Norwegians and cheap alcohol: Consumption in a low price area

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Georg Høyer ◽  
Odd Nilssen ◽  
Tormod Brenn ◽  
Helge Schirmer
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Average Amount ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Frequency Of Alcohol Intake ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Although the archipelago of Svalbard is a part of Norway (situated 78 degrees north), the area is subject to a different alcohol policy than on the Norwegian mainland. In Svalbard, the prices of alcohol are low (in comparison to those on the mainland): however, personal quotas are in force in order to control sales. This study compares the level of alcohol consumption on Svalbard and on the Norwegian mainland. The comparison is based on self-reports of alcohol consumption. In Svalbard all of the residents eighteen years or older were screened by a self-administered questionnaire: alcohol consumption was recorded as an intake of alcohol measured in units during the last week before filling in the questionnaire. On the mainland, the recording was carried out through personal interviews in which respondents were asked about the frequency of alcohol intake and the average amount of intake for each episode in representative periods. The results showed that men in Svalbard consumed 1.7 times more alcohol then the men consumed on the mainland: women, 1.4 times more. The increased level of alcohol consumption can primarily be explained by the lower prices of alcohol in Svalbard. Thus this study strongly confirms the results of other studies which stress the impact of prices on the levels of alcohol consumption.

Does comorbid depression and alcoholic dependence influence cognition in Bulgarian womеn?

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S473-S473
Author(s):  
V. Giannouli ◽  
D. Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Comorbid Depression ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Behavior And Cognition

IntroductionPrevious research on the impact of alcohol intake on human behavior and cognition has revealed the detrimental effects of alcohol dependence. Especially in women, depression is often associated with the initiation of alcohol abuse that provokes new episodes of depression and this cycle tends to chronify.ObjectiveAlthough the co-occurrence of depression and alcoholism is well documented, there is still scarce data on the cognition of depressed alcohol-depended women. The aim of the present study is to examine the cognitive function in women who demonstrate both depression and alcohol dependence.MethodA group of fifty-three Bulgarian women with a formal diagnosis of alcohol dependence (Mage = 43.89, SDage = 9.48; level of education: all with high school education) and varying levels of depressive symptomatology were examined at the Municipal Council on Drug Addiction Blagoevgrad. Information were collected from personal history taking (anamnesis), self-reports and the Lesch Alcoholism Typology–Questionnaire (LAT online program). The women were grouped according to their age (27–45 and 46–71).ResultsResults indicated that there is a significant influence of depression (P = .032), a slightly above the statistical significance level non-influence of age (P = .056), and an interaction of the influence of depression*age (P = .048) on self-reported cognitive performance.ConclusionsThe present research suggests that future researchers should further clarify in a more systematic way the factors that influence cognition in this special population with comorbid depression and alcoholic dependence.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals MODERATE, REGULAR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULTS

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
E.T. Reas ◽  
G.A. Laughlin ◽  
D. Kritz-Silverstein ◽  
E. Barrett-Connor ◽  
L.K. McEvoy
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Frequency Of Alcohol Intake ◽  
Self Assessed Health

Background: Evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may protect against cognitive decline and dementia. However, uncertainty remains over the patterns of drinking that are most beneficial. Objective: To examine associations between amount and frequency of alcohol consumption with multiple domains of cognitive function in a well-characterized cohort of older community-dwelling adults in southern California. Design: Observational, cross-sectional cohort study. Setting: A research visit between 1988-1992 in Rancho Bernardo, California. Participants: 1624 participants of the Rancho Bernardo Study (mean age ± SD = 73.2 ± 9.3 years). Measurements: Participants completed a neuropsychological test battery, self-administered questionnaires on alcohol consumption and lifestyle, and a clinical health evaluation. We classified participants according to average amount of alcohol intake into never, former, moderate, heavy and excessive drinkers, and according to frequency of alcohol intake, into non-drinkers, rare, infrequent, frequent and daily drinkers. We examined the association between alcohol intake and cognitive function, controlling for age, sex, education, exercise, smoking, waist-hip ratio, hypertension and self-assessed health. Results: Amount and frequency of alcohol intake were significantly associated with cognitive function, even after controlling for potentially related health and lifestyle variables. Global and executive function showed positive linear associations with amount and frequency of alcohol intake, whereas visual memory showed an inverted U-shaped association with alcohol intake, with better performance for moderate and infrequent drinkers than for non-drinkers, excessive drinkers or daily drinkers. Conclusions: In several cognitive domains, moderate, regular alcohol intake was associated with better cognitive function relative to not drinking or drinking less frequently. This suggests that beneficial cognitive effects of alcohol intake may be achieved with low levels of drinking that are unlikely to be associated with adverse effects in an aging population.

Changing University Students’ Alcohol Culture with a web-based intervention: Clustered Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Greve ◽  
Rune Vammen Lesner ◽  
Stefan Bastholm Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
University Students ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Benefit ◽  
Drinking Culture ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND In most Western countries, excessive alcohol intake among university students is a cause of concern. The majority of students view drinking as a cornerstone of university life, and many find it difficult to go against the dominant drinking culture. While digital health interventions have been shown to reduce drinking among university students, no intervention has been aimed at changing the overall university drinking culture. This intervention provided the students with tools that helped them make pre-commitment strategies and change their views on the social norms that prevent excessive alcohol intake. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to evaluate the impact of an intervention aimed at reducing the excessive drinking culture among Danish university students. As a secondary outcome, we measured the impact of the intervention on two individual motivational factors for participating in the drinking culture at the university: alcohol consumption as both a personal benefit and a facilitator of socialization. METHODS To evaluate the impact of the intervention, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled experiment among university students at Aarhus University. The students were stratified by gender and self-reported binge drinking. Each student was assigned to either a control or an intervention group. A baseline questionnaire was sent to the participants when school started in September 2019, and a follow-up questionnaire was sent out two months later. The primary outcomes were measured with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (questions 1-3). To examine the mechanisms underlying the effect, we analyzed two motivational factors for participating in the drinking culture at the university: alcohol consumption as both and a personal benefit and a facilitator of socialization. RESULTS In total 961 students signed up, and 509 of them completed the follow-up questionnaire. Compared to the students in the control group, the students in the intervention group had a 15.8% (P<.001) reduction on their monthly level of alcohol intake two months after the intervention. The result is driven by a large effect on male and first-year students. The intervention had no effect on binge drinking, alcohol addiction, or severely harmful alcohol consumption. Our results also showed that while the students in the intervention group found it less difficult to say “no” to drinking there were no difference in the assessment of being part of the student environment between the students in the intervention and control Group. CONCLUSIONS The intervention had a significant and reducing impact on the students’ monthly alcohol intake. That the effect of the intervention was largest among the young and first-year students, who will be the responsible for the drinking culture at the University in the coming years, suggest that small nudging-based interventions can potentially have significant long-term beneficial effects. CLINICALTRIAL American Economic Association’s registry for randomized trials with RCT ID: AEARCTR-0004703. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4703.

Alcohol Consumption is Associated With An Increased Risk of Microscopic Colitis: Results From 2 Prospective US Cohort Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake Niccum ◽  
Kevin Casey ◽  
Kristin Burke ◽  
Emily W Lopes ◽  
Paul Lochhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
Microscopic Colitis ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Higher Alcohol ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Incident Cases ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background No dietary factors have yet been shown to conclusively impact the incidence of microscopic colitis (MC). Here, we sought to examine the relationship between alcohol intake and the risk of MC. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of 209,902 participants (age range, 28.5–66.7 years) enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII). Validated data on alcohol consumption were collected at baseline in 1986 in the NHS and 1991 in the NHSII and updated every 4 years. Diagnoses of MC were confirmed via review of histopathology data. We used Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Through 2016 in the NHS and 2017 in the NHSII, we confirmed 352 incident cases of MC over 4,994,324 person-years. Higher alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of MC (Ptrend &lt; .001). Compared to non-users, the aHRs of MC were 1.20 (95% CI, 0.86–1.67) for consumers of 0.1–4.9 g/day of alcohol, 1.90 (95% CI, 1.34–2.71) for consumers of 5–14.9 g/day, and 2.31 (95% CI, 1.54–3.46) for consumers of ≥15 g/day. The associations were consistent across the histologic subtypes of collagenous and lymphocytic colitis (Pheterogeneity = .523). When stratified by alcohol type, the risk according to every 2 servings/week appeared to be strongest with consumption of wine (aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04–1.12) as compared to beer (aHR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.91–1.12) or liquor (aHR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.92–1.09). Conclusions Alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of MC. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanism underlying these associations, as well as the impact of reducing alcohol intake in patients with MC.

Heavy drinking habits are associated with worse in-hospital outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Tersalvi ◽  
L Biasco ◽  
D Radovanovic ◽  
H Rickli ◽  
M Roffi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Hospital Mortality ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Funding Source ◽  
Hospital Outcomes ◽  
Coronary Syndrome ◽  
Daily Alcohol Intake ◽  
Heavy Alcohol Consumption ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Regular Alcohol Consumption

Abstract Introduction The association between alcohol consumption and the occurrence of coronary heart disease is well described in literature. Data regarding the impact of regular alcohol consumption on in-hospital outcomes in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are lacking. Purpose We aimed to evaluate the impact of self-reported alcohol consumption on in-hospital outcomes in patients with ACS. Methods Data derived from patients enrolled between 2007 and 2019 in the Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland (AMIS) Plus registry were retrospectively analyzed. The primary endpoint was all-cause in-hospital mortality, while secondary endpoints were set as incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs). Outcomes comparisons according to quantity of daily alcohol intake were also performed. Results Records concerning alcohol consumption were available in 25707 patients; 5298 of them (21%) fulfilled the criteria of regular alcohol consumption. Daily alcohol intake was reported in 4059 (77%), of these patients (regular drinkers) with 2640 light drinkers (≤2 drinks/day) and 1419 heavy drinkers (&gt;2 drinks/day). Regular drinkers were predominantly male, younger, smokers, more comorbid and with a worse clinical presentation as compared to abstainers/occasional drinkers. In-hospital mortality and MACCEs of heavy drinkers were significantly higher compared to light drinkers (5.4% vs. 3.3% and 7.0% vs. 4.4%, both p=0.001). When tested together with GRACE risk score parameters, heavy alcohol consumption was independently associated to in-hospital mortality (p=0.004). Conclusions Heavy alcohol consumption is an additional independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients presenting with ACS. Figure 1. Study flowchart. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): Swiss Heart Foundation

scholarly journals Finding the Right Balance: A Social Norms Intervention to Reduce Heavy Drinking in University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Wolter ◽  
Tino Lesener ◽  
Tobias Alexander Thomas ◽  
Alicia-Carolin Hentschel ◽  
Burkhard Gusy
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Alcohol Prevention ◽  
Normative Feedback ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Heavy alcohol consumption constitutes a major health risk among University students. Social relationships with peers strongly affect University students' perception of the drinking behavior of others, which in turn plays a crucial role in determining their own alcohol intake. University students tend to overestimate their peers' alcohol consumption – a belief that is associated with an increase in an individual's own consumption. Therefore, we implemented a social norms intervention with personalized normative feedback at a major University in Germany to reduce and prevent excessive drinking among University students.Methods: Our intervention was part of a regular health monitoring survey. We invited all enrolled University students to take part in this survey on two occasions. A total of 862 University students completed the questionnaire, 563 (65.3%) of which received e-mail-based feedback upon request concerning their peers' and their own alcohol consumption. For the intervention group (n = 190) as well as the control group (no feedback requested; n = 101), we included only University students in the evaluation who overestimated their peers' alcohol use and indicated above average consumption of the peers. We applied analyses of variance to assess intervention effects with regard to the correction of overestimated group norms as well as University students' drinking behavior.Results: Within the intervention group, we observed a significantly larger reduction of the previously overestimated behavioral norms compared to the control group (p &lt; 0.001; ηp2 = 0.06). With regard to behavioral outcomes the intervention group showed a significantly larger reduction in the AUDIT-C score (p = 0.020; ηp2 = 0.03).Discussion: Our study confirms previous research whereupon personalized, gender-specific and selective normative feedback is effective for alcohol prevention among University students. However, University students still overestimated their peers' alcohol intake after the intervention. Furthermore, we did not reach high-risk groups (University students with the highest alcohol intake) since no feedback was requested. Future studies should address factors influencing the impact of the intervention and reachability of selective groups.

scholarly journals Understanding Educational and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Denmark; Implications for Health Literacy Interventions

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia König ◽  
Mette V. Skriver ◽  
Kim M. Iburg ◽  
Gillian Rowlands
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Alcohol Misuse ◽  
Educational Performance ◽  
Higher Alcohol ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Impact

Background. Alcohol misuse is a global public health priority, with a variation in prevalence and impact between countries. Alcohol misuse in adolescence is associated with adverse psychological, social and physical health. Adolescents in Denmark have higher alcohol consumption and problematic alcohol use than adolescents in other European countries. Associations between social determinants of health (SDH), psycho-social factors and alcohol consumption are complex and influenced by national context and cultures. This study explored these associations in Danish adolescents. Method. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) survey collects data on alcohol and substance use among 15–16-year-old European students. Data contributed by Danish students to the 2011 survey were analyzed. The outcomes of interest were alcohol consumption (any, intoxication and problematic). Health literacy was not directly measured, so self-described educational performance and knowledge about alcohol were used as proxies for health literacy. Exploratory factors thus included socio-demographic, health literacy-related (knowledge about alcohol, educational performance) and psycho-social factors, as well as expectancies of the effect of alcohol (both positive and negative) and self-reported health. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were undertaken. Results. Of the 2768 adolescents who participated in the survey, 2026 (80%) consumed alcohol during the last 30 days, 978 (38%) were intoxicated at least once during the last 30 days, and 1050 (41%) experienced at least one problem because of alcohol use during the last 12 months. Multivariable analysis showed that the factors associated with higher alcohol intake were gender, poor relationships with parents, expectancies of the impact of alcohol (both positive and negative), and the influence of peers and their alcohol use. Higher school performance was related to lower alcohol consumption. Low socio-demographic status was not associated with higher alcohol consumption. Conclusions. This study confirmed the high levels of alcohol intake, intoxication, and problem drinking amongst the Danish students in the survey and the complexity of the socio-demographic, psychosocial, health literacy-related, and environmental factors associated with alcohol behaviours. Approaches to addressing the issue of alcohol use in Danish adolescents will need to be multi-factorial, including supporting students to develop alcohol-related health literacy skills to enable them to make informed choices.

scholarly journals Sexually dimorphic influence of the circadian clock gene Bmal1 in the striatum on alcohol intake

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria de Zavalia ◽  
Konrad Schoettner ◽  
Jory A. Goldsmith ◽  
Pavel Solis ◽  
Sarah Ferraro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Circadian Rhythms ◽  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Clock Gene ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
The Impact

SummaryThe gene Bmal1 (brain and muscle Arnt-like 1) plays an obligatory role in the generation of circadian rhythms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master circadian clock in mammals [1–5]. Notably, Bmal1 is widely expressed in mammalian brain [6], and perturbations in Bmal1 expression in select forebrain regions cause behavioral disturbances that are independent of the SCN, such as disturbances in sleep architecture, and in cognitive and affective behaviors [1, 7–15]. Interestingly, gene association studies in humans and in animals suggest that Bmal1 may influence the propensity to consume alcohol, and that polymorphisms in Bmal1 may confer risk for alcohol dependence and related disorders [16–20]. However, research has not yet provided evidence of a causal role of Bmal1 in the control of alcohol intake. We investigated voluntary alcohol consumption in conditional knockout mice that lack Bmal1 exclusively in the striatum, which is an important structure in the control of alcohol intake and preference [21–26]. Experiments were carried out in both male and female mice in order to account for the known sex differences in alcohol consumption [27–31] and in striatal functioning [32–36], as well as in the expression of clock genes and in the impact of circadian clocks on behavior [37–44]. We found that, in both males and females, selective deletion of Bmal1 from principal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the striatum significantly altered voluntary alcohol intake and preference. Strikingly, the effect of Bmal1 deletion was sexually dimorphic. Whereas in males, deletion of Bmal1 augmented alcohol intake and preference, in females, the same deletion suppressed alcohol intake and preference. Interestingly, striatal deletion of the clock gene Per2, which interacts with Bmal1 in the generation of circadian rhythms [4], and which has been shown to affect alcohol consumption in male mice [45], mimicked the effect of Bmal1 deletion, albeit only in males. These results show that Bmal1 in MSNs of the striatum exerts a sexually dimorphic influence on alcohol intake in mice, moderating intake in males, possibly via Per2, and promoting heightened intake in females, independently of Per2. We propose that a sexually dimorphic mechanism in the function of Bmal1 in the striatum contributes to sex differences in the propensity to consume alcohol in mice. Whether such mechanism contributes to sex differences in other striatum-dependent appetitive and consummatory behaviors remains to be investigated.

The impact of broad-based vs targeted taxation on youth alcohol consumption in Lebanon

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-634
Author(s):  
Ali Chalak ◽  
Lilian Ghandour ◽  
Sirine Anouti ◽  
Rima Nakkash ◽  
Nasser Yassin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Ethanol Intake ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Taxation Policy ◽  
Ethanol Content ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Ethanol

Abstract This study aims to model youth’s off-premise alcohol demand and forecasts ethanol intake responsiveness to alcohol taxes. Using stated preference alcohol purchase data from a survey of 1024 university students in Lebanon, we derive price elasticities that we use to forecast the effects of two excise tax scenarios on overall ethanol intake. The first scenario imposes a broad-based 20% tax on all types of alcoholic beverages, and the second scenario imposes a targeted 20% tax only on the high ethanol content, while exempting the lower ethanol beverages. Overall, targeted taxes are found to achieve a reduction in ethanol intake that is nearly three times that achieved by broad taxes (15.7% vs 5.3%). For ‘past-month binge drinkers’, targeted taxes would decrease alcohol intake by 16.3%, while broad taxes increase it by 3.3%. Finally, ethanol intake among participants who prefer low ethanol content would decrease under targeted taxes by more than five times as much as under broad taxes. For ‘high-ethanol drinkers’, targeted taxes decrease alcohol intake by an even larger proportion than for ‘low-ethanol drinkers’ (19.0% vs 15.6%), while broad taxes increase their ethanol intake by ∼16.0%. This study contributes evidence that taxation policy substantially reduces alcohol consumption and that alcohol consumption patterns should be accounted for when designing taxes.

Alcohol Consumption in the United States: Past, Present, and Future Trends

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Fogarty ◽  
Derby Voon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis research examines long-run changes in alcohol consumption patterns for the United States, at the state level, and presents forecasts for per capita consumption of beer, wine, and spirits developed using the ARIMA methodology. The evidence is then presented on the extent of convergence in consumption through time. This evidence shows that from the 1970s through the early 2000s, a pattern of convergence in both the level of consumption and the consumption mix was evident, but since the early 2000s, and unlike the pattern observed globally, there has been a reversal of this trend. The changes in consumption through time are illustrated via ternary plots. Bayesian estimation methods are used to formally describe changes in historical consumption patterns and to investigate the impact of policy settings on consumption forecasts. There were no systematic correlations found between alcohol policy settings and forecast future consumption changes, or tax rate levels and forecast consumption changes. (JEL Classifications: D12, I18, L66)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document