Heavy alcohol consumption before and after negative life events in late mid-life: longitudinal latent trajectory analyses

BackgroundPeople who experience negative life events report more heavy alcohol consumption compared with people without these experiences, but little is known about patterns of change within this group. This study aims to identify trajectories of heavy alcohol consumption before and after experiencing either divorce, or severe illness or death in the family. Furthermore, the aim is to examine characteristics of individuals belonging to each trajectory.MethodsLongitudinal study of public sector employees from the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study with up to 5 years of annual follow-ups (n=6783; eligible sample n=1393). Divorce and severe illness or death in the family represented negative life events. Heavy alcohol consumption was categorised as >14 units/week.ResultsBased on latent trajectory analysis, three trajectories of heavy drinking were identified both for divorce and for severe illness or death in the family: ‘No heavy drinking’ (82% illness/death, 75% divorce), ‘Constant heavy drinking’ (10% illness/death, 13% divorce) and ‘Decreasing heavy drinking’ (7% illness/death, 12% divorce). Constant heavy drinkers surrounding illness or death in the family were more likely to be men, report depression and anxiety and to smoke than those with no heavy drinking. Constant heavy drinkers surrounding divorce were also more likely to be men and to report depression compared with those with no heavy drinking.ConclusionsMost older workers who experience divorce or severe illness or death in the family have stable drinking patterns regarding heavy alcohol consumption, that is, most do not initiate or stop heavy drinking.

Download Full-text

“We Drink, Therefore We Are”

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations ◽

10.1177/1368430210392399 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 637-649 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Andrew G. Livingstone ◽

Hollie Young ◽

Antony S. R. Manstead

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Group Norms ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Complementary Pattern ◽

The Social ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽

Ingroup Identity

We consider how ingroup norms, identification and individual attitudes interact when a behaviour (heavy alcohol consumption) is defining of an ingroup identity. We sampled 115 students at a UK university, measuring ingroup identification and attitudes to heavy drinking before manipulating the ingroup drinking norm (moderate vs. heavy). Heavy drinking intentions and tendencies to socially include/exclude two target students—one of whom drank alcohol regularly and one of whom did not—were measured. As predicted, participants with a positive attitude to heavy drinking and who identified strongly with the ingroup reported stronger intentions to drink heavily when the ingroup had a moderate, rather than a heavy drinking norm, indicating resistance to the normative information. A complementary pattern emerged for the social inclusion/exclusion measures. Implications for theory and interventions that focus on group norms are discussed.

Download Full-text

Abstract P237: Moderate and Heavy Alcohol Consumption Are Associated With Decreased Systolic Function After 8 Years of Follow-up

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.137.suppl_1.p237 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Hanne Van Ballegooijen ◽

Petra J Elders ◽

Coen D Stehouwer ◽

Jacqueline M Dekker ◽

Joline Beulens

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Systolic Function ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Volume Index ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Heavy Drinkers ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽

Excessive Alcohol

Introduction: Excessive alcohol consumption is an important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis whether alcohol consumption is prospectively associated with unfavorable measures of cardiac structure and function. Methods: We used data from the Hoorn Study, a population-based, prospective cohort study. Data on self-reported alcohol consumption were collected with a validated food frequency questionnaire in 2000/2001(baseline for the current analyses). Echocardiography was performed in 2000/2001 in 582 participants and in 2007/2009 in 339 participants. Participants were classified into 5 categories based on self-reported alcohol consumption (glasses per week): 0 (non-drinkers), 0- 3 (light-drinkers), ≥3-7 (light to moderate drinkers), ≥7-14 (moderate drinkers) and ≥14 (heavy drinkers). Light drinking was considered the reference group. We studied the association of alcohol consumption with echocardiographic measures after 8 years of follow-up using linear regression analyses, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The mean age was 69.8±6.5 years and 50% was female. After 7.4±0.5 years follow-up, moderate and heavy alcohol consumption were associated with a decreased left ventricular ejection fraction of -5.1% (-8.7, -1.4) for moderate and -4.8% (-8.8, -0.8) for heavy drinkers (Table). Heavy drinking was also associated with a decrease in left atrial volume index: -3.9mL/m 2 (-7.6, -0.2). No longitudinal associations were found between alcohol consumption and left ventricular mass index. Conclusion: Both moderate and heavy drinking were associated with decreased systolic function after 8 years follow-up. The toxic effect of alcohol could lead to underfilling of the left atrium which could lead to lower systolic function. These findings may explain the increased cardiovascular risk among people with excessive alcohol use.

Download Full-text

Associations between occupation and heavy alcohol consumption in UK adults aged 40–69 years: a cross-sectional study using the UK Biobank

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10208-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Thompson ◽

Munir Pirmohamed

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Heavy Drinkers ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽

The Uk ◽

Gender Specific

Abstract Background Understanding the relationship between occupation and alcohol use offers opportunities to provide health promotion programmes based on evidence of need. We aimed to determine associations between occupation and heavy alcohol consumption in working individuals aged 40–69 years. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using 100,817 people from the UK Biobank: 17,907 participants categorised as heavy drinkers, defined as > 35 units/week for women and > 50 units/week for men, and 82,910 drinking controls. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs were calculated for gender-specific heavy drinking in 353 occupations using Standard Occupational Classification, V.2000. Results Seventy-seven occupations were associated with level of alcohol consumption in drinkers. The largest ratios for heavy drinkers were observed for publicans and managers of licenced premises (PR = 2.81, 95%CI 2.52–3.14); industrial cleaning process occupations (PR = 2.09, 1.33–3.28); and plasterers (PR = 2.07, 1.66–2.59). Clergy (PR = 0.20, 0.13–0.32); physicists, geologists and meteorologists (PR = 0.40, 0.25–0.65); and medical practitioners (PR = 0.40, 0.32–0.50) were least likely to be heavy drinkers. There was evidence of gender-specific outcomes with the proportion of jobs associated with heavy drinking accounted for by skilled trade occupations being 0.44 for males and 0.05 for females, and 0.10 for males and 0.40 for females when considering managers and senior officials. Conclusions In the largest study of its kind, we found evidence for associations between a wider variety of occupations and the risk of heavy alcohol consumption than identified previously, particularly in females, although causality cannot be assumed. These results help determine which jobs and broader employment sectors may benefit most from prevention programmes.

Download Full-text

The Complicity of Consumption: Hedonism and Politics in Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day and John Dos Passos's USA

Journal of American Studies ◽

10.1017/s0021875813001436 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 173-198

Author(s):

COLIN HUTCHINSON

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Political Assassination ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽

American Left ◽

Contemporary Context ◽

The Way

This article is a comparative study of two epic works that share a historical setting and a broad political outlook, but diverge significantly in at least one respect. Frequent and heavy alcohol consumption is a feature of both Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day and John Dos Passos's USA trilogy, but the way in which these authors describe heavy drinking – and hedonistic behaviour in general – indicates fundamental differences between the modernism of Dos Passos and Pynchon's postmodernist strategies. The article contends that this aspect of Pynchon's novel represents a critique of attitudes within the twentieth-century American left towards sensuality, patriarchy and the failure of leftist aspiration within a contemporary context that invokes such subjects as the complicity of consumption, terrorism and the ethics of political assassination.

Download Full-text

Predictors of Symptom Course in Alcohol Use Disorder

10.31234/osf.io/xuvaz ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

William Conlin ◽

Kenneth J. Sher ◽

Alvaro Vergés ◽

Michaela Hoffman ◽

Douglas Steinley

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Alcohol Use Disorder ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Epidemiological Survey ◽

Future Research ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽

History Of

Objective: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has traditionally been viewed as a chronic, progressive, relapsing disorder (Jellinek, 1960; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). However, little is known about the course of individual AUD criteria. To the extent that individual symptoms represent the focus of some treatments (e.g., withdrawal, craving), understanding the course of specific symptoms, and individual differences in symptom course, can inform treatment efforts and future research directions.Method: The current study examined 34,653 participants form Wave 1 (2001-2002) and Wave 2 (2003-2004) of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; Grant, Moore, & Kaplan, 2003; Grant, Kaplan, and Stinson, 2005), using logistic regression to analyze the extent to which AUD symptom course is predicted by heavy alcohol consumption, family history of alcoholism, and lifetime diagnosis of Conduct Disorder. Results: The course of all AUD symptoms was significantly influenced by all four external criteria, with the magnitude of the prediction varying across different symptoms and different aspects of course. Conclusion: The strength of the relationship appeared to be related to the theoretical proximity of a given predictor to AUD symptomatology, with heavy drinking being the strongest and family history of AUD being the weakest. The course of all AUD symptoms was strongly associated with the prevalence of the given symptom in the overall sample. Future work should include examining the interchangeability of AUD symptoms and considering heavy alcohol consumption as a criterion for AUD diagnosis.

Download Full-text

Coronary deaths during Midsummer festival in Finland: miseries of long, light nights

European Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1007/s10654-021-00744-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Simo Näyhä

Keyword(s):

Coronary Heart Disease ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Negative Binomial Regression ◽

Adverse Consequence ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Summer Peak ◽

Binomial Regression ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption

AbstractThis paper examines whether the anomalous summer peak in deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) in Finland could be attributed to adverse effects of the Midsummer festival and alcohol consumption during the festival. Daily deaths from CHD and alcohol poisoning in Finland, 1961–2014, that occurred during the 7 days centering on Midsummer Day were analysed in relation to deaths during 14 to 4 days before and 4 to 14 after Midsummer Day. Daily counts of deaths from CHD among persons aged 35–64 years were regressed on days around the Midsummer period by negative binomial regression. Mortality from CHD was highest on Midsummer Day (RR 1.25 (95% confidence interval 1.12–1.31), one day after the peak in deaths from alcohol poisonings. RR for CHD on Midsummer Day was particulary high (RR = 1.43; 1.09–1.86) in the 2000s, 30% of deaths being attributable to that day. In conclusion, the anomalous and prominent summer peak in deaths from CHD in Finland is an adverse consequence of the Midsummer festival. The most likely underlying reason is heavy alcohol consumption during the festival period, especially on Midsummer Eve. In the 2000s, one third of deaths from CHD on Midsummer Day are preventable.

Download Full-text

Current Heavy Alcohol Consumption is Associated with Greater Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults

Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research ◽

10.1111/acer.13211 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 40 (11) ◽

pp. 2435-2444 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Adam J. Woods ◽

Eric C. Porges ◽

Vaughn E. Bryant ◽

Talia Seider ◽

Assawin Gongvatana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption

Download Full-text

Abstract P002: Heavy Alcohol Consumption Increases the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation -Circulatory Risk in Communities Study(CIRCS)

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.127.suppl_12.ap002 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 127 (suppl_12) ◽

Author(s):

Fumihiko Sano ◽

Tetsuya Ohira ◽

Akihiko Kitamura ◽

Hironori Imano ◽

Renzhe Cui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Medical History ◽

Moderate Alcohol Consumption ◽

Heavy Alcohol ◽

Ethanol Drinking ◽

Wide Range ◽

Detailed Medical History ◽

Heavy Alcohol Consumption

Background— Evidence on the relationship of a wide range of alcohol consumption with risk of incident atrial fibrillation has been limited. Methods— Between 1991 and 1995, 8602 Japanese men and women aged 30 to 80 years and free of clinical atrial fibrillation took part in the first examination of the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study(CIRCS)- a population based cohort study of cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease incidence, and their trends in Japanese communities. In the first examination, we checked a detailed medical history, physical examination, blood and urine examination, and electrocardiogram (ECG). An interviewer obtained histories in detail for weekly alcohol intake. In the follow-up period, incident atrial fibrillations were ascertained by annual ECG record and medical history of treatment of atrial fibrillation. ECGs were coded with the Minnesota Code by trained physician-epidemiologists. Differences in baseline characteristics between atrial fibrillation cases and controls were compared using Student t-tests or chi-squared tests. The hazard ratios (HRs) of incidence of atrial fibrillation and 95% confidence interval (CI) relative to the never-drinking group were calculated with adjustment for age and other potential confounding factors using the Cox proportional hazard model. Results— During an average follow-up of 6.4 years, 290 incident atrial fibrillation occurred. The higher incidence rate of atrial fibrillation was observed among participants with more than 69 g of ethanol drinking per week, compared with less than 69 g of ethanol drinking per week. On the other hand, light to moderate alcohol consumption was not associated with risk of atrial fibrillation. Compared with the never drinking group, the multivariable-adjusted HRs of past, light (<23 g), light moderate (23-46 g), moderate (46-69 g), and heavy (>69 g) drinking groups were 1.20 (95% CI, 0.61-2.35), 0.85 (95% CI, 0.57-1.27), 1.05 (95% CI, 0.63-1.75), 1.34 (95% CI, 0.78-2.32), and 2.92 (95% CI, 1.61-5.28), respectively. Conclusions— Heavy alcohol consumption was associated with the higher risk of atrial fibrillation, whereas there was no association of less than moderate alcohol consumption and atrial fibrillation.

Download Full-text