Millwood, I. Y., Walters, R. G., Mei, X. W., Guo, Y., Yang, L., Bian, Z., ... & Zhou, G. (2019). Conventional and genetic evidence on alcohol and vascular disease aetiology: a prospective study of 500 000 men and women in China. The Lancet.
Summary
Background
Moderate alcohol intake has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk in many studies, in comparison with abstinence or with heavier drinking. Studies in east Asia can help determine whether these associations are causal, since two common genetic variants greatly affect alcohol drinking patterns. We used these two variants to assess the relationships between cardiovascular risk and genotype-predicted mean alcohol intake in men, contrasting the findings in men with those in women (few of whom drink).
Methods
The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled...
In celebration of International Women’s Day we are highlighting studies throughout the month of March that further our understanding of how sex and gender influence the course of addiction and treatment, with a particular focus on women.
This week’s review examines the possibility that interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption may reduce a ‘hidden’ form of alcohol-related violence – domestic abuse.
Reading this analysis prompts thoughts about the role alcohol may play in initiating or exacerbating controlling and abusive behaviours in intimate relationships, and how the...
Borschmann, Rohan, Denise Becker, Elizabeth Spry, George J. Youssef, Craig A. Olsson, Delyse M. Hutchinson, Edmund Silins et al. "Alcohol and parenthood: An integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts." Drug and Alcohol Dependence 197 (2019): 326-334.
A recent study sought to determine the extent to which the transition to parenthood protects against problematic alcohol consumption.
The consumption of alcohol carries a risk of adverse health and social consequences related to its intoxicating, toxic and dependence-producing properties (WHO).
When assessing alcohol-related harm estimates primarily focus on the individual who is consuming alcohol.
A recent study conducted by researchers from the Institute for Therapy Research in Bayern has investigated the most severe harms that alcohol use may cause to people in Germany other than the drinker.
Dr Ludwig Kraus, the corresponding author, described the research: "This study estimates some of the most severe harms...
Larm, Peter, Jonas Raninen, Cecilia Åslund, Johan Svensson, and Kent W. Nilsson. "The increased trend of non-drinking alcohol among adolescents: what role do internet activities have?." European journal of public health 29, no. 1 (2018): 27-32.
Is the increase in non-drinking amount adolescents linked with spending more time on the internet?
SAMHSA’s Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives (UADPEI) invites you to join national experts on March 20 to learn about leveraging partnerships in planning/hosting a Communities Talk: Town Hall Meeting to Prevent Underage...
Pedrero-García, E. (2018). Nightlife and Alcohol Consumption Among Youths: The Botellón Phenomenon in Spain. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018800903
Abstract
In this article, we approach the botellón phenomenon as a widespread nightlife activity among Spanish youths. Botellón consists of youths meeting up, primarily on weekend nights, in open-air public spaces to talk and consume the alcoholic beverages that they have prepared. The objective of this study was to analyze the motives, attitudes, and consequences related to the practice of botellón during the leisure time of youth. A qualitative methodology has been used and speeches from 80 young people aged 14 years to 24 years have been analyzed in Seville (Southern Spain). These...
Kobayashi D, Hayashi H, Kuga H, et al Alcohol consumption behaviours in the immediate aftermath of earthquakes: time series study BMJ Open 2019;9:e026268. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026268
Abstract
Objectives: Earthquakes are a distressing natural phenomenon that can disrupt normal health-related behaviours. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in alcohol consumption behaviours in the immediate aftermath of mild to moderate earthquakes.
Setting: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a large academic hospital in Tokyo, Japan from April 2004 to March 2017.
Participants: We included all adult patients presenting with acute alcohol intoxication in the emergency room.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: Our outcome was the number of such...
Asante, Kwaku Oppong, and Nuworza Kugbey. "Alcohol use by school-going adolescents in Ghana: Prevalence and correlates." Mental Health & Prevention (2019).
Harmful alcohol consumption during adolescence poses a major public health issue as it affects several aspects of young peoples’ health and wellbeing.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Mental Health and Prevention, has examined the prevalence of problem alcohol use and risk factors associated with initiation of alcohol use in a sample (N = 1984) of school-aged adolescents in Ghana. The researchers examined the association between alcohol use behaviour and factors such as age, gender, suicidal thoughts, loneliness a, d interpersonal issues.
The Inspire Freedom Campaign – Together for women and girls – every 25th is IOGT International’s flagship community campaign to promote the rights of girls and women and to end gender-based violence, by preventing alcohol violence.
The campaign hopes to inspire freedom through local actions which are carried out as part of the global movement of IOGT International – from Reykjavik to New Delhi, to Nairobi, Mexico City and Bangkok.
IOGT International have created a Comunity Action Guide to Inspire Freedom which provides a clockwork of activities – different actions that drive and support...
Newbury-Birch, D., McGovern, R., Birch, J., O'Neill, G., Kaner, H., Sondhi, A., & Lynch, K. (2016). A rapid systematic review of what we know about alcohol use disorders and brief interventions in the criminal justice system. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 12(1), 57-70.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence of alcohol use disorders within the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK. Furthermore it reviewed the worldwide evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system.
Design/methodology/approach
– A rapid systematic review of publications was conducted from the year 2000 to 2014 regarding the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the various stages of the criminal justice system. The second part of the work was a rapid review of effectiveness studies of...
Slutske, Wendy S., Arielle R. Deutsch, and Thomas M. Piasecki. "Neighborhood density of alcohol outlets moderates genetic and environmental influences on alcohol problems." Addiction (2018).
Gene-environment interactions occur when different surroundings make it more or less likely for a particular trait or disorder to develop.
The concept of ‘alcogenic’ environments describes features, such as alcohol outlet density or marketing, which influence patterns of alcohol consumption.
A recent study, which analysed longitudinal data of 18–26-year-olds, has examined the link between genetic variation in alcohol problems and the number of alcohol outlets in a community.
The results from the study found that:
There was evidence to suggest that the extent of genetic and...
Canadian alcohol intake increases during holidays, parties and vacations.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addictions has created a calendar of social media graphics to remind young people that if they’re planning to drink, moderation can help reduce harms from alcohol.
Shared by Jose Luis Vazquez Martinez
- 8 February 2019
Format
Book
Published by / Citation
PAHO/WHO
Assessing the level of implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol in the Region of the Americas.
Abstract
[FOREWORD]. Monitoring progress is a key component whenever planning and committing to implement health strategies, as it can help guide needed improvements and identify and respond to gaps in the public health response. Thus, in any given society, it becomes a mechanism for accountability to governments and other stakeholders involved. This report describes the construction of a series of composite indicators developed for evaluating the level of...
Among many young Europeans, alcohol and drugs are the preferred means of altering consciousness. These substances are used as part of various social activities either on weekends in bars, nightclubs, or music festivals or on weekdays. This...
Simon Coulton, M Fasihul Alam, Sadie Boniface, Paolo Deluca, Kim Donoghue, Eilish Gilvarry, Eileen Kaner, Ellen Lynch, Ian Maconochie, Paul McArdle, Ruth McGovern, Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Robert Patton, Ceri J Phillips, Thomas Phillips, Hannah Rose, Ian Russell, John Strang, Colin Drummond; Opportunistic screening for alcohol use problems in adolescents attending emergency departments: an evaluation of screening tools, Journal of Public Health, , fdy049, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy049
Abstract
Objective
To estimate and compare the optimal cut-off score of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and AUDIT-C in identifying at-risk alcohol consumption, heavy episodic alcohol use, ICD-10 alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence in adolescents attending ED in England.
Design
Opportunistic cross-sectional survey.
Setting
10 emergency departments across England.
Participants
Adolescents (n = 5377) aged between their 10th and 18th birthday who attended emergency departments between December 2012 and May 2013.
This event will continue to bring service user representatives, patient groups, treatment providers, members of the recovery community and policymakers together to strive to increase patient choice and provide better, fairer treatment for...