is used for evaluation of the effects of alcohol drinking on blood pressure, is usually not corrected by body weight. In this study, the influence of body weight on the relationship between alcohol intake and blood pressure was investigated. The subjects (27,005 healthy men at ages of 35-54 years) were divided into four groups by average daily ethanol intake [non-, light (<15 g per day), moderate (>or=15 and <30 g per day) and heavy (>or=30 g per day) drinkers]. The subjects were also divided into four quartile groups by body weight. Alcohol intake and the percentage of drinkers were not different in the four quartile groups of body weight. In the first and second quartiles of body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly higher in moderate and heavy drinkers than in non-drinkers, while systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the fourth quartile of body weight were significantly higher in heavy drinkers than in non-drinkers but were not significantly different in moderate drinkers and non-drinkers. The differences in systolic or diastolic blood pressure between non-drinkers and moderate drinkers and between non-drinkers and heavy drinkers became greater as body weight decreased. These results were not altered when age and smoking history were adjusted. The results suggest that body weight modifies the relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure and thus should be taken into account when effects of alcohol on blood pressure are considered.

Constipation in the population over 50 years of age in Albacete province

To Determine the incidence of constipation in Albacete province and its relation with diet and lifestyle. Cross-sectional population survey. We studied 414 participants over 50 years of age in Albacete province. 445 persons over 50 years of age were included in the study. All participants were selected by systematic random sampling; 414 participants filled in the questionnaire correctly. age, weight and height, marital status, level of education and occupation; presence of a disease, number of sleep hours a day, physical exercise, smoking, alcohol intake, drug intake (anti-inflammatories and laxatives); bowel habit, diet, meal frequency and place; food intake frequency per week, daily intake of water, coffee, tea and herbal beverages; vitamin and fiber supplements; presence of cancer in the family. 56.9% of participants were women. Mean age 67.07 years. In Albacete province, 4.4% of the population over 50 years have a bowel habit consistent with constipation. Most participants had three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and supper), while 50% had another meal in the morning or afternoon. These meals took place, habitually, in the domicile. There was a preponderance in daily intake of the following foods: milk (83.7%), bread (95.1%), vegetables (68.8%), fruit (91.8%), and virgin olive oil (96.6%). Fish was eaten every one to two days, and pulses and meat every three to six days. 44.4% of participants drank one to two liters of water a day. Only 3.9% of participants took some supplement; 35% of participants were on a diet. It was observed that 97.7% of participants with more than three defecations a week had a high intake of virgin olive oil; 65.7% of participants did some physical exercise customarily; 70.2% of participants were non-smokers, 10.2% were smokers, and 18.4% were ex-smokers. With regard to alcohol, the percentage of drinkers was 35.1%. The main class of medications taken by participants was NSAIDs - 14.5%; 79.7% took neither NSAIDs nor laxatives. Only 2.7% of participants took laxatives regularly. Most participants had relatively healthy eating habits.

Association of alcohol dehydrogenase 2*1 allele with liver damage and insulin concentration in the Japanese

The Japanese have a polymorphism in the alcohol dehydrogenase 2 gene (ADH2). The alleles of ADH2 (ADH2*1 and ADH2*2) encode more active and less active forms for ethanol metabolism, respectively. We examined whether liver damage and the insulin-glucose axis vary according to ADH2 genotype in the Japanese. The 2,232 subjects (1,126 men and 1,106 women) were recruited from a population-based prospective cohort study. Clinical evaluations including alcohol consumption, percentage of alcohol drinkers, plasma glucose, HbA1c, insulin, AST, ALT, gamma-GTP, and prevalence of diabetes were compared among the ADH2 genotypes. The percentage of drinkers, alcohol consumption, AST, ALT, and gamma-GTP were higher in group ADH2*1/1 than in group ADH2*1/2 or ADH2*2/2 (all P < 0.05). Hence, ADH2*1/1 is associated with excess alcohol intake and liver disorders. However, the prevalence of diabetes did not differ among the three groups. For the glucose-insulin axis, we examined subjects who did not receive insulin therapy or oral anti-diabetes medication. While amounts of alcohol consumed and glucose levels were nearly the same between ADH*1/2 and ADH2*2/2, insulin concentrations were lower in ADH2*2/1 than in ADH2*2/2 (P < 0.05 in men). This finding suggests that the ADH2*1 allele is associated with a lower insulin concentration when alcohol intake is light or moderate. It also suggests that the genetic effect of ADH2*1 plays an important role in alcohol drinking behavior and in the occurrence of liver injury, but the effect is so mild that it does not influence the glucose-insulin axis or prevalence of diabetes.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALCOHOL USE AND MORTALITY RATES FROM INJURIES: A COMPARISON OF MEASURES

Per capita consumption of alcohol has traditionally been considered to be the leading indicator of population levels of alcohol problems. However, some recent research suggests that this relationship may be weakening, and that drinking pattern measures may be preferable to per capita consumption as problem-level indicators. We compared the ability of per capita alcohol consumption and survey-based measures of alcohol use to predict deaths from injuries in Ontario, Canada, for the period 1977–1996. Per capita consumption and percentage of daily drinkers were significantly related to injury mortality, but percentage of drinkers and percentage of episodic heavy drinkers (those who drank five or more drinks on a drinking occasion) were not. Of the measures we examined, per capita consumption was the strongest indicator of mortality rates from injuries. However, the survey-derived measure of percentage of daily drinkers was similar to per capita consumption in ability to predict problem levels.

Do changes in per capita consumption mirror changes in drinking patterns?

The goal of this study was to examine how well per capita alcohol consumption figures derived from beverage sales data relate to changes over time in survey-based measures of drinking patterns. It was expected that strong associations would be found among these various measures of consumption. Data from 12 household surveys conducted in Ontario between 1977 and 1997 provided information on: percentages of drinkers; daily drinkers; those drinking five or more drinks at a sitting weekly; those reporting two or more alcohol-related harms; and average number of drinks per week. These variables were then correlated with per capita consumption. Significant correlations were found only between per capita consumption and percentage of daily drinkers, and between percentage of drinkers and average number of drinks per week. The relationship of per capita consumption to survey measures of drinking is weak. The absence of consistent associations over time between per capita consumption and survey measures may be attributable to the small number of available data points or to increases in unrecorded consumption. Further research is needed to verify and explain these results.

DO DRINKING SURVEYS PREDICT CHANGES IN POPULATION-BASED ALCOHOL PROBLEM INDICATORS?

We examined per capita alcohol consumption and survey-based measures of alcohol use in Ontario in relation to indicators of alcohol problems for the period 1977-1997. Per capita consumption and percentage of daily drinkers were significantly related to problem indicators, but percentage of drinkers and percentage of heavy drinkers were not. Of the measures we examined, per capita consumption was the strongest indicator of alcohol problems.

Consumo de alcohol en escolares de la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura

To find the number of drinkers, the relationship of their environment to the habit and attitudes to alcohol of Estremaduran children in the eighth year of EGB/second of ESO. Crossover descriptive study of a representative sample of the students in these school years. All the schools in our autonomous community. 996 students belonging to various educational establishments. We used a self-filled questionnaire with questions on the alcohol consumption of those being surveyed and their parents, siblings, friends and teachers. Other variables such as age, sex, parents' educational qualifications and other questions touching on the attitude to alcohol were included too. The subjects were 13-14 years old (54% boys and 46% girls). 15.50% were habitual drinkers and 54.43% occasional drinkers, with the number of boys predominating in the two groups (72.72 against 27.27% and 54.07 against 45.93%, respectively). Consumption was clearly higher in the father, siblings and friends of habitual drinkers (p < 0.05, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Parents of non-drinkers had higher educational qualifications. Habitual drinkers, and to a lesser degree occasional drinkers, displayed favourable attitudes to consumption and a positive association with alcohol consumption. Given their age, the percentage of drinkers is worrying and is linked to the presence of the habit in their closest social environment. The positive attitudes to alcohol consumption of our school students justify the introduction of prevention programmes.

Six-Month Follow-Up of a Community Incentive and Self-Help Alcohol Intervention

Abstract This study determined the six-month effects of a community focused incentive contest and self-help printed materials. Three hundred and fourteen adult drinkers were recruited from two target communities in Northwest Arkansas and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a contest only, (2) a contest plus “Know When to Say No” self-help booklet, or (3) a delayed contest control. Subjects had to limit their alcohol use to two alcoholic beverages or less a day during the four week contest, to be eligible to win a prize in the contest. The percentage of drinkers successfully limiting their alcohol use was similar at one (33 percent) and six months (34 percent). A significant difference was found across time on the number of drinking days, total number of drinks consumed, and heavy drinking days (p's = .0001), with alcohol use decreasing at postcontest and either leveling off or increasing some-what at six-month follow-up. No significant differences were found between the two groups on alcohol...

Alcohol use and dependence among employed men and women in the United States in 1988.

This paper provides estimates of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence among employed men and women in the United States. Data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey indicate that the percentages of drinkers in white-collar occupations are higher than the percentages of drinkers in blue-collar occupations among both men and women; however, the men and women in blue-collar occupations who drink have a higher average daily consumption than drinkers in white-collar occupations. DSM-III-R criteria were used to classify respondents as alcohol-dependent. Consistent with an earlier survey of employed adults in Detroit, the prevalence of alcohol dependence is highest in certain blue-collar occupations (craftsmen, laborers, and service workers among men; machine operators, laborers, and service workers among women). Directions for further research on the occupational and drinking experiences of employed men and women are discussed.

A Method for Estimating Alcohol-Related Liver Cirrhosis Mortality in Japan

In Japan, per capita alcohol consumption increased sharply during the post World War II period followed by an increase in cirrhosis mortality. The prevalence of alcoholic cirrhosis among hospitalized patients also increased, from 11% in 1969 to 18% in 1985. Despite an increase in the percentage of drinkers among young women, over 80% of women in Japan are still abstainers or light drinkers. Thus, female cirrhosis mortality rates can be used as a proxy measure of non-alcohol-related cirrhosis mortality rates to estimate alcohol-related cirrhosis deaths among Japanese men. Employing this method, we conclude that two-thirds of cirrhosis deaths among men between 24 and 85 years of age and half of all cirrhosis deaths were attributable to alcohol. Two factors are probably responsible for the differences in proportional morbidity and proportional mortality of alcohol-related cirrhosis: differences in survival rates between alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhosis patients and detection bias toward post-hepatic cirrhosis. The synergistic effect of alcohol on viral hepatitis may in part explain excess cirrhosis deaths among Japanese men.