Years Of Heavy Drinking Research Articles

Pain in alcohol use disorder: Evaluating effects of childhood trauma, perceived stress, and psychological comorbidity

The relationship between pain and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is complex and bidirectional. The current study examines risk factors for pain in a large comprehensively phenotyped sample including individuals from across the spectrum of alcohol use and misuse. Participants (n = 1101) were drawn from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Natural History Protocol and included treatment-seeking AUD inpatients (AUD+Tx, n = 369), individuals with AUD not seeking treatment (AUD+, n = 161), and individuals without AUD (AUD-, n = 571). General linear models were utilized to test the effects of AUD status, history of childhood trauma exposure, perceived stress, and psychological comorbidity on daily percent time in pain, as well as change in daily percent time in pain across the inpatient stay in AUD+Tx individuals. Overall, 60.2% individuals reported any pain, with a significantly higher prevalence in the AUD+Tx group (82.1%) compared to the AUD+ (56.5%) and AUD- (47.1%) groups. Daily percent time in pain was also highest in the AUD+Tx group (30.2%) and was further increased in those with a history of childhood abuse and comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Years of heavy drinking and craving were also associated with increased percent time in pain in the AUD+Tx group. Percent time in pain decreased following acute withdrawal in the AUD+Tx group but plateaued around 25% just prior to discharge. Individuals seeking inpatient treatment for AUD, especially those with a history of childhood trauma and/or comorbid PTSD, report greater percent time in pain compared to those not seeking treatment and those without AUD. The prolonged experience of pain in abstinent AUD inpatients after the resolution of acute withdrawal may signal the early stages of protracted withdrawal. Integrative treatments targeting pain and other symptoms of protracted withdrawal may be effective in improving overall function in people with severe AUD.

Decreased expression of CD200 on peripheral blood leukocytes in alcohol dependence

Chronic alcohol use induces innate immune genes, which activate the innate immune system. Neuroimmune regulatory proteins [e.g., Cluster of Differentiation 200 (CD200)] are immune response regulators and are involved in balancing the immune response. This study aimed to investigate the expression of CD200 on the surface of peripheral blood leukocytes in patients with alcohol use disorder and compare them with controls. Fifty male patients with alcohol use disorder were included in the study. A baseline assessment was done, and alcohol use history, craving, and withdrawal scores were collected. A 2-mL venous blood sample was collected from cases and controls for immunophenotyping of CD200. The control group consisted of 50 participants with similar socio-economic backgrounds. The cellular expression of CD200 on total leukocytes (median ± IQR) [39.94 (28.85, 50.01)] in cases was significantly lower compared to controls [45.07 (37.70, 51.69)] (U = 896, p = 0.015). Expression of CD200 on lymphocytes in cases was negatively correlated with years of heavy drinking and this was statistically significant (r = −0.321, p = 0.023). The study indicates that cellular expression of CD200 on the surface of peripheral blood leukocytes is reduced in alcohol-dependent patients. This reduction can contribute to exaggerated immune activity, release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chronic microglial activation, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration in alcohol dependence.

93132 Relationship between Level of Response to Alcohol and Body Weight Status in Individuals across the Spectrum of Alcohol Use and Misuse

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Improved understanding of the relationship between level of response to alcohol and body weight in the context of other contributing factors will help inform prevention and intervention efforts regarding obesity. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We evaluated the association between level of response to alcohol and weight status across the spectrum of alcohol misuse. We hypothesized that lower level of response to alcohol would be associated with heavier weight, after controlling for obesity risk factors like food addiction, impulsivity, and low socioeconomic status. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Adult participants (N=587) enrolled in NIAAA’s natural history study completed Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE), a retrospective measure of level of response to alcohol, along with Lifetime Drinking History (LDH); Yale Food Addiction (FA) Scale; Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS); Delayed Discounting Task (DDT). Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM disorders were conducted to identify individuals with current alcohol use disorder (AUD). Body mass index (BMI), computed from height and weight measured during the study, and used to stratify participants into 3 groups: normal weight (N=222), overweight (N=219), or obese (N=146). RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: SRE scores during heaviest drinking period were lowest in the heavier weight group, after accounting for FA, impulsivity, alcohol-related, and demographic variables (ê•2=238.5, p=0.002, Cox and Snell Pseudo R2=0.43). Compared to the obese group, normal weight and overweight groups had fewer FA symptoms and higher BIS cognitive complexity (p values<0.01) but similar rates of current AUD. Relative to the obese group, the normal weight group was more likely to be White, and to have lower household incomes but more education, more years of heavy drinking (LDH), and steeper delayed discounting, p values ≤0.03. The overweight group had a higher proportion of males than did the obese group, p<0.001. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Lower level of response during heaviest drinking period was significantly associated with current weight status, suggesting a relationship between alcohol sensitivity and BMI. Future work will explore pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic and additional risk factors underlying this relationship.

Long-term survival and predictors of relapse and survival after liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease

Objective: Studies of predictive factors of alcohol recidivism and survival post-LT are not up-to-date. With evolving LT activity and with longer-term outcomes becoming increasingly available, re-evaluating post-LT outcomes is imperative. We analyzed recent data on survival, alcohol recurrence and predictive factors.Methods: We compared long-term survival among 159 consecutive ALD patients transplanted 2003–2016 with 159 propensity-score matched controls transplanted for non-ALD. Alcohol ‘slips’ (occasional lapse) and relapse to moderate or harmful drinking were assessed from medical records and structured forms filled in by home-district physicians, and analyzed by competing-risk and multivariate Cox regression analyses.Results: Patient and graft survival at 10 years were 75 and 69% in the ALD group and 65 and 63% in the control group (p=.06 and .36). In ALD patients, the 10-year cumulative rate of alcohol slip was 52% and of relapse, 37%. Duration of pre-LT abstinence (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94–0.99) and a history of prior alcohol relapses (HR 3.05, 95% CI 1.41–6.60) were significant predictors of relapse, but failed to predict death/graft loss. Patients with <6 months abstinence relapsed sooner than those with 7–24 months abstinence, but 10-year relapse rates were similar (40–50%). Ten-year relapse rate with 2–5-year pre-LT abstinence was 21%, and with >5-year abstinence, 0%. In patients with <6 months pre-LT abstinence, years of heavy drinking, prior addiction treatments, and lack of children predicted inferior survival.Conclusions: Although 37% of our ALD patients relapsed to drinking by 10 years post-LT, 14-year survival was not significantly different from survival in non-ALD patients. Short duration of pre-LT abstinence and prior relapses predicted post-LT relapse.

Number of hospital contacts with alcohol problems predicts later risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis

Alcoholic liver cirrhosis is usually preceded by years of heavy drinking. We investigated whether the risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis increases as the number of hospital contacts with alcohol problems goes up. This was a supplementary analysis on a nationwide register-based cohort study. All patients in Denmark with an initial hospital contact with alcohol problems (alcohol intoxication, harmful alcohol use or alcohol dependence) 1998-2002, free of liver disease, were followed for diagnosis of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The number of subsequent hospital contacts with alcohol problems was estimated as a time-dependent variable for each patient. In all, 36,044 hospital patients with an initial hospital contact with alcohol problems were included. These patients had 301,525 subsequent hospital contacts with alcohol problems. Risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis increased ( p < 0.0001) with number of alcohol hospital contacts in both men and women for up to nine contacts. The number of prior hospital contacts with alcohol problems might provide clinicians with a helpful metric in deciding whether to offer preventive interventions for alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

Socio-demographic characteristics and stereotyping of people who frequently attend accident and emergency departments for alcohol-related reasons: Qualitative study

Aims: To provide new insights into the socio-demographic characteristics of people who frequently attend Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments for alcohol-related reasons and to explore the findings with reference to stereotyping and prejudice. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 30 individuals (18 males; 12 females; aged 20–68 years) recruited from six A&E departments across London, United Kingdom. Participants had all attended A&E ≥10 times within the last year or ≥5 times in the last three months for an alcohol-related condition. Detailed data relating to participants’ socio-demographic characteristics were systematically coded and analysed. Findings: Participants reported many years of heavy drinking, and high levels of mental and physical ill health, unemployment, dependence on state benefits, housing problems and social isolation. Frequency of A&E attendances varied greatly by participant, patterns of drinking and other substance use were diverse, and the nature and extent of self-reported health and social problems were wide-ranging. Conclusions: Findings suggest that people who regularly attend A&E for alcohol-related reasons collectively experience multiple and complex needs, but individually have diverse patterns of drinking and other problems. Flexible person-centred systems could help to support this patient population, whilst avoidance of terminology that overstates group traits should help to minimise stigma.

Associations Between Cerebellar Subregional Morphometry and Alcoholism History in Men and Women.

Alcoholism has been linked to deficits in cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functions, and the cerebellum is important for optimal functioning of these abilities. However, little is known about how individual differences such as gender and drinking history might influence regional cerebellar abnormalities. Volumetric analyses of the cerebellum and its subregions were performed in relation to the interaction of gender and measures of drinking history. Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 44 alcoholic individuals (23 men) and 39 nonalcoholic controls (18 men) were obtained. In addition to measuring total cerebellar gray and white matter volumes, we measured 64 individual cerebellar parcellation units, as well as functionally defined a priori regions of interest that have been shown to correspond to functions impaired in alcoholism. Total cerebellar white matter volume was smaller in alcoholic relative to nonalcoholic participants. Moreover, volumes of parcellation units varied with drinking history, showing negative associations between years of heavy drinking and the anterior lobe, the vestibulocerebellar lobe, and the spinocerebellar subdivision. The negative association between anterior volume and years of heavy drinking was driven primarily by alcoholic men. Additionally, we observed larger white and gray matter volumes for alcoholic women than for alcoholic men. The identification of drinking-related abnormalities in cerebellar subregions lays a foundation that can be utilized to inform how cerebro-cerebellar networks are perturbed in this pathological condition. These results also provide estimates of how gender and individual differences in drinking history can predict cerebellar volumes.

Diabetes and alcohol

Diabetes and alcohol

Cognitive and Emotional Deficits in Chronic Alcoholics: a Role for the Cerebellum?

It is now widely accepted that in addition to motor coordination, the cerebellum is also involved in the modulation of cognitive and affective processes. Despite alcoholic cerebellar degeneration (ACD) being the most common form of cerebellar disorder, little systematic investigation of cerebellar-mediated cognitive and affective deficits has occurred in chronic alcoholics. Forty-nine chronic alcoholics and 29 healthy control participants underwent testing of cognitive and affective function, along with measurement of cerebellar ataxia using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (Trouillas et al., Journal of the Neurological Sciences 145:205-11, 1997). The alcoholic group demonstrated significantly poorer performance as compared to the control group in a number of domains, including visuospatial and language skills, psychomotor speed, new learning and memory, executive functioning, and emotional regulation and affect processing. There were no differences between the alcoholic and control groups in immediate attention and working memory abilities. Years of heavy drinking and total period of abstinence were found to be the best predictors of cognitive and emotional function in the alcoholic group. After accounting for alcohol chronicity, there was still a relationship between the degree of clinical signs of ACD and some areas of cognitive and emotional functioning, including language, executive functioning, processing speed and affect processing. The results suggest that some of the cognitive and affective deficits observed in chronic alcoholics may be mediated, at least in part, by cerebellar dysfunction. These findings add support to the theory of disruption to bidirectional cerebro-cerebellar circuitry underlying cognitive and affective deficits in chronic alcoholics.

Drinking History Associations with Regional White Matter Volumes in Alcoholic Men and Women

Alcoholism has been repeatedly associated with gray and white matter pathology. Although neuroimaging has shown alcoholism-related brain volume reductions and axonal compromise, the integrity of white matter volumes in chronic alcoholism has been challenging to measure on a regional level. We first examined the effects of alcoholism on cerebral white matter volumes by lobar and gyral subdivisions in 42 abstinent alcoholics and 42 control participants (split evenly by gender). We also examined cerebellar white matter and regions of the corpus callosum, as well as ventricular volumes. Next, relationships between white matter and ventricular volumes with measures of drinking patterns were assessed. Finally, an examination of early versus late abstinence was conducted. Within each examination, gender effects were explored. Differences in regional white matter volumes between alcoholics and controls were observed primarily in the corpus callosum, with a stronger group difference among men than women. Years of heavy drinking had a strong negative impact on frontal and temporal white matter among alcoholic women, and on the corpus callosum among alcoholic men. Quantity of alcohol consumption was associated with smaller corpus callosum and larger ventricular volumes among alcoholic women, whereas abstinence duration was associated with larger corpus callosum volume among alcoholic men. Preliminary data indicated that alcoholic women showed stronger positive associations between sobriety duration and white matter volume than men within the first year of abstinence, whereas men showed this association more so than women after 1 year of abstinence. Effects of drinking history on white matter and ventricular volumes vary by gender, with alcoholic women showing greatest sensitivity in frontal, temporal, ventricular, and corpus callosum regions, and alcoholic men showing effects mainly in the corpus callosum. Preliminary results indicate that recovery of white matter volume may occur sooner for women than for men.

Characterization of Cerebellar Ataxia in Chronic Alcoholics Using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS)

Alcoholism is the most common cause of cerebellar dysfunction, yet estimates of the incidence of alcoholic cerebellar degeneration (ACD) vary greatly, with differences in methodologies contributing to these disparate findings. This study set out to characterize the frequency and pattern of clinical signs of ACD in an alcoholic group using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). We compared the performance of 49 alcoholics and 29 control participants. The relative contributions of demographic and alcohol consumption variables to ICARS scores in the alcoholic group were also examined. The alcoholic group demonstrated significantly poorer performance on all of the ICARS subscales as compared with the control group. Within the alcoholic group, performance was more impaired on the speech scale than on all of the other scales, except the lower limb component of the kinetic scale, and less impaired on the oculomotor scale compared with all other scales. Years of heavy drinking and lifetime alcohol consumption correlated with total ICARS scores; however, maximum daily consumption was actually negatively correlated with ICARS scores. Of the alcohol history variables, years of heavy drinking was the best predictor of total ICARS scores, making a 19% unique contribution, followed by the period of abstinence from alcohol, which uniquely contributed 7% of the variance. There were high correlations between age and male gender and the alcohol consumption variables; however, age and gender were still found to uniquely contribute 5 and 7% respectively to the variance in total ICARS scores. ACD may affect up to two-thirds of chronic alcoholics. Assessing the number of years an individual has been drinking beyond a certain threshold can give a good indication of the likelihood of ACD. Age, gender, and the source of the clinical sample may significantly contribute to the prevalence of ACD and require further detailed investigation.

Defining ‘acute on chronic liver failure’: an identity crisis!

‘We should be careful to get out of an experience onlythe wisdom that is in it and stop there; lest we be likethe cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will neversit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is well; butalso she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.’Mark Twain1835–1910What’s in the name?A clinical syndrome represents a typical constellation ofphysical and laboratory findings that may be seen as a part ofone or more primary disease processes. Clinical syndromeshave often been born out of astute observations by experi-enced clinicians with sharp observation and pattern recogni-tion skills. Defining clinical syndromes is helpful sincefamiliarity with a particular clinical pattern leads cliniciansalong the ‘problem-solving’ pathway to arrive at a specificdiagnosis and plan an appropriate management in futurepatients. Description of a new clinical syndrome naturallyattracts attention and ‘case definition’ is an essential first stepinanyfocusedinvestigationsrelatedtothenewclinical entity.Historically, many of the clinical syndromes were describedwith the presumption of a common underlying pathophysio-logical mechanisms. Although, seldom have these stood thetests of time and scientific rigor: most syndromes continue tohavemultiplecauses,oftenwithdisparatetreatmentmodalitiesand outcomes.Clinicians have for long recognized that patients withcirrhosis could decompensate acutely due to precipitatingevents such as variceal bleeding, ischemic hepatitis, orsepsis. A perception that common pathophysiologicalmechanisms underlie these presentations (in contrast withprogressive decompensation that occurs in end-stagecirrhosis) has led to the christening of this syndrome,‘acute on chronic liver failure’ (ACLF).Alcoholic hepatitis as a paradigm for ACLFAlcoholic hepatitis is one of the most recognized ‘acute onchronic’liverconditions.Thisisacommonclinicalsyndromewith rapid onset of jaundice and liver failure that generallyoccurs after years of heavy drinking. Other common clinicalfeatures include fever, tender hepatomegaly, coagulopathyand encephalopathy in its severe form. Liver biopsy inpatients with alcoholic hepatitis reveals ballooning of hep-atocytes and Mallory-Denk bodies, which are often sur-rounded by neutrophils. The condition is associated withbindingofgut-derivedlipopolysaccharide(LPS)-endotoxintoCD14 (monocyte differentiating antigen), which in turncombines with toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), leading ultimatelyto activation of several cytokine genes. Cytokines such astumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) have both a paracrineeffectonhepatocytes,leadingtoinductionofcytotoxicity,andsystemic effects such as fever, anorexia and weight loss thatare characteristics of alcoholic hepatitis [1]. Alcoholichepatitis is considered to be the most severe manifestation

Comin' at Ya! The Homoerotic 3-D Photographs of Denny Denfield (review)

Reviewed by: Comin' at Ya! The Homoerotic 3-D Photographs of Denny Denfield Donald W. McLeod (bio) David L. Chapman and Thomas Waugh, editors. Comin' at Ya! The Homoerotic 3-D Photographs of Denny Denfield. Arsenal Pulp. 2007. 208. $31.95 Lloyd 'Denny' Denfield (1918-92) of San Francisco was a nondescript accountant by day, a retiring bachelor who was known as a mama's boy. Denny made his mark through his avocation, a secretive obsession with photographing the male nude. As David L. Chapman explains in the introduction to Comin at Ya! Denfield's obsession was sparked during his wartime career in the South Pacific when he witnessed a group of handsome marines strip naked and jump into a jungle stream. This event crystallized his gay feelings as well as a conscious desire somehow to record the fleeting beauty of manhood. Denfield began to experiment with cameras and photography almost as soon as he returned to civilian life, determined to become a master photographer 'in order to record the transient beauty of as many male bodies as he could.' Technique was learned through trial and error, and by searching out and befriending major physique photographers of the day, including Bruce Bellas (Bruce of Los Angeles), Lon Hanagan (Lon of New York), Douglas Juleff (Douglas of Detroit), and Bob Mizer (Athletic Model Guild). The world of gay photography at mid-century was small, secretive, and illegal. Denfield was able to avoid arrest for selling nude photographs by simply being a devoted amateur who never intended to sell his images. His collection was private and was kept safely locked away. Denny Denfield had no trouble finding willing subjects to photograph. Some of these men were well-known physique models, most were friends [End Page 454] or even strangers. A devoted naturist, Denfield would often be seen in summertime during the mid-1950s strolling San Francisco's most prominent nude beach, wearing only the cameras that dangled from his neck. There he would scout for likely subjects, who were most cooperative. Some of these men were also invited to indoor photo parties at Denfield's home (when mother was away), and, later, to a large, isolated party house in Marin County. Comin at Ya! focuses on one aspect of Denfield's photographic oeuvre. In 1947 a remarkable new camera was introduced. The Stereo Realist was a compact, easy-to-use 3-D camera that produced vivid, life-like Kodachrome stereoview slides. It was Bob Mizer who encouraged Denfield to take up stereo photography in 1954, which he did with a vengeance. He took thousands of Realist stereoviews; Denfield once claimed that he took stereoviews of 1,500 men before he stopped counting. Some of these surviving stereoviews are displayed in this book, 177 full-colour figures in all, with a hand-held 3-D viewer inserted in a pouch at the back. The result is a spectacular feast of vibrant and highly erotic images, enhanced greatly by the 'pop-up,' in-your-face effect produced by using the viewer. And what makes these images so exciting and rare is that they are unique: they have never been reproduced before. Thomas Waugh's foreword characterizes Denfield as a type of 'talented but tormented' gay artist common to the pre-Stonewall gay erotic underground. Although Denfield was never arrested for his photographic hobby, the pursuit was not without dangers. In 1951 thieves broke into the trunk of his car and stole a large number of his best slides. In 1965, he was beaten and robbed after a party. By 1968, after years of heavy drinking, smoking, and riotous living, Denfield's health was ruined and his photographic career was over. Although Denfield lived another twenty-four years, he gradually abandoned all ties to his old friends and associates and turned away from his former gay life. Original gay pornographic photographic images from the mid-twentieth century are rare, and it is remarkable that so many of Denfield's stereoviews have survived. At his death in 1992, Denfield willed his entire photographic archive to a former friend, who looked after it until his own sudden death in 2004. The collection was then broken up and...

Poster Abstracts from the AAAP 20th Annual Meeting and Symposium

Poster Abstracts from the AAAP 20th Annual Meeting and Symposium

The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development.

Adolescence is a unique period in neurodevelopment. Alcohol and marijuana use are common. Recent research has indicated that adolescent substance users show abnormalities on measures of brain functioning, which is linked to changes in neurocognition over time. Abnormalities have been seen in brain structure volume, white matter quality, and activation to cognitive tasks, even in youth with as little as 1-2 years of heavy drinking and consumption levels of 20 drinks per month, especially if > 4-5 drinks are consumed on a single occasion. Heavy marijuana users show some subtle anomalies too, but generally not the same degree of divergence from demographically similar non-using adolescents. This article reviews the extant literature on neurocognition, brain structure, and brain function in adolescent substance users with an emphasis on the most commonly used substances, and in the context of ongoing neuromaturational processes. Methodological and treatment implications are provided.

The CAGE as a Measure of Hazardous Drinking in the Homeless

The aim of this study was to test the validity of the CAGE questions as a measure of severe drinking in subjects at drop-in centers for the homeless, using biological markers of acute liver reaction to alcohol as the "gold standard." A sample of homeless men and women in Copenhagen were invited to participate in a study of health problems. Subjects were interviewed and blood samples were taken and screened for indicators of liver dysfunction (gamma-glutamyltransferase [gammaGT], mean corpuscular volume [MCV], alanine aminotransferase [ALAT], and alkaline phosphatase [Alpase]), and hepatitis C [HCV]. Scores on CAGE correlated strongly with years of heavy drinking (rho = 0.43, p < 0.001), and while years of drinking did not correlate with biomarkers after controlling for multiple hypothesis testing, CAGE correlated with gammaGT, Alpase and ALAT, but not MCV. The correlations held even among those without HCV, but subjects with HCV + and CAGE > 1 had quite extreme values on liver markers. Findings suggested that the CAGE was able to identify homeless drinkers whose drinking was significantly associated with increases in biomarkers associated with heavy drinking.

Memory Deficits Among Alcoholics: Performance on a Selective Reminding Task

ABSTRACT This article compared alcoholics and healthy controls on the Buschke Selective Reminding Task. Alcoholics demonstrated deficits in memory and learning when compared to healthy controls, even when controlling for age. Examination of the alcoholic sample initially showed that age predicted memory deficits; however, age was no longer a significant predictor once the number of years of heavy drinking was entered into the regression equation. Findings suggest a direct link or mechanism of action between alcohol use and memory impairments, above and beyond effects of age or education.

Here's to immortality.

The news that a 20-year-old woman needed a liver transplant after years of heavy drinking reminded me of Wilfred Owen's poem Anthem for Doomed Youth - a moving reflection on the waste of young lives in the first world war.

EEG low-voltage alpha and alpha power in African American young adults: relation to family history of alcoholism.

Several studies support an association between having a low-voltage EEG and alcohol dependence; however, it is not clear whether this measure represents a risk marker or is a result of years of heavy drinking. The present study's aims were to investigate the prevalence of low-voltage alpha EEG variants in African American young adults who have not yet developed alcohol dependence and to test for associations between low-voltage alpha (LVA) EEG, alpha power, and a family history of alcohol dependence. Clinical ratings and spectral characteristics of the EEG, collected using bipolar recordings, were investigated in 81 African American young adult men and women (18-25 years old) who had no personal history of alcohol dependence. Information on psychiatric diagnoses, personality features, personal drinking and drug use history, and family history (FH) of alcoholism was obtained. Thirty-two percent (n = 26) of the participants had an LVA EEG variant, and an additional 22% (n = 18) had borderline LVA. The presence of an LVA variant was not associated with drinking status, a family history of alcoholism, or a personal history of anxiety disorders but was associated with significantly higher extroversion scores. Participants who had an FH of alcoholism had significantly higher spectral power in the slow alpha frequencies (7.5-9 Hz). FH was not associated with any significant differences in any other EEG frequency band. These findings suggest that considerable ethic variation may exist in the prevalence of LVA EEG variants. In addition, like findings in other populations of non-African descent, having an FH of alcohol dependence may be associated with significantly higher voltage in the alpha frequency ranges.

Memory Impairments in Alcoholism: Effects of Age and Education

Memory impairments related to alcoholism and to age (young, middle, and old) were examined as a function of educational level (low, high). Factoring of 14 different memory test scores from 93 alcoholics and 73 controls into four components indicated that alcohol-related impairments in verbal memory were observed in adults with low, but not high levels of education. Similarly, age-related decrements in visual-spatial and verbal memory tasks (Components I and II) affected mainly low-education alcoholics and controls. On these components, age and alcoholism did not interact, but were additive. Effects of education were reflected in verbal but not nonverbal tasks (Auditory and Design Recognition, Components III and IV). Neither years of heavy drinking, lifetime consumption, nor abstinence (80% had < 7 wks abstinence) predicted component scores of alcoholics, while age or education accounted for significant variance in visual-spatial, verbal, and design recognition components.