Alcohol consumption as a function of dietary restraint and the menstrual cycle in moderate/heavy (“at-risk”) female drinkers

Gambling has significant costs to the community, with a health burden similar in scale to major depression. To reduce its impact, it is necessary to understand factors that may exacerbate harm from gambling. The gambling environment of late-night licensed venues and 24/7 online gambling has the potential to negatively impact sleep and increase alcohol consumption. This study explored gambling, alcohol, and sleep problems to understand whether there is a relationship between these three factors. Telephone interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Australian adults (n = 3760) combined across three waves of the National Social Survey. Participants completed screening measures for at-risk gambling, at-risk alcohol consumption, insomnia (2015 wave only), and sleep quality. There were small but significant positive correlations between problem gambling and alcohol misuse, problem gambling and insomnia, and problem gambling and poor sleep quality. A regression model showed that gambling problems and alcohol misuse were significant independent predictors of insomnia. A separate regression showed gambling problems (and not alcohol misuse) were a significant predictor of poor sleep quality, but only in one survey wave. Findings suggest that gambling, alcohol, and sleep problems are related within persons. Further research should examine the mechanisms through which this relationship exists.

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Corrigendum: Screening for At-Risk Alcohol Consumption in Primary Care: A Randomized Evaluation of Screening Approaches

Alcohol and Alcoholism ◽

10.1093/alcalc/agy022 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 499-499

Author(s):

Simon Coulton ◽

Veronica Dale ◽

Paolo Deluca ◽

Eilish Gilvarry ◽

Christine Godfrey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

At Risk ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Randomized Evaluation ◽

Screening Approaches

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The Determinants of Binge Drinking: Do Frequency, Intensity, Price and Expenditure Shares Matter?

10.31234/osf.io/twjba ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Reka Sundaram-Stukel

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

At Risk ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Binge Drinking ◽

Population Health ◽

School Education ◽

High School Education ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Substitution Effects ◽

Consumer Expenditure

Abstract:Objective: Examine how socio-economic status (SES) and health outcomes affect binge-drinking demand using a novel approach integrating population health with consumer expenditure data.Design, Setting, and Participants: The study design uses a structural equation model to uncover the association between binge-drinking and SES. I use the 2016 wave of two annually conducted national population surveys in this research: the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance (BRFS) and the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), to examine the correlates of binge-drinking. The combined aggregated data integrates alcohol expenditure shares and state-level alcohol prices from the CEX with the BRFS data. The BRFS data partially identifies the at-risk for binge-drinking respondents for our analysis.Main outcome and exposures: Alcohol consumption > 0 in 30 days and binge-drinking is positive (per occasion drinks > 5 male or > 4 female).Results: The binge-drinking prevalence in the BRFS sample, with 457,202 respondents 18 and older, is 17.0% points. Associations with binge-drinking are the same for the poorest and richest income quartiles. Age has the strongest variation. Compared to those over 65, ages 18 ¬– 21 participated in binge-drinking more, and ages 30 – 64 participated much less. Contrasted with those out-of-the-labor-force, the employed participated in binge-drinking more by 3.5% [95% CI, 2.3%, 5.0%] and those unable to work by 4.5% [95% CI, 3.3%, 6.0%] less. The estimated structural models show that, conditional on binge-drinking in a 30-day period, those with high school education or more increased binge-drinking intensity by 3.4% [95% CI, 1.3%, 5.5%] to 5.0% [95% CI, 2.8%, 7.2%] .As people age, expenditure shares on alcohol and cigarettes decrease but healthcare expenditure shares increase proportionately. Furthermore, compared to those without any chronic health conditions alcohol shares decrease by 0.5 [95% CI, -0.57, -0.43] times as number of health conditions increase; this decrease in alcohol consumptions is substituted by increased expenditure shares on food and health care proportionately. Compared to those without high school education alcohol shares decrease with education 0.13 [95% CI, 0.05, 0.23] times for high school graduates and 0.10 [95% CI, 0.3 0.21] times for those with college degrees.Conclusion and Relevance: Bridging the gap between population health and consumer data reveals income effects of binge-drinking are best captured using BRFS because we can characterize a population at risk for binge drinking. CEX best captures income shares and substitution effects between alcohol, smoking, health and food. Alcohol consumption is associated with employment and engaging in other risky behaviors. While this analysis was conducted using 2016 BRFS data the results are generalizable to 2019 BRFS data and extendable to COVID-19 era. Preliminary indications are that alcohol consumption have gone up during COVID-19 thus mobilizing resources to reduce binge-drinking is welfare enhancing. A plausible policy implication from this study is to advertise safe drinking on all alcoholic beverages and provide alcohol-specific education on self-and-other harm.

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Alcohol consumption and sport: a cross-sectional study of alcohol management practices associated with at-risk alcohol consumption at community football clubs

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/1471-2458-13-762 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Melanie Kingsland ◽

Luke Wolfenden ◽

Bosco C Rowland ◽

Karen E Gillham ◽

Vanessa J Kennedy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Management Practices ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Football Clubs

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Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in Critically Ill Patients: Identification, Assessment, and Management

Critical Care Nurse ◽

10.4037/ccn2016420 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 28-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lynsey J. Sutton ◽

Annemarie Jutel

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Critically Ill ◽

Critically Ill Patients ◽

Alcohol Withdrawal ◽

Withdrawal Syndrome ◽

Delirium Tremens ◽

Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome ◽

Rapid Identification ◽

Severe Withdrawal

Management of alcohol withdrawal in critically ill patients is a challenge. The alcohol consumption histories of intensive care patients are often incomplete, limiting identification of patients with alcohol use disorders. Abrupt cessation of alcohol places these patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Typically benzodiazepines are used as first-line therapy to manage alcohol withdrawal. However, if patients progress to more severe withdrawal or delirium tremens, extra adjunctive medications in addition to benzodiazepines may be required. Sedation and mechanical ventilation may also be necessary. Withdrawal assessment scales such as the Clinical Institute of Withdrawal Assessment are of limited use in these patients. Instead, general sedation-agitation scales and delirium detection tools have been used. The important facets of care are the rapid identification of at-risk patients through histories of alcohol consumption, management with combination therapies, and ongoing diligent assessment and evaluation. (Critical Care Nurse. 2016;36[1]:28–39)

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Evaluation of Australia’s first older adult-specific early intervention for reducing alcohol-related harm

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah17013 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 676 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen J. Bright ◽

Cylie M. Williams

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

At Risk ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Harm Reduction ◽

Older Adult ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Care Providers ◽

Alcohol Related Harm ◽

Related Harm

The aim of the present case study was to evaluate the service-wide implementation of Australia’s first older adult-specific early intervention called Older Wiser Lifestyles (OWL). OWL was designed to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm among people identified as being at risk. OWL used the Australian Alcohol-Related Problems Survey (A-ARPS) to classify people’s drinking patterns as non-hazardous, hazardous or harmful. Participants of the present study were aged ≥60 years and consumed alcohol in the past month, although they did not require treatment for dependence. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption (AUDIT-C) was used as a composite measure of alcohol consumption. Data were collected before intervention and 3 and 6 months after intervention. In all, 140 clients were screened and attended at least one appointment (54% male; mean (± s.d.) age 72.8±7.6 years). Generalised estimating equation (GEE) examined the correlations between the intervention groups, time point and outcomes of interest. At 6 months, significant reductions were observed in A-ARPS classification (P=0.001) and AUDIT-C scores (P=0.001) among all clients, regardless of the number of sessions or intervention group. These preliminary findings warrant a randomised clinical trial of the intervention. Until this is completed, Australian health care providers should still consider the early intervention to reduce the risk of alcohol consumption among older adults. What is known about this topic? Older Australians are increasingly drinking alcohol at levels that place them at risk of experiencing harm. Although early interventions have been developed overseas that have been shown to reduce risky drinking among older adults, no such program has been implemented in Australia. What does this paper add? We developed an early intervention program (OWL) that drew from and extended intervention protocols developed overseas. In particular, we added harm reduction as a component of the intervention. Harm reduction interventions do not appear to have been evaluated among older adults. The OWL program was evaluated and found to be associated with decreased levels of alcohol-related harm. What are the implications for practitioners? Older adults have different needs when it comes to considering risk of alcohol-related harm. Many are taking medications that interact with alcohol or have comorbid conditions that can be exacerbated by alcohol or more difficult to treat. Yet, many such individuals are not considered to be at risk due to poor screening among this population. The program we developed takes into account these age-specific factors and has been manualised. As such, it could be implemented by a variety of healthcare workers in numerous settings. We hope that practitioners are interested in trialling the program and that a randomised controlled trial is conducted to establish the efficacy of the program.

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