Predictors Of Alcohol Consumption Research Articles

Urinary Sodium Excretion Enhances the Effect of Alcohol on Blood Pressure.

Alcohol consumption is linked to urinary sodium excretion and both of these traits are linked to hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The interplay between alcohol consumption and sodium on hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is not well-described. Here, we used genetically predicted alcohol consumption and explored the relationships between alcohol consumption, urinary sodium, hypertension, and CVDs. Methods: We performed a comparative analysis among 295,189 participants from the prospective cohort of the UK Biobank (baseline data collected between 2006 and 2010). We created a genetic risk score (GRS) using 105 published genetic variants in Europeans that were associated with alcohol consumption. We explored the relationships between GRS, alcohol consumption, urinary sodium, blood pressure traits, and incident CVD. We used linear and logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards (PH) models and Mendelian randomization in our analysis. Results: The median follow-up time for composite CVD and stroke were 6.1 years and 7.1 years respectively. Our analyses showed that high alcohol consumption is linked to low urinary sodium excretion. Our results showed that high alcohol GRS was associated with high blood pressure and higher risk of stroke and supported an interaction effect between alcohol GRS and urinary sodium on stage 2 hypertension (Pinteraction = 0.03) and CVD (Pinteraction = 0.03), i.e., in the presence of high urinary sodium excretion, the effect of alcohol GRS on blood pressure may be enhanced. Conclusions: Our results show that urinary sodium excretion may offset the risk posed by genetic risk of alcohol consumption.

Combining implementation intentions and monetary incentives to reduce alcohol use: a failed generalization to a public bar context

ABSTRACT Background Implementation intentions have been demonstrated to reduce alcohol use in retrospective self-report measures. It remains unclear, however, whether they can moderate drinking in a challenging naturalistic context. We examined this by studying the effects of implementation intentions on alcohol use in a bar. Methods One hundred and twenty-one participants visiting a local bar were randomized over three conditions: control, motivational trigger, and motivational trigger plus implementation intentions. Those in the motivational trigger group were motivated to reduce drinking, and the combined intervention group made additional alcohol-related implementation intentions. We assessed participants’ pre- and post-intervention breath alcohol concentrations, their post-intervention drinking behavior over one hour, and measures of trait impulsivity and reward sensitivity. To predict post-intervention drinking, multiple hierarchical regression was used. Results Neither the motivational trigger nor the added implementation intentions reduced drinking. Across treatment groups, trait impulsivity predicted alcohol consumption. Conclusions The present study showed that motivational trigger and implementation intentions failed to reduce alcohol use in a naturalistic setting. Potential reasons, implications, and limitations are discussed. This first attempt demonstrates that implementation intentions aimed at moderation are not as easily implemented in a public high-risk context.

Determinantes de la conducta planeada como predictores del consumo de tabaco y alcohol en adolescentes

Objective: know the effect of the determinants of planned behavior on tobacco and alcohol consumption in adolescents high schools. Material and Methods: A predictive correlational descriptive study was carried out with 735 adolescents from High school in the State of Nuevo León, Mexico. A self-administered questionnaire was used, which includes concerning sociodemographic variables, tobacco and alcohol consumption, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control towards tobacco and alcohol consumption. Logistic regression models were carried out of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control on tobacco and alcohol consumption. Results: The subjective norm (OR = 1.02, p = .028) and the perceived behavioral control (OR = 1.084, p = .001) were showed significant for predicting tobacco consumption ever in life. While attitude (OR = .980, p = .017), subjective norm (OR = 1.034, p = .025) and perceived behavioral control (OR = 1.080, p = .001) were showed significant for predicting alcohol consumption ever in life. Conclusions: With based on the results, it is possible to determine the usefulness and relevance of the theory of planned behavior and the generation of new scientific knowledges that allows the design of programs to face the situations that adolescents perceive as facilitators of tobacco and alcohol consumption. Keywords: Adolescent; Alcohol drinking; Tobacco consumption; Attitude; Social norms.

Association of Habitual Alcohol Intake With Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Observational studies have consistently proposed cardiovascular benefits associated with light alcohol consumption, while recent genetic analyses (ie, mendelian randomization studies) have suggested a possible causal link between alcohol intake and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, traditional approaches to genetic epidemiology assume a linear association and thus have not fully evaluated dose-response estimates of risk across different levels of alcohol intake. To assess the association of habitual alcohol intake with cardiovascular disease risk and to evaluate the direction and relative magnitude of cardiovascular risk associated with different amounts of alcohol consumption. This cohort study used the UK Biobank (2006-2010, follow-up until 2016) to examine confounding in epidemiologic associations between alcohol intake and cardiovascular diseases. Using both traditional (ie, linear) and nonlinear mendelian randomization, potential associations between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular diseases (eg, hypertension and coronary artery disease) as well as corresponding association shapes were assessed. Data analysis was conducted from July 2019 to January 2022. Genetic predisposition to alcohol intake. The association between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. This study included 371 463 participants (mean [SD] age, 57.0 [7.9] years; 172 400 [46%] men), who consumed a mean (SD) 9.2 (10.6) standard drinks per week. Overall, 121 708 participants (33%) had hypertension. Light to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with healthier lifestyle factors, adjustment for which attenuated the cardioprotective epidemiologic associations with modest intake. In linear mendelian randomization analyses, a 1-SD increase in genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with 1.3-fold (95% CI, 1.2-1.4) higher risk of hypertension (P < .001) and 1.4-fold (95% CI, 1.1-1.8) higher risk of coronary artery disease (P = .006). Nonlinear mendelian randomization analyses suggested nonlinear associations between alcohol consumption and both hypertension and coronary artery disease: light alcohol intake was associated with minimal increases in cardiovascular risk, whereas heavier consumption was associated with exponential increases in risk of both clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease. In this cohort study, coincident, favorable lifestyle factors attenuated the observational benefits of modest alcohol intake. Genetic epidemiology suggested that alcohol consumption of all amounts was associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but marked risk differences exist across levels of intake, including those accepted by current national guidelines.

Gender Differences in Transdiagnostic Predictors of Problematic Alcohol Consumption in a Large Sample of College Students in Ecuador.

BackgroundAlcohol use is one of the main risk factors that leads to detrimental health effects and support for a transdiagnostic approach to alcohol use disorders is growing. However, the role of transdiagnostic predictors of problematic alcohol consumption in Ecuador are understudied.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine gender differences in psychological stress and inflexibility as transdiagnostic predictors of problematic alcohol consumption in a large sample of college students in Ecuador.MethodsA total of 7,905 college students (21.49 years, SD = 3.68; 53.75% females) were surveyed using the following standardized scales: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Perceived Stress Scale-14, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-7). Macro Process for SPSS (models 4 and 7) was used to analyze mediation and moderation effects.ResultsReported alcohol consumption was significantly higher in men than women students. On the other hand, women reported significantly higher levels of perceived stress and psychological inflexibility than men students. Gender, age, psychological stress, and inflexibility were significant predictors of alcohol consumption. Moreover, psychological inflexibility mediated the impact of stress on alcohol consumption, particularly in women (for men b = 0.065, 95% CI [0.048 to 0.083], for women b = 0.070, 95% CI [0.051 to 0.089]).DiscussionResults of this study support psychological stress and psychological inflexibility as critical transdiagnostic variables related to increased rates of alcohol consumption among Ecuadorian college students. These conclusions contribute to the development of transdiagnostic comprehensive programs, which encompasses promotive, preventive, and treatment services that allow to alleviate the burden of alcohol, as well as to enrich the growing research on alcohol consumption in this population from a gender perspective.

Attentional Bias to Alcohol Information: a Novel Dual-Probe Task.

Even when motivated to consume less alcohol, attempts to do so are not always successful. Attentional bias to positive and negative alcohol-related information may play a role in shaping unintended drinking behaviour. The present exploratory study adapted a novel attentional bias task, to test whether selective attention to positive relative to negative information about alcohol consumption predicts mismatch between alcohol consumption intention and alcohol consumption behaviour. Thirty-five university students attempting to reduce their alcohol consumption participated in the study. Participants completed a novel attentional bias assessment task where two positive and negative audio-visual messages about alcohol consumption were simultaneously presented. At random intervals during these messages, two different probes were briefly and simultaneously presented, so that only one could be detected. Attention to positive vs. negative messages was inferred from the location of the probe recorded by the participant. Alcohol consumption in relation to participants' goals was measured using a real-time diary over the subsequent 7days. An attentional bias towards positive (relative to negative) messages about alcohol consumption predicted the degree to which participants consumed more alcohol than planned, but did not predict alcohol consumption itself. This is the first study to our knowledge that has investigated the relationship between biased attention to alcohol-related information and variation in the success of intended reduction in alcohol consumption, and we suggest that it paves the way for further research into the role of attentional biases in health risk behaviours.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts psychiatric outcomes and alcohol use among college students

ABSTRACT Background The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed fundamental challenges on nearly every area of life. Objective The purpose of the current study was to expand on the literature on the impact of the pandemic on college students by a) examining domains of impact of the pandemic on psychiatric and alcohol outcomes and b) controlling for pre-pandemic outcomes. Method Participants included 897 college students (78.6% female) from a larger longitudinal study on college student mental health. Structural equation models were fit to examine how COVID-19 impact (exposure, worry, food/housing insecurity, change in social media use, change in substance use) were associated with PTSD, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and alcohol phenotypes. Models were fit to adjust for pre-pandemic symptoms. Results No effects of COVID-19 exposure remained after adjusting for earlier outcomes. COVID-19 worry predicted PTSD, depression, and anxiety, even after adjusting for earlier levels of outcomes (β’s: .091–.180, p’s < .05). Housing/food concerns predicted PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms as well as suicidal ideation (β’s: .085–.551, p’s < .05) after adjusting for earlier levels of symptoms. Change in media use predicted alcohol consumption (β’s: ± .116−.197, p’s < .05). Change in substance use affected all outcomes except suicidality (β’s: .112–.591, p’s < .05). Conclusions Domains of COVID-19 impact had differential effects on mental health and substance outcomes in college students during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Future studies should examine the trajectory of these factors on college student mental health across waves of the pandemic.

Pathways from childhood socioemotional characteristics and cognitive skills to midlife health behaviours

Objective This longitudinal study investigated the pathways from childhood socioemotional characteristics and cognitive skills to health behaviours in midlife. Methods: Participants in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS) were followed from age 8 (n = 369) to age 50 (n = 271). Outcomes included physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index (BMI) assessed at ages 36, 42 and 50. Predictors were socioemotional characteristics (behavioural activity, negative emotionality, and well-controlled behaviour) and parents’ occupational status collected at age 8, cognitive skills (school success at age 14 and the highest education at age 27) and adulthood personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism and conscientiousness). Longitudinal path modelling was used for analyses. Results: Well-controlled behaviour and extraversion predicted physical activity in women. Behavioural activity predicted alcohol consumption in women and smoking in men. Negative emotionality was not directly connected to health behaviours. Adulthood neuroticism was associated with smoking in men and with alcohol-related problems in both men and women. There were some indirect paths from childhood socioemotional characteristics to midlife health behaviours through cognitive skills. None of the study variables predicted midlife BMI. Conclusions: Childhood socioemotional characteristics have some predictive value on midlife health behaviours, both directly and through cognitive skills. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2022.2041639 .

Unemployment as a Medical and Social Problem and Incidence among Unemployed Young People

BACKGROUND: The problem of unemployment among young people worries the world for many generations, since young people are the stratum of the population on which the future in each country depends (Brydsten et al. 2016). The socioeconomic situation of young people, especially the unemployed, is alarming, which is not always emphasized in the priorities of social policy. The study of incidence among unemployed youth is carried out in many countries, where it is noted that the unemployed people have worse mental and physical health compared to employed one (Grzegorczyk and Wolff, 2020). AIM: Our study aims to assess the difference between the incidence of working and unemployed youth. METHODS: The study involved 536 people, from 18 to 29-years-old, among whom women - 69.2%, men - 30.8%, from all regions of Kazakhstan. RESULTS: The results of the work showed that the level of youth unemployment increased during the pandemic by an average of 1% in the world and in Kazakhstan, young people had limitations in receiving medical and social assistance due to financial constraints, deficiency of health insurance and personal reluctance. It was also found that social status is a significant predictor of vaccination (beta = −0.225, R2 = 0.0507, p &lt; 0.001) and a predictor of alcohol consumption (beta = −0.0908, R2 = 0.00824, p = 0.037). More often unemployed youth noted health problems over the past year (42.3%) than in other social groups (35.6–37.8%), a similar situation was observed when assessing the frequency of chronic diseases (p = 0.365). CONCLUSION: In our study, we show that the decline in health by virtue of unemployment is likely to be significant, since our estimated effect implies that the health of young people is almost 10% worse (in absolute terms) due to unemployment compared to the employed population. This further underscores that unemployment is a public health problem that needs more attention. Furthermore, the results obtained show that unemployment has the most negative consequences for vulnerable people, including young people.

The impact of handedness on health risk behaviours and socio-economic outcomes

Left-handedness has long been associated with a range of negative attributes, including increased mental illness, criminal behaviour, and substance use. As previous reports have focussed on clinical and/or pathological samples, the present study drew on a large, representative, longitudinal study of Australians to assess the role of handedness in predicting mental illness, jail time, alcohol consumption, income, and gambling. The 15,376 respondents that had their handedness recorded in the 2016 wave of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia longitudinal survey were included in the current study and the person-years of the outcome variables were assessed via responses to previous waves of the annually administered survey. Contrary to previous research we found little evidence of handedness-related effects. Though left-handers reported more risky drinking occasions (4.11 person-years) than right-handers (3.23 person-years), and more high-risk drinking occasions (0.65 vs 0.37 person years), handedness did not predict alcohol consumption or any of the other factors in regression models that controlled for age and sex. As such, the negative factors found in clinical/pathological samples of left-handers were not evident in these general Australian population data. The role of stigma in increasing the likelihood of participating in the outcomes of interest in the past is discussed.

The role of resilience in alcohol use, drinking motives, and alcohol-related consequences among Hispanic college students

ABSTRACT Background: Hispanic college students experience minority stressors and are therefore at greater risk of experiencing alcohol-related consequences. Resilience may protect against problem drinking and related consequences, yet its relationship to drinking motives remains unexplored. Given that drinking motives precede both alcohol use and its consequences, investigating the role of resilience in such associations may inform interventions to reduce alcohol-related health disparities. Objectives: The current study investigated whether greater resilience predicted fewer drinking motives, lower alcohol consumption, and reduced the negative impact of drinking motives on alcohol consequences among Hispanic college students. Methods: Resilience, drinking motives and alcohol consequences were assessed among 443 students living on the U.S./Mexico border recruited via e-mail (68% female; Mage = 22.6 years, SD = 5.09). Linear regressions assessed whether drinking motives (i.e., coping, conformity, social, enhancement) and resilience predicted alcohol consumption. A linear regression also assessed resilience, drinking motives, and alcohol consumption as potential predictors of alcohol consequences. Lastly, linear regressions tested the moderating effects of resilience between each drinking motive and alcohol consumption as well as alcohol consequences. Results: Greater resilience predicted fewer alcohol-related consequences (β = −.024, p = .028). Additionally, resilience moderated the relationships social (β = −.095, p = .050) and enhancement drinking motives (β = −.084, p = .050) had with alcohol consequences. Higher social and enhancement motives were not associated with alcohol consequences among resilient individuals. Conclusion: Strengthening resilience among Hispanic students whose drinking is motivated by a desire for socialization or mood enhancement may protect against alcohol-related consequences.

Association of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, and Glycemic Risk Factors With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in Western countries. Causal, modifiable risk factors need to be identified to develop preventive measures for advanced AMD. To assess whether smoking, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, body mass index, and glycemic traits are associated with increased risk of advanced AMD. This study used 2-sample mendelian randomization. Genetic instruments composed of variants associated with risk factors at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8) were obtained from published genome-wide association studies. Summary-level statistics for these instruments were obtained for advanced AMD from the International AMD Genomics Consortium 2016 data set, which consisted of 16 144 individuals with AMD and 17 832 control individuals. Data were analyzed from July 2020 to September 2021. Smoking initiation, smoking cessation, lifetime smoking, age at smoking initiation, alcoholic drinks per week, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, glycated hemoglobin, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin. Advanced AMD and its subtypes, geographic atrophy (GA), and neovascular AMD. A 1-SD increase in logodds of genetically predicted smoking initiation was associated with higher risk of advanced AMD (odds ratio [OR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.13-1.40; P < .001), while a 1-SD increase in logodds of genetically predicted smoking cessation (former vs current smoking) was associated with lower risk of advanced AMD (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.87; P = .003). Genetically predicted increased lifetime smoking was associated with increased risk of advanced AMD (OR per 1-SD increase in lifetime smoking behavior, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.09-1.59; P = .004). Genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with higher risk of GA (OR per 1-SD increase of log-transformed alcoholic drinks per week, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.48-4.94; P = .001). There was insufficient evidence to suggest that genetically predicted blood pressure, body mass index, and glycemic traits were associated with advanced AMD. This study provides genetic evidence that increased alcohol intake may be a causal risk factor for GA. As there are currently no known treatments for GA, this finding has important public health implications. These results also support previous observational studies associating smoking behavior with risk of advanced AMD, thus reinforcing existing public health messages regarding the risk of blindness associated with smoking.

Concurrent validity of an estimator of weekly alcohol consumption (EWAC) based on the extended AUDIT.

The three-question Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) is frequently used in healthcare for screening and brief advice about levels of alcohol consumption. AUDIT-C scores (0-12) provide feedback as categories of risk rather than estimates of actual alcohol intake, an important metric for behaviour change. The study aimed to (i) develop a continuous metric from the Extended AUDIT-C expressed in United Kingdom (UK) units (8 g pure ethanol), offering equivalent accuracy, and providing a direct estimator of weekly alcohol consumption (EWAC) and (ii) evaluate the EWAC's bias and error using the graduated-frequency (GF) questionnaire as a reference standard of alcohol consumption. Cross-sectional diagnostic study based on a nationally-representative survey. Community dwelling households in England. A total of 22 404 household residents aged ≥16 years reporting drinking alcohol at least occasionally. Computer-assisted personal interviews consisting of (i) AUDIT questionnaire with extended response items (the 'Extended AUDIT') and (ii) GF. Primary outcomes were: mean deviation <1 UK unit (metric of bias); root-mean-square deviation <2 UK units (metric of total error) between EWAC and GF. The secondary outcome was the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for predicting alcohol consumption in excess of 14 and 35 UK units. EWAC had a positive bias of 0.2 UK units (95% CI = 0.08, 0.4) compared with GF. Deviations were skewed: whereas the mean error was ±11 UK units/week [9.5, 11.9], in half of participants the deviation between EWAC and GF was between 0 and ±2.1 UK units/week. EWAC predicted consumption in excess of 14 UK units/week with a significantly greater area under the curve (0.918 [0.914, 0.923]) than AUDIT-C (0.870 [0.864, 0.876]) or the full AUDIT (0.854 [0.847, 0.860]). A new estimator of weekly alcohol consumption, which uses answers to the Extended AUDIT-C, meets the targeted bias tolerance. It is superior in accuracy to AUDIT-C and the full 10-item AUDIT when predicting consumption thresholds, making it a reliable complement to the Extended AUDIT-C for health promotion interventions.

Predictors of Alcohol Consumption Among Younger Adults During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may lead to negative mental health effects but the effect on alcohol consumption among younger adults is unclear. We assess predictors of change in alcohol consumption during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among younger adults.Methods: This cross-sectional internet-based survey was part of an overarching project, the Corona Drug Survey, which was conducted from April 30 to August 4, 2020. Participants of any sex and ≥18 years old were included. The primary outcome measure was change in alcohol consumption during the early COVID-19 pandemic. We implemented an ordinal logistic regression to assess the effect (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]) of the following predictors: quarantine restrictions on leaving the residence, number of individuals in the household, problematic alcohol consumption before the pandemic (CAGE [cutting down, annoyance by criticism, guilty feeling, and eye-opener] score), personal concern regarding the pandemic, age, and sex.Results: 3,321 participants with a mean age of 32 (SD: 13) years were included in this study. 70.4% of participants reported less or unchanged alcohol consumption in the recent 4 weeks of the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. A higher number of individuals in the household was associated with a reduced alcohol consumption (OR = 0.869; 95% CI = 0.815–0.927). No quarantine restrictions on leaving the residence (OR = 1.593; 95% CI = 1.397–1.817), a higher age (1.006; 1.001-1.011), and female sex (compared to males: 1.206; 1.062–1.371) were associated with an increase in alcohol consumption. The CAGE score before the pandemic (OR = 0.983; 95% CI = 0.931–1.037) and the pandemic concern (0.927; 0.857–1.003) were not associated with a significant change in alcohol consumption. Celebrations were no longer frequent drinking occasions during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. The majority of participants (60.9%) did not use alcohol drinking as a coping mechanism to mitigate negative effects of the pandemic.Interpretation: In this cohort of younger adults with fewer celebratory drinking occasions, restrictions on leaving the residence and the number of persons in the household were the strongest predictors of reduced alcohol consumption during the early phase of the pandemic.

Association between alcohol and bone mineral density in a Mendelian randomization study: the Dong-gu study.

Many previous studies have reported a positive relationship between alcohol and bone mineral density (BMD). However, the causality between alcohol and BMD has not been fully evaluated. This study enrolled 8892 participants from the Dong-gu study. Mendelian randomization (MR) using two-stage least-squared regression was used to evaluate the association between the genetically predicted amount of alcohol consumption per day and BMD. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) rs671 polymorphism was used as instrumental variables for alcohol consumption. Age, smoking history, and BMI were adjusted in the multivariate model. Self-reported alcohol consumption was positively related to total hip and lumbar spine BMD in both sexes. In multivariate Mendelian randomization analysis, the genetically predicted amount of alcohol consumption was positively associated with both total hip and lumbar spine BMD in men. Total hip BMD and lumbar spine BMD increased by 0.004g/cm2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.002-0.007) and 0.007g/cm2 (95% CI 0.004-0.011) with doubling of alcohol consumption. However, in women, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was not significantly associated with BMD. In our MR study, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was positively associated with BMD in men. This result suggests that the association between alcohol consumption and BMD is causal.

To drink or not to drink: When drinking intentions predict alcohol consumption and consequences.

We examined daily associations between drinking intentions and drinking behaviour and tested past drinking behaviour and current social environment as potential moderators of the daily intention-behaviour association. We expected both more frequent past drinking and being in a high drinking environment to weaken the intention-behaviour association. We also tested intentionality as a moderator of the association between alcohol consumption and next-day negative outcomes, expecting that less intentional alcohol consumption would be related to greater stress and regret. We tested these hypotheses using two separate micro-longitudinal studies of college students (Ns = 1,641, 540). In two samples, participants completed bursts of data collection in which they indicated their previous alcohol consumption and then completed 30 days of diary surveys in which they reported their alcohol consumption and social environment the previous evening and their levels of stress, regret, and drinking intentions that day. Consistent with our predictions, drinking intentions more strongly predicted drinking behaviour among individuals with less frequent past drinking behaviour, and, in Sample 1, drinking intentions more strongly predicted drinking behaviour among individuals in a low drinking environment. Contrary to hypotheses, results indicated that individuals with low drinking intentions were more likely to experience stress the next day, particularly if they consumed less alcohol. Greater consumption, however, was related to greater odds of experiencing regret, but this was stronger among individuals with higher drinking intentions. Findings are discussed in terms of the complex interplay between intentions and both social environment and contextual factors with respect to predicting drinking level and related problems.

Approach and avoidance alcohol inclinations in heavy drinking college students: An ecological momentary assessment study

BackgroundUnderstanding the motivational determinants of drinking among college students is necessary to improve the identification of those at greatest risk and to inform prevention and treatment interventions. Alcohol craving, or the desire to use alcohol, is considered one important factor in the development and maintenance of drinking behaviors. Recent evidence suggests that the link between alcohol craving (approach inclinations) and alcohol use is moderated by desires not to use alcohol (avoidance inclinations). Using ecological momentary assessment, the present study investigated the influence of motivational conflict (high desires to use and high desires to not use alcohol) on alcohol consumption among college students. MethodsUndergraduate students (n = 80; 88.8% female) completed assessments of alcohol-related behaviors and alcohol motivation five times daily for fourteen days. ResultsAlthough between-person effects were nonsignificant, significant within-person effects indicated that avoidance inclinations attenuated the effect of approach inclinations in the prediction of drinking (controlling for age, gender, drinking history, affect, day of week, and time of day). ConclusionsFindings highlight the need for consideration of the unique effects of both approach and avoidance inclinations in the prediction of alcohol consumption and draw attention to the need for further investigation into the complex interplay of these processes in daily life.

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Common Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases-Evidence From a Large-Scale Genetic Analysis Totaling 1 Million Individuals.

Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a protective effect of alcohol intake with autoimmune disorders, which was not supported by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses that used only a few (<20) instrumental variables.Methods: We systemically interrogated a putative causal relationship between alcohol consumption and four common autoimmune disorders, using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We quantified the genetic correlation to examine a shared genetic similarity. We constructed a strong instrument using 99 genetic variants associated with drinks per week and applied several two-sample MR methods. We additionally incorporated excessive drinking as reflected by alcohol use disorder identification test score.Results: We observed a negatively shared genetic basis between alcohol intake and autoimmune disorders, although none was significant (rg = −0.07 to −0.02). For most disorders, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with a slightly (10–25%) decreased risk of onset, yet these associations were not significant. Meta-analyzing across RA, MS, and IBD, the three Th1-related disorders yielded to a marginally significantly reduced effect [OR = 0.70 (0.51–0.95), P = 0.02]. Excessive drinking did not appear to reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders.Conclusions: With its greatly augmented sample size and substantially improved statistical power, our MR study does not convincingly support a beneficial role of alcohol consumption in each individual autoimmune disorder. Future studies may be designed to replicate our findings and to understand a causal effect on disease prognosis.

Alcohol, coffee consumption, and smoking in relation to migraine: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

We conducted a Mendelian randomization study to assess whether alcohol and coffee consumption and smoking are causally associated with risk of developing migraine. Independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the potential risk factors at P < 5 × 10-8 in large-scale genome-wide association studies were selected as instrumental variables. Summary-level data for the associations of the selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms with migraine were obtained from the FinnGen consortium comprising 6687 cases and 144,780 noncases and the UK Biobank study comprising 1072 cases and 360,122 noncases. Estimates derived from the FinnGen and UK Biobank cohorts were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. We found evidence for associations of genetically predicted alcohol consumption (odds ratio [OR] 0.54 per SD increase in log-transformed alcoholic drinks per week, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35-0.82; P = 0.004), coffee consumption (OR 0.56 per 50% increase in coffee consumption, 95% CI, 0.45-0.70; P < 0.001), and smoking initiation (OR 1.15 for one SD increase in the prevalence of smoking initiation, 95% CI, 1.01-1.31; P = 0.038). These associations persisted in sensitivity analyses, including mutual adjustment in multivariable Mendelian randomization analyses. In reverse Mendelian randomization analyses, genetic liability to migraine was inversely associated with alcohol consumption but was not associated with coffee consumption or smoking initiation. This study provides genetic evidence in support of a protective role of moderate coffee consumption and a detrimental role of cigarette smoking in the etiology of migraine. The inverse association between alcohol consumption and migraine risk may be attributable to reverse causality.

Prospective Relationships Between Objectively Assessed Social Media Use, Drinking Norms, and Alcohol Consumption Among First-Year Students

Previous research has linked social media involvement and alcohol use among college students. However, this literature has been limited by self-report measures of social media use, cross-sectional data, inadequate attention to potential moderators and mediators, and unclear implications for interventions. To improve and extend this work, students' (N = 297) daily time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat during the transition into college were assessed objectively and examined as predictors of later drinking. Time spent on social media overall and on each individual platform between August and September were examined as predictors of alcohol consumption in March. Perceptions of peer drinking norms in October were examined as a potential mediator of these relationships, and sex as a potential moderator. Students spent the most daily time on Snapchat, followed by Instagram. The results indicated that among men, but not women, daily social media time during the transition into college predicted second semester drinking. This relationship was mediated by perceptions of same-sex student drinking norms. Analysis of individual platforms revealed that daily time on Snapchat drove the relationships among men. Greater time on social media during the transition to college, and on Snapchat in particular, predicted increases in perceptions of peer drinking norms and, in turn, greater alcohol consumption among men only. These findings carry precise implications for interventions seeking to reduce alcohol-related risks among first-year men and underscore the need for additional research examining developmental factors and social media user experiences that may explain the sex-specific patterns of relationships observed.