Study Of Alcohol Use Research Articles

An observational cohort study of alcohol use and cognitive difficulties among post-9/11 veterans with and without TBI and PTSD

BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alcohol use are highly prevalent among military Veterans and independently associated with cognitive difficulties; less is known about the combined effects. This study aimed to investigate the association between alcohol use patterns and cognitive diagnoses in Veterans with TBI and/or PTSD. MethodsUsing electronic health record data,193,663 Veterans were classified into three alcohol use trajectory groups (consistently low, initially high transitioning to low, initially moderate transitioning to high) based on self-reported Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C (AUDIT-C) scores. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between alcohol use patterns, TBI, PTSD, and the risk of cognitive diagnosis, while adjusting for demographic factors and comorbidities. ResultsVeterans with initially high transitioning to low (HR = 1.21, 95 % CI: 1.11–1.31) and initially moderate transitioning to high (HR = 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.33–1.51) alcohol use patterns had a significantly greater risk of cognitive diagnosis compared to those with consistently low alcohol use when accounting for TBI, PTSD, and comorbidities. TBI (HR = 5.40, 95 % CI: 5.06–5.76) and PTSD (HR = 2.42, 95 % CI: 2.25–2.61) were also independently associated with an elevated risk of cognitive diagnosis. ConclusionsFindings suggest that Higher levels of alcohol consumption, even if decreasing over time, may confer an increased risk of cognitive diagnosis for Veterans with TBI and/or PTSD. Long-term alcohol use patterns should be considered in clinical assessments and interventions to identify individuals at greater risk for experiencing cognitive difficulties.

Food and alcohol disturbance, alcohol use, and negative consequences among college students engaging in binge drinking: A longitudinal examination of between- and within-person effects.

Researchers have documented robust associations between food and alcohol disturbance (FAD-intoxication; restricting caloric intake before or during alcohol consumption to experience a quicker and/or more intense alcohol intoxication) and alcohol use and related negative consequences. However, most of this research has utilized cross-sectional designs. Consequently, two crucial gaps have not yet been filled: (a) the separation of the relatively stable, between-person and the fluctuating, within-person components in the relations between FAD-intoxication and alcohol-related constructs; and (b) the examination of the directionality of these within-person relations. Participants were college students (n = 686) who reported past-month binge drinking. Most participants identified as White (71.3%), female (78.4%), non-Hispanic (87.8%), with a mean age of 20.64 (SD = 3.25). Participants completed three online surveys assessing FAD-intoxication (College Eating and Drinking Behaviors Scale), alcohol use (Daily Drinking Questionnaire), and related negative consequences (Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire). Analyses revealed that FAD-intoxication was positively associated with alcohol use and related negative consequences at the between-person level. Additionally, at the within-person level, FAD-intoxication at Time 2 significantly predicted alcohol use at Time 3. Notably, the cross-lagged effect from FAD-intoxication at Time 1 to alcohol use at Time 2 was not significant. FAD-intoxication did not significantly predict negative consequences. Neither use nor consequences significantly predicted FAD-intoxication. Our results suggest that FAD-intoxication is relevant to the study of alcohol use and related negative consequences and should be considered in interventions targeting alcohol use and related negative consequences among students who endorse binge drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Clinical Psychologist Who Studies Alcohol

In this article, I describe why I believe the study of alcohol use and its consequences is a rich and rewarding area of scholarly activity that touches on multiple disciplines in the life sciences, the behavioral sciences, and the humanities. I then detail the circuitous path I took to become an alcohol researcher and the various challenges I encountered when starting up my research program at the University of Missouri. A major theme of my journey has been my good fortune encountering generous, brilliant scholars who took an interest in me and my career and who helped guide and assist me over the course of my career. I also highlight selected, other professional activities I've been involved in, focusing on editorial work, quality assurance, and governance of professional societies. While the focus is on my training and work as a psychologist, the overarching theme is the interpersonal context that nurtures careers.

A case study of alcohol use among male university rugby players

ABSTRACT In the UK, research has established that student athletes consume greater quantities of alcohol than their non-athlete peers. The published literature suggests the drinking culture in sport is a social phenomenon. At present, however, the evidence does not tell us what the precise mechanisms involved in the production and reproduction of the drinking culture are. To gain a deeper understanding of these mechanisms a case study methodology was used, where a researcher was heavily immersed within a male university rugby environment for a season. Data sources included observation, field-note taking, documentation, conversational interviews, and formal semi-structured interviews. These athletes faced a multitude of pressures encouraging them to drink, and often. Firstly, alcohol use was embedded within athletes’ weekly routine. Over time, drinking became a taken-for-granted ritual of sport. Secondly, specific roles and responsibilities, punishments, and events, were used to ensure athletes complied with the drinking ethos. Thirdly, athletes used alcohol to gain status and reputation. This, however, led to a culture where no behaviours were off limits and led to potentially harmful consequences. Fourthly, institutional factors (such as alcohol price, availability and sponsorship) may have normalised and legitimised a heavy drinking culture. There is a need to confront and challenge the alcohol ethos at this and other similar institutions with a pervasive drinking culture to reduce the potential harm to individual athletes.

Co-use of medication and alcohol: The influence on subjective effects of intoxication and affect.

Co-use of alcohol and medication can have serious negative health effects (e.g., overdose risk, liver damage). Research has primarily focused on older adults or the pharmacokinetics of specific medication-alcohol combinations. Little work has focused on the subjective experience of persons who take alcohol-interactive (AI) medications and also drink alcohol, particularly in psychiatric samples at high risk for problematic alcohol use and high rates of prescription medication use, such as individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Data from a larger ecological momentary assessment study of alcohol use in 52 persons diagnosed with BPD (83% women; Mage = 26 years) were used to examine the influence of alcohol intoxication (i.e., estimated blood alcohol concentration [eBAC]) and medication co-use on momentary subjective experience while drinking. Participants reported AI medication use at baseline and completed multiple ecological momentary assessment reports per day over 21 days, which included reports of alcohol use, subjective effects of alcohol (e.g., pleasure, feeling worse), and negative and positive affect. AI medications significantly moderated the association between eBAC and pleasurable effects of alcohol, such that at higher levels of eBAC, those taking AI medications experienced blunted subjective pleasure compared with those not taking AI medications. AI medications did not moderate the associations between eBAC and subjective relief, feeling worse, positive affect, or negative affect. Attenuated pleasure during drinking could lead to increased drinking in an attempt to achieve a desirable state among individuals who co-use psychiatric medications and alcohol, and therefore may represent a useful target for prevention and intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Measuring alcohol’s cost, the Russian-language AUDIT, home-drinking, guilt, shame and forgiveness, and alcohol use among sexual minority women

Measuring alcohol’s cost, the Russian-language AUDIT, home-drinking, guilt, shame and forgiveness, and alcohol use among sexual minority women

Grocery purchase data in the study of alcohol use – A validity study

BackgroundAlcohol use epidemiology is facing challenges as survey response rates decline. In addition, population surveys fail to capture a large proportion of alcohol consumed and are expensive to conduct. This study aims to aid in complementing traditional epidemiological methods by validate grocery purchase data in the research on population alcohol use. MethodsThe LoCard study subjects were loyalty card holders of a grocery retail co-operative, which possessed more than 45 % market share in Finland. One third of those who consented to the analyses of their grocery purchases were presented a questionnaire including a Food Frequency Questionnaire on the web; N = 11,818 responded. The relationship between beer purchase frequency and self-reported beer drinking frequency was studied for association and agreement in different subgroups using crosstabulations and Poisson regression modeling. ResultsThe association between beer purchase frequency and self-reported beer drinking frequency was good (Gamma = .556). The agreement between beer purchase frequency and drinking frequency was only fair (Kappa = .189). Limiting the data to those single adult households that reported making at least 61 % of their grocery purchases from this grocery retailer and collapsing the frequency categories to three instead of six increased the agreement to good (Kappa = .463). ConclusionsInformation on beer purchase frequency from the loyalty card database can be used to rank people according to their drinking frequency and to estimate beer drinking frequency with fair to good accuracy, depending on what share of grocery purchases they make from the grocery retailer in question.

Sexual Minority-related Discrimination across the Life Course: Findings from a National Sample of Adults in the United States

ABSTRACT In the United States, sexual minority (SM) status is associated with a number of health disparities. Based on mounting evidence, stigma and discrimination have been cited as key barriers to health equity for this population. We estimated the prevalence of three types of discrimination as a function of age among SM adults from the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol Use and Related Conditions III (NESARC-III) (2012–2013). Among SM adults, reports of past-year general discrimination, victimization, and healthcare discrimination varied by age, with peaks in early adulthood and again in midlife. Age trends varied by biological sex, with males experiencing significantly more general discrimination, victimization, and healthcare discrimination at specific ages. Age trends also varied by sexual identity, as LGB-identifying SMs were significantly more likely to experience all forms of discrimination across all ages. Policies preventing homophobic discrimination and victimization are necessary given the pervasiveness of these experiences across adulthood.

Lack of utility of cigarettes per day cutoffs for clinical and laboratory smoking research

BackgroundMost clinical and laboratory smoking research studies require that participants smoke at a certain level to be eligible for enrollment. However, there is limited evidence that use of these cutoffs differentiates groups of smokers along clinically meaningful criteria. MethodsUsing receiver operating characteristic curves, we analyzed data from daily smokers in the National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol Use and Related Conditions - III (NESARC-III) to examine the utility of smoking rates for determining whether participants met DSM-5 criteria for tobacco use disorder, experienced nicotine withdrawal or had a history of failed quit attempts. We also examined whether relationships between these variables differed as a function of key sample characteristics. ResultsSmoking rate exhibited a weak relationship with the presence of tobacco use disorder (AUC = 0.664), whether individuals experience nicotine withdrawal (AUC = 0.672) and whether individuals had a history of failed quit attempts (AUC = 0.578). The relationship between smoking rate and a history of failed quit attempts was weaker for women than men (p < .05). Otherwise, utility did not differ as a function of sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, or use of multiple tobacco products. Optimal cutoffs varied somewhat across indices, but the largest number of correct classifications occurred at very low smoking rates. ConclusionsResearchers should consider abandoning the use of smoking rate cutoffs to determine study eligibility. If smoking rate cutoffs are used, a rationale should be presented along with justification for the specific cutoff chosen.

Effects of low maternal heart rate on fetal growth andbirthweight.

To evaluate the association between birthweight and maternal heart rate (MHR) or heart rate variability (HRV) under resting conditions at 20-24 gestational weeks and 34weeks or later (34+weeks). Data were retrospectively reviewed from the Safe Passage Study, a prospective longitudinal cohort study of alcohol use in pregnancy and birth outcomes in Cape Town, South Africa, between August 2007 and January 2015. Using custom-designed software, MHR and indicators of HRV were obtained from the recorded maternal electrocardiograms and compared with birthweight and z-scores of birthweight adjusted for gestation and gender. Data from 5655 women were included. MHR increased from 84.6bpm at 20-24weeks to 88.3bpm at 34+weeks. Increasing MHR from 70-80 to 80-90 and 90-100bpm at 20-24weeks was associated with increasing birthweight from 2940 to 2998 and 3032g, respectively (P<0.05). MHR and HRV contributed 29% to the variability associated with birthweight, whereas maternal body mass index at recruitment contributed 44%. Similar associations were observed for MHR at 34+weeks. The observed association of low maternal heart rate with birthweight might help to identify pregnancies at risk of poor fetal growth.

Sex Differences in the Reward-Enhancing Effects of Nicotine on Ethanol Reinforcement: A Reinforcer Demand Analysis.

Alcohol is often consumed with tobacco, and dependence to alcohol and tobacco are highly comorbid. In addition, there are differences in the prevalence of nicotine- and alcohol-abuse between the sexes. Nicotine produces enhancing effects on the value of other reinforcers, which may extend to alcohol. Male and female Wistar rats were trained to self-administer 15% ethanol solution in 30-minute sessions. Once ethanol self-administration was established, demand for ethanol was evaluated using an exponential reinforcer demand method, in which the response cost per reinforcer delivery was systematically increased over blocks of several sessions. Within each cost condition, rats were preinjected with nicotine (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg base, SC) or saline 5 minutes before self-administration sessions. The effects of nicotine dose and biological sex were evaluated using the estimates generated by the reinforcer demand model. Under saline conditions, males showed greater sensitivity to ethanol reinforcement than females. Nicotine enhanced the reinforcement value of alcohol and this varied with sex. In both sexes, 0.4 mg/kg nicotine decreased intensity of ethanol demand. However, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg nicotine decreased elasticity of ethanol demand in females, but not in males. Nicotine enhances ethanol reinforcement, which may partially drive comorbidity between nicotine-abuse and alcohol-abuse. Males showed signs of greater ethanol reinforcement value than females under saline conditions, and nicotine attenuated this effect by increasing ethanol reinforcement value in the females. These findings highlight that a complete understanding of alcohol-abuse must include a thorough study of alcohol use in the context of other drug use, including nicotine. Nicotine dose dependently enhances the alcohol reinforcement value in a manner that is clearly influenced by biological sex. Under saline baseline conditions, males show lower elasticity of demand for alcohol reinforcement than females, indicative of greater reinforcement value. However, nicotine attenuated this difference by enhancing alcohol reward in the females. Specifically, low-to-moderate doses (0.05-0.2 mg/kg) of nicotine decreased elasticity of alcohol demand in female rats, increasing the perseverance of their alcohol taking behavior. These data indicate that the well-documented reward-enhancing effects of nicotine on sensory reinforcement extend to alcohol reinforcement and that these vary with biological sex.

Gender Differences in Any-Source Caffeine and Energy Drink Use and Associated Adverse Health Behaviors.

Background: The majority of college students report caffeine use with many using caffeine daily. Energy drink (ED) use, in particular, is common among college students, and numerous studies link these heavily caffeinated drinks to a variety of adverse consequences including substance use and risky behaviors. However, little is known about correlations between any-source caffeine use and other substance use and problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patterns of caffeine use and examine the relationships between caffeine, in general, and EDs specifically, and adverse health behaviors in college students. Methods: We used data from a longitudinal study of alcohol use and health-related outcomes to assess caffeine, alcohol, nonprescription drug, and tobacco use and symptoms of alcohol dependence in 1958 freshmen from a mid-Atlantic university during Fall 2012. We compared adverse health behaviors between caffeine users and nonusers and ED users and nonusers. Data were evaluated separately in men and women. Results: While women reported significantly more caffeine use than men, men reported more ED use. EDs, regardless of frequency of use, were associated with all adverse health behaviors, but only in female students. Similarly, daily any-source caffeine use was significantly associated with alcohol, nonprescription drug, and tobacco use in female students, but in men, the association was less robust. Conclusions: This research shows that caffeine use is prevalent among college students, and, in female students, is associated with alcohol, nonprescription drug, and tobacco use and alcohol dependence symptoms. Interventions aimed at promoting healthy behaviors may be especially useful in this population.

Putting Genes In Context: Applying Integrative 'Omics To Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol misuse is the 4th leading cause of preventable mortality in the United States and contributes to over 3 million deaths worldwide each year. The use of alcohol in a pathologic fashion, alcohol use disorder, affects all populations, and the prevalence of this disorder has remained stable over the last several decades. The risk of developing alcohol use disorder has a substantial genetic component, with approximately 50% heritability. Some genetic risk variants are known, most notably variation in genes that are involved in the metabolism of alcohol – alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALHD) genes. Our goal is to integrate ‘omic data from multiple resources to accelerate discovery of relevant genetic contributions to disease. By leveraging complementary data sources, we can narrow the search space and boost power. This successful approach is illustrated through our study of alcohol use disorder.As our first step, we mapped cis-methylation quantitative trait loci (cis-meQTL) and cis-expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) that correlate with DNA methylation and RNA expression in the alcohol metabolizing genes (ADH gene family and ALDH2) in pre-frontal cortex samples from 240 decedents using the Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) biobank. We found novel cis-meQTL SNPs for ADH1C (smallest P = 2.6×10-11) that associate with alcohol use disorder (smallest P = 2.3×10-5, surpassing Bonferroni correction) in our newly assembled alcohol use disorder GWAS meta-analysis. These novel SNPs are not in linkage disequilibrium with prior GWAS-identified SNPs, and this novel approach demonstrates the power for discovery that focuses on regulatory SNPs to narrow the search space for association testing. Integrative omics approach can be extended genome wide by focusing on genes highly expressed in the brain. By leveraging multi-omics data (genome-wide DNAm, RNAexp, and SNP genotypes) from multiple sources, we can focus on genetic variation at the intersection of these datasets that can accelerate the discovery of new genes for diseases and their susceptibility variants beyond the strategy of increasing sample sizes for meta-analysis. This proposed approach focuses on neurobiologically meaningful genes and variants and will expand our understanding of the etiology of alcohol use disorder and the neuropathology underlying this disease.

Extended Twin Study of Alcohol Use in Virginia and Australia.

Drinking alcohol is a normal behavior in many societies, and prior studies have demonstrated it has both genetic and environmental sources of variation. Using two very large samples of twins and their first-degree relatives (Australia ≈ 20,000 individuals from 8,019 families; Virginia ≈ 23,000 from 6,042 families), we examine whether there are differences: (1) in the genetic and environmental factors that influence four interrelated drinking behaviors (quantity, frequency, age of initiation, and number of drinks in the last week), (2) between the twin-only design and the extended twin design, and (3) the Australian and Virginia samples. We find that while drinking behaviors are interrelated, there are substantial differences in the genetic and environmental architectures across phenotypes. Specifically, drinking quantity, frequency, and number of drinks in the past week have large broad genetic variance components, and smaller but significant environmental variance components, while age of onset is driven exclusively by environmental factors. Further, the twin-only design and the extended twin design come to similar conclusions regarding broad-sense heritability and environmental transmission, but the extended twin models provide a more nuanced perspective. Finally, we find a high level of similarity between the Australian and Virginian samples, especially for the genetic factors. The observed differences, when present, tend to be at the environmental level. Implications for the extended twin model and future directions are discussed.

A Comparison Study of Alcohol Use by Community College Students Receiving Care at an Integrated Health Center

A Comparison Study of Alcohol Use by Community College Students Receiving Care at an Integrated Health Center

Commentary on Salvatore et al. (2017): Dyadic research can clarify non-shared environmental influences on alcohol use disorder and divorce.

Commentary on Salvatore et al. (2017): Dyadic research can clarify non-shared environmental influences on alcohol use disorder and divorce.

Applying a collective resilience framework to refugees’ perceptions of recovery from harmful alcohol use.

Harmful alcohol use and lack of access to culturally relevant treatment has been identified as a significant problem facing the resettled Karen refugee community. Karen refugees face significant barriers to accessing and compiling with Western treatment programs that do not consider specific cultural and contextual factors related to recovery from harmful alcohol use. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop programs that are culturally and contextually relevant to refugees in the United States seeking treatment for alcohol use. This paper utilizes a collective resilience framework to interpret 3 themes related to reducing harmful alcohol use in the Karen community. This paper reports on a subset of findings from a larger qualitative study of alcohol use in Karen refugee communities. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 34 participants in 6 focus groups to elicit Karen refugees’ perceptions of the causes and consequences of alcohol use in their communities and perceptions of effective methods for reducing or stopping harmful alcohol use. This paper utilizes a collective resilience framework to interpret 3 themes related to reducing harmful alcohol use in the Karen community. Findings indicate that rebuilding or repairing community structures and bonds destroyed by conflict and displacement is an essential ingredient for reducing harmful alcohol use. Implications for practice are discussed.

A study of alcohol use and abuse among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis reported at urban health centre of tertiary care teaching hospital in Mumbai

A study of alcohol use and abuse among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis reported at urban health centre of tertiary care teaching hospital in Mumbai

The Impact of Peer Substance Use and Polygenic Risk on Trajectories of Heavy Episodic Drinking Across Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood.

Heavy episodic drinking is developmentally normative among adolescents and young adults, but is linked to adverse consequences in later life, such as drug and alcohol dependence. Genetic and peer influences are robust predictors of heavy episodic drinking in youth, but little is known about the interplay between polygenic risk and peer influences as they impact developmental patterns of heavy episodic drinking. Data were from a multisite prospective study of alcohol use among adolescents and young adults with genome-wide association data (n=412). Generalized linear mixed models were used to characterize the initial status and slopes of heavy episodic drinking between age 15 and 28. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were derived from a separate genome-wide association study for alcohol dependence and examined for their interaction with substance use among the adolescents' closest friends in predicting the initial status and slopes of heavy episodic drinking. Close friend substance use was a robust predictor of adolescent heavy episodic drinking, even after controlling for parental knowledge and peer substance use in the school. PRS were predictive of the initial status and early patterns of heavy episodic drinking in males, but not in females. No interaction was detected between PRS and close friend substance use for heavy episodic drinking trajectories in either males or females. Although substance use among close friends and genetic influences play an important role in predicting heavy episodic drinking trajectories, particularly during the late adolescent to early adult years, we found no evidence of interaction between these influences after controlling for other social processes, such as parental knowledge and broader substance use among other peers outside of close friends. The use of longitudinal models and accounting for multiple social influences may be crucial for future studies focused on uncovering gene-environment interplay. Clinical implications are also discussed.

Reinforcer pathologies: Predicting alcohol related problems in college drinking men and women

BackgroundAlcohol use in college is common, and problematic consequences of alcohol may affect college men and women differently. Approaches within behavioral economics have been used to improve our understanding of alcohol use in college students. MethodsThe current study assessed relations between college students' delay discounting, demand for alcohol, and alcohol problems as measured by the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ). In this study, 80 college drinkers completed a monetary choice questionnaire that assessed delay discounting of money, a novel beer choice questionnaire that evaluated delay discounting of beer, and an alcohol purchase task that measured demand for alcohol. ResultsBehavioral economic measures associated with the reinforcer pathologies model (i.e., demand and discounting) predicted alcohol consequences as measured by the YAACQ. For men, these significant predictor variables included money discounting, beer discounting, and intensity of alcohol demand, whereas for women money discounting and essential value were significant predictors. ConclusionsThese findings highlight the utility of the reinforcer pathologies approach for the study of alcohol use and the importance of considering gender differences in examining college drinking.