Longitudinal stability and change in consumption among female twins: Contributions of genetics

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Prescott ◽  
Kenneth S. Kendler

AbstractProblem alcohol use among women is increasingly recognized as an important public health and mental health issue. Younger women appear to be at increased risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems compared to women from earlier cohorts. Understanding the sources for inter- and intra-individual differences in alcohol consumption is an important first step in addressing these trends. We studied the sources underlying variation in alcohol consumption in a sample of 2,163 female twins born in Virginia between 1934 and 1970. Measures of past-year alcohol consumption quantity and frequency were obtained on two occasions across a 5-year interval. Quantity and frequency of consumption declined over age, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Intra-individual correlations over the interval were substantial for frequency of drinking (r = .62) and quantity consumed per drinking occasion (r = .56) but lower for quantity consumed weekly (r = .22). There was significant intrapair resemblance for all measures, with the drinking behavior of identical twin pairs being more similar than that of fraternal pairs. Twin analyses of patterns of change in consumption over a 5-year interval revealed little within-pair similarity in rate of change, with correlations ranging from .06 to .18, suggesting that among young adult to middle-aged women, determinants of changing alcohol consumption are largely individual-specific. There was some evidence for significant age interactions, with the role of individual-specific sources increasing over age.

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith A. Terlecki ◽  
Julia D. Buckner ◽  
Mary E. Larimer ◽  
Amy L. Copeland

The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) reduces alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among undergraduates, yet variability in outcomes exists. Identifying individual difference variables related to outcomes could inform efforts to improve treatment protocols. The current study evaluated the role of social anxiety during BASICS. High socially anxious (HSA; n = 26) and low socially anxious (LSA; n = 44) heavy-drinking undergraduates were randomly assigned to BASICS (n = 38) or an assessment-only control (n = 32). HSA patients reported higher baseline alcohol consumption (typical drinks, weekly quantity, and frequency). BASICS significantly decreased weekly alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems relative to the control group. Social anxiety moderated outcomes such that in the BASICS condition; HSA patients reported heavier typical drinks at posttest, even after controlling for referral status, baseline typical drinks, and trait anxiety. This was not the case in the control group. HSA patients may benefit from social anxiety-specific interventions during BASICS.


Author(s):  
Genevieve Ames ◽  
Roland S. Moore

National surveys in the United States and elsewhere reveal a wide range in rates of heavy drinking across occupations, with the highest in construction and lowest in educational industries. Young adults in the military have higher heavy drinking rates than their civilian counterparts, with the highest among Army and Marine personnel. Civilian and military heavy and binge drinking and drinking on the job have been linked to specific kinds of work-related problems of high consequences to employer, employees, and the military. In 1998, the estimated employment-related costs of alcohol abuse in the United States were $135 billion; the projected costs 15 years hence are much higher. Guided by theoretical advances, links between specific environmental factors and undesirable drinking behavior have been identified and explained in the context of work culture. Results of these research endeavors have provided guidelines for research and intervention focused on prevention of alcohol-related problems in the civilian and military workplace.


1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-511
Author(s):  
Klaasjan Hajema ◽  
Ronald A. Knibbe ◽  
Maria J. Drop

The central issue of this article is the extent to which, besides consumption and heavy drinking, drinking contexts and specific social conditions can explain the chronicity and incidence of alcohol-related problems. This study is the first longitudinal study of the Dutch general population on drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems (N = 1,327). The analysis of chronicity of drinking problems is concentrated on the selection of respondents with alcohol-related problems at first measurement; the analysis of incidence is concentrated on those who did not report alcohol-related problems at first measurement. In general, it can be concluded that besides level of consumption and heavy drinking, drinking contexts and social conditions add to the explanation of incidence and chronicity of alcohol-related problems.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn S. Sommers

In both the clinical and research settings, nurses assess patterns of alcohol consumption to screen for risk of adverse events or to determine the health consequences of drinking. The purposes of this critical review are to explore issues and controversies surrounding the measurement of alcohol consumption and to critique the existing literature relevant to the research and clinical arenas. An electronic literature search was completed to identify research articles addressing human studies from 1995 through 2004 related to alcohol consumption. Key words included alcohol drinking (subheadings blood, metabolism, psychology, and urine), standard drink, problem drinking, heavy drinking, and ethanol analysis (subheadings blood, urine, and chemistry). The results were in two primary content areas: self-reported alcohol consumption and assessment of consumption by using biological markers.Self-reported alcohol consumption can be quantified in a variety of ways, such as ounces of ethanol per day, standard drinks per day, drinking occurrences per month, heavy drinking occasions per month, and frequency of perceived drunkenness. The choice of measure depends on setting (clinical vs. research), the role of the variable under study, the capabilities and demographics of the study population, the study design, and the resources available to collect alcohol consumption data.A variety of biologic instruments are used to assess alcohol consumption, each with sensitivities and specificities that vary by age, gender, and possibly by ethnicity/race. Previous work has focused on the white, male, alcohol-dependent population and non-alcohol-dependent male controls. Some urgency exists to expand the biometrics of alcohol use to minority and older populations as well as to women across the life span.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1700216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Imtiaz ◽  
Kevin D. Shield ◽  
Michael Roerecke ◽  
Andriy V. Samokhvalov ◽  
Knut Lönnroth ◽  
...  

Meta-analyses of alcohol use, alcohol dosage and alcohol-related problems as risk factors for tuberculosis incidence were undertaken. The global alcohol-attributable tuberculosis burden of disease was also re-estimated.Systematic searches were conducted, reference lists were reviewed and expert consultations were held to identify studies. Cohort and case-control studies were included if there were no temporal violations of exposure and outcome. Risk relations (RRs) were pooled by using categorical and dose-response meta-analyses. The alcohol-attributable tuberculosis burden of disease was estimated by using alcohol-attributable fractions.36 of 1108 studies were included. RRs for alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were 1.35 (95% CI 1.09–1.68; I2: 83%) and 3.33 (95% CI 2.14–5.19; 87%), respectively. Concerning alcohol dosage, tuberculosis risk rose as ethanol intake increased, with evidence of a threshold effect. Alcohol consumption caused 22.02 incident cases (95% CI 19.70–40.77) and 2.35 deaths (95% CI 2.05–4.79) per 100 000 people from tuberculosis in 2014. Alcohol-attributable tuberculosis incidence increased between 2000 and 2014 in most high tuberculosis burden countries, whereas mortality decreased.Alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis in all meta-analyses. It was consequently a major contributor to the tuberculosis burden of disease.


2016 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 226-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler B. Wray ◽  
David W. Pantalone ◽  
Christopher W. Kahler ◽  
Peter M. Monti ◽  
Kenneth H. Mayer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditi Ghosh ◽  
Isaac Berger ◽  
Christopher H. Remien ◽  
Anuj Mubayi

AbstractAcetaminophen (APAP) overdose is one of the predominant causes of drug induced acute liver injury in the U.S and U.K. Clinical studies show that ingestion of alcohol may increase the risk of APAP induced liver injury. Chronic alcoholism may potentiate APAP hepatotoxicity and this increased risk of APAP toxicity is observed when APAP is ingested even shortly after alcohol is cleared from the body. However, clinical reports also suggest that acute alcohol consumption may have a protective effect against hepatotoxicity by inhibiting microsomal acetaminophen oxidation and thereby reducing N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) production. The aim of this study is to model this dual role of alcohol to determine how the timing of alcohol ingestion affects APAP metabolism and resulting liver injury and identify mechanisms of APAP induced liver injury. The mathematical model is developed to capture condition of a patient of single time APAP overdose who may be an acute or chronic alcohol user. The analysis suggests that the risk of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity is increased if APAP is ingested shortly after alcohol is cleared from the body in chronic alcohol users. A protective effect of acute consumption of alcohol is also observed in patients with APAP overdose. For example, simultaneous ingestion of alcohol and APAP overdose or alcohol intake after or before few hours of APAP overdose may result in less APAP-induced hepatotoxicity when compared to a single time APAP overdose. The rate of hepatocyte damage in APAP overdose patients depends on trade-off between induction and inhibition of CYP enzyme.


Psichologija ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 88-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Baltrušaitytė ◽  
L. Bulotaitė

Straipsnio tikslas – išsiaiškinti studentų lūkesčių, motyvų ir saviveiksmingumo sąsajas su alkoholio var­tojimu. Naudojant alkoholio vartojimo lūkesčių klausimyną, atsisakymo gerti saviveiksmingumo klausi­myną, motyvų vartoti alkoholį klausimyną, motyvų nevartoti alkoholio klausimyną ir alkoholio vartoji­mo įpročių bei problemų anketą buvo apklausti 308 studentai iš 5 Lietuvos universitetų. Gauti rezultatai rodo, kad studentų motyvai vartoti alkoholį ir teigiamų pasekmių lūkesčiai yra teigiamai susiję su al­koholio vartojimo dažnumu, kiekiu ir vartojimo sukeltomis problemomis, o atsisakymo gerti saviveiks­mingumas ir motyvai nevartoti alkoholio dėl abejingumo alkoholiui yra neigiamai susiję su alkoholio vartojimo ypatumais (dažnumu, kiekiu, problemomis). Vyriškoji lytis, stipresni motyvai vartoti alkoholį ir menkesnis saviveiksmingumas prognozuoja didesnius suvartojamo alkoholio kiekius, o dažnesnį alko­holio vartojimą prognozuoja dar ir jaunesnis alkoholio vartojimo pradžios amžius. Didesnį su alkoholio vartojimu susijusių problemų skaičių prognozuoja ne tik gausesnis alkoholio vartojimas, bet ir stipresni motyvai vartoti alkoholį bei silpnesnis saviveiksmingumas. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: alkoholio vartojimas, lūkesčiai, motyvai, saviveiksmingumas.Relationship between Alcohol Outcome Expectancies, Self-Efficacy, Motives and Alcohol Consumption among University StudentsBaltrušaitytė R., Bulotaitė L.  SummaryAlcohol use is widespread among university stu­dents. While searching for the factors associated with drinking, scientists more often acknowledge the importance of various cognitive-motivational vari­ables. It is recommended to consider these variables when developing effective prevention and interven­tion programs. The cognitive-motivational variables examined in this study were: alcohol outcome ex­pectancies, drinking motives, motives for not drink­ing, and drinking refusal self-efficacy. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between alcohol outcome expectancies, motives, self-efficacy and alcohol consumption among Lithuanian univer­sity students. Another aim was to propose and test a meditational model in which alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are predicted by expect­ancies, motives and self-efficacy. 308 students from five Lithuanian universities participated in this study. All participants completed the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire – revised (DEQ-r), Drinking Refusal Self-efficacy Questionnaire – revised (DRSEQ-r), Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ), motives for not drinking questionnaire and one more question­naire assessing drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems. The results have shown that the male gen­der, stronger motives to drink and a weaker drink ing refusal self-efficacy predict a larger quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion. More frequent drinking was also predicted by an earlier age of drinking onset. A larger number of alcohol-related problems was predicted not only by the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption, but also by stronger motives to drink and a weaker drinking refusal self-efficacy. The relationship between positive alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol consumption was medi­ated by motives and drinking refusal self-efficacy. Motives to drink predict alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems directly and indirectly – through self-efficacy. Drinking refusal self-efficacy predicted alcohol consumption directly, and the re­lationship between self-efficacy and alcohol-related problems was mediated by alcohol consumption. Strong positive alcohol outcome expectancies and drinking motives may be considered as potential risk factors for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Strong drinking refusal self-efficacy and strong motives for not drinking because of indiffer­ence toward alcohol may be considered as protective factors against drinking and alcohol-related prob­lems among university students.Keywords: alcohol consumption, expectancies, motives, self-efficacy.15%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s875-s876
Author(s):  
Y. Razvodovsky

IntroductionRussia has one of the highest alcoholism (alcohol dependence) and alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates in Europe, which may be explained by high overall population drinking and prevalence of irregular heavy drinking of vodka. The role of binge drinking in modifying the effect of alcohol on the risk of alcoholic psychoses in Russia has been emphasized in clinical and aggregate-level studies.AimsThe present study aims to examine the phenomenon of dramatic fluctuations in alcoholism and alcoholic psychoses rates in Russia during the late Soviet (1970–1991) to post-Soviet period (1992–2015).MethodTo examine the relation between changes in the sales of alcohol and alcoholism/alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates across the study period a time-series analysis was performed.ResultsAccording to the results, alcohol sales is a statistically significant associated with alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates, implying that a 1 litre increase in per capita alcohol sales is associated with an increase in the alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates of 17.6% and 14.0% correspondingly. The association between alcohol sales per capita and alcoholism incidence/prevalence rates was also positive, but statistically not significant.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates are the reliable indicators of alcohol-related problems at the population level. The outcomes of this study also provide indirect support for the hypothesis that the dramatic fluctuations in the alcoholic psychoses incidence/prevalence rates in Russia during the last decades were related to the availability/affordability of alcohol.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.


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