heavy alcohol
Recently Published Documents


TOTAL DOCUMENTS

507
(FIVE YEARS 130)

H-INDEX

44
(FIVE YEARS 6)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Fahim Syed ◽  
Richard X Yu ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Ying Xia ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoints (ICPs) consist of paired receptor-ligand molecules that exert inhibitory or stimulatory effects on immune defense, surveillance, regulation, and self-tolerance. ICPs exist in both membrane and soluble forms in vivo and in vitro. Imbalances between inhibitory and stimulatory membrane-bound ICPs (mICPs) in malignant cells and immune cells in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) have been well documented. Blockades of inhibitory mICPs have emerged as an immense breakthrough in cancer therapeutics. However, the origin, structure, production regulation, and biological significance of soluble ICPs (sICPs) in health and disease largely remains elusive. Soluble ICPs can be generated through either alternative mRNA splicing and secretion or protease-mediated shedding from mICPs. Since sICPs are found in the bloodstream, they likely form a circulating immune regulatory system. In fact, there is increasing evidence that sICPs exhibit biological functions including (1) regulation of antibacterial immunity, (2) interaction with their mICP compartments to positively or negatively regulate immune responses, and (3) competition with their mICP compartments for binding to the ICP blocking antibodies, thereby reducing the efficacy of ICP blockade therapies. Here, we summarize current data of sICPs in cancer and infectious diseases. We particularly focus on sICPs in COVID-19 and HIV infection as they are the two ongoing global pandemics and have created the world's most serious public health challenges. A storm of sICPs occurs in the peripheral circulation of COVID-19 patients and is associated with the severity of COVID-19. Similarly, sICPs are highly dysregulated in people living with HIV (PLHIV) and some sICPs remain dysregulated in PLHIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART), indicating these sICPs may serve as biomarkers of incomplete immune reconstitution in PLHIV on ART. We reveal that HIV infection in the setting of alcohol abuse exacerbates sICP dysregulation as PLHIV with heavy alcohol consumption have significantly elevated plasma levels of many sICPs. Thus, both stimulatory and inhibitory sICPs are present in the bloodstream of healthy people and their balance can be disrupted under pathophysiological conditions such as cancer, COVID-19, HIV infection, and alcohol abuse. There is an urgent need to study the role of sICPs in immune regulation in health and disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyewon Kim ◽  
Juhwan Yoo ◽  
Kyungdo Han ◽  
Maurizio Fava ◽  
David Mischoulon ◽  
...  

Background: Changes in lifestyle factors are known to affect mood. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting the association between smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and depression in middle-aged women who are likely to experience rapid hormonal changes.Methods: We used a nationwide database of medical records in South Korea. 901,721 premenopausal and 943,710 postmenopausal women aged 40 years or older included in this study. Information on smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity was identified from health examination data and followed up for the occurrence of depression using claims data.Results: Compared with never-smokers, ex-smokers and current smokers among premenopausal and postmenopausal women showed an increased risk of depression in a dose-dependent manner (aHR 1.13 for ex-smokers; aHR 1.23 for current smokers). Compared with non-drinkers, mild drinkers showed a decreased risk of depression (aHR 0.98 for premenopausal women; aHR 0.95 for postmenopausal women), and heavy drinkers showed an increased risk of depression both among premenopausal (aHR 1.20) and postmenopausal women (aHR 1.05). The risk of depression due to smoking and heavy alcohol consumption was higher in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women. Compared with those who had not engaged in regular physical activity, those who had engaged showed a decreased risk of depression both among premenopausal (aHR 0.96) and postmenopausal women (aHR 0.95).Conclusions: Smoking and heavy alcohol consumption increased the risk of depression, and the increased risk was prominent in premenopausal than in postmenopausal women. Regular physical activity decreased the risk of depression both in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261690
Author(s):  
James C. Barton ◽  
J. Clayborn Barton ◽  
Neha Patel ◽  
Gordon D. McLaren

Background In hemochromatosis, causes of abdominal pain and its associations with cirrhosis are poorly understood. Methods We retrospectively compared characteristics of referred hemochromatosis probands with HFE p.C282Y homozygosity with/without biopsy-proven cirrhosis: sex, age, diabetes, heavy alcohol consumption, abdominal pain/tenderness, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic viral hepatitis, ascites, transferrin saturation (TS), serum ferritin (SF), and iron removed by phlebotomy (QFe). We performed logistic regression on cirrhosis using characteristics identified in univariate comparisons. We performed computerized and manual searches to identify hemochromatosis case series and compiled prevalence data on cirrhosis and abdominal pain and causes of abdominal pain. Results Of 219 probands, 57.1% were men. Mean age was 48±13 y. In 22 probands with cirrhosis, proportions of men, mean age, prevalences of heavy alcohol consumption, abdominal pain, abdominal tenderness, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and chronic viral hepatitis, and median TS, SF, and QFe were significantly greater than in probands without cirrhosis. Regression analysis revealed three associations with cirrhosis: abdominal pain (p = 0.0292; odds ratio 9.8 (95% CI: 1.2, 76.9)); chronic viral hepatitis (p = 0.0153; 11.5 (95% CI: 1.6, 83.3)); and QFe (p = 0.0009; 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.3)). Of eight probands with abdominal pain, five had cirrhosis and four had diabetes. One proband each with abdominal pain had heavy alcohol consumption, chronic viral hepatitis B, hepatic sarcoidosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and chronic cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, and sigmoid diverticulitis. Abdominal pain was alleviated after phlebotomy alone in four probands. In 12 previous reports (1935–2011), there was a negative correlation of cirrhosis prevalence and publication year (p = 0.0033). In 11 previous reports (1935–1996), a positive association of abdominal pain prevalence and publication year was not significant (p = 0.0802). Conclusions Abdominal pain, chronic viral hepatitis, and QFe are significantly associated with cirrhosis in referred hemochromatosis probands with HFE p.C282Y homozygosity. Iron-related and non-iron-related factors contribute to the occurrence of abdominal pain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 406-406
Author(s):  
Angela Curl ◽  
Jennifer Bulanda ◽  
Amy Restorick Roberts

Abstract Supportive marital relationships may reduce partners’ problematic health behaviors, whereas unhappy relationships may lack efficacious spousal monitoring of health and increase the likelihood of using maladaptive coping strategies, such as heavy alcohol use, to deal with relationship problems. We used pooled data from the 2014 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine how both partners’ perceptions of marital quality were associated with heavy drinking. Our analytic sample included married couples in which both spouses were over age 50, completed the leave-behind psychosocial questionnaire, and provided non-missing data on marital quality and alcohol use (n=2,095 couples). Measures included both positive and negative dimensions of marital quality and controls for sociodemographic, economic, health, household and marital characteristics. Using Proc Glimmix, we estimated a dual-intercept Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), in which separate equations were computed simultaneously for husbands and wives. For husbands, higher negative marital quality was associated with an increase in the odds of their own heavy drinking (OR=1.27), but there was no significant association between wives’ marital quality and husbands’ heavy drinking behavior. For wives, marital quality was not significantly associated with their own heavy drinking, but husbands’ higher ratings of both negative and positive marital quality increased the risk of wives’ heavy drinking (OR=1.60 and OR=1.75, respectively). Results suggest that marital quality is associated with heavy drinking in later life: self-ratings of marital quality matter for men, whereas spousal perceptions of marital quality are more important for women.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 4065-4065
Author(s):  
Radhika Gangaraju ◽  
Andrew D Sparks ◽  
Insu Koh ◽  
Diego A Herrera ◽  
Mary Cushman ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Cytopenia, defined as low counts in 2 or more blood cell lines is commonly associated with nutritional deficiencies, medications and chronic inflammation. In some individuals, cytopenia may reflect a pre-malignant condition or precursor of hematologic cancer. We recently demonstrated that cytopenia is associated with increased risk of mortality and was predictive of stroke risk in Black individuals (Blacks). In the current study, we sought to determine the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with incident cytopenia in a large biracial prospective study, REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS). METHODS: The REGARDS study recruited 30,239 Black and White individuals ≥45 years in the United States (US) between 2003 and 2007 (44% Black, ~50% females, 56% living in the southeast US). Socio-demographics and medical history were obtained by telephone interview and self-administered questionnaires, and laboratory studies (including complete blood count [CBC]) from an in-home visit at baseline and at a 10 year follow up visit. Cytopenia was defined as presence of 2 or more of the following: i) Hemoglobin in age-, sex-, and race-specific ≤5th percentile; ii) White cell count in race-specific ≤5th percentile; iii) Platelet count in ≤5th percentile, and iv) Macrocytosis (mean corpuscular volume [MCV] >98fL), due to known differences in CBC based on these demographic characteristics. We excluded participants without CBC at study enrollment and at the 2nd follow up visit, those who had cytopenia at baseline or died before the 10 year follow up visit, yielding an analytic sample of 8,081 participants. Baseline characteristics of those with or without incident cytopenia were tabulated and compared using Chi-Square tests or t-tests. Multivariable logistic regression using a purposeful selection algorithm was performed to identify factors independently associated with incident cytopenia. RESULTS: Incident cytopenia occurred in 213 of 8,081 (2.6%) participants, with the highest incidence in White men ≥65 years (4.6%) and the lowest incidence in Black women <65 years (1.0%). Baseline factors univariately associated with cytopenia are shown in Table 1. The purposeful selection algorithm yielded a multivariable model including the following factors associated with incident cytopenia: older age, male sex, White race, heavy alcohol intake, coronary heart disease, abnormal blood counts at baseline visit including lower white count, lower platelet count, lower hemoglobin and high MCV (all p<0.05) (Table 2). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this model was 0.81. CONCLUSION: In this large biracial cohort, the incidence of cytopenia was 2.6% over 10 years. Adjusting for baseline blood counts, risk factors for cytopenia included older age, male sex, White race, heavy alcohol intake and coronary heart disease. Baseline blood counts were also important predictors. This study provides valuable insights into the pattern of abnormal blood counts and the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with incident cytopenia. Research is ongoing to define the cause(s) of cytopenia including the role of clonal mutations in the peripheral blood of this population. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Gangaraju: Alexion: Consultancy; Sanofi Genzyme: Consultancy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Jiao Li ◽  
Jing Ren ◽  
Wei Sen Zhang ◽  
Chao Qiang Jiang ◽  
Ya Li Jin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To examine associations of baseline alcohol drinking with incident type 2 diabetes or impaired fasting glucose, and explore whether the associations were modified by genetic polymorphisms of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) and alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B).Methods Information of alcohol consumption was collected at baseline from 2003 to 2008. Incident type 2 diabetes was defined as fasting glucose ≥7.0 mmol/l or post-load glucose ≥11.1 mmol/l at follow-up examination (2008-2012), self-reported type 2 diabetes and/or initiation of hypoglycemia medication or insulin during follow-up. Impaired fasting glucose was defined as fasting glucose ≥5.6 mmol/l and <7 mmol/l. Results Of 15,716 participants without diabetes and 11,232 participants without diabetes and impaired fasting glucose at baseline, 1,624 (10.33%) developed incident type 2 diabetes, and 1,004 (8.94%) developed incident impaired fasting glucose during average 4 years of follow-up. After adjusting for sex, age, education, occupation, personal annual income, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, health status, family history of diabetes, compared with never drinking, occasional or moderate alcohol drinking was not associated with risk of incident type 2 diabetes+impaired fasting glucose (odds ratio (OR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94-1.25, and 0.89 (0.68-1.16), respectively), but heavy alcohol drinking was associated with a higher risk of incident type 2 diabetes+impaired fasting glucose (1.83, 1.25-2.69). No interactions of sex, overweight/obesity and genetic polymorphisms of ADH1B or ALDH2 genes with alcohol drinking on incident type 2 diabetes and/or impaired fasting glucose were found (p for interaction from 0.12 to 0.81). Conclusions Our results support a detrimental effect of heavy alcohol use on impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes. No protective effect was found for those carrying lower risk alleles for ADH1B and ALDH2 genes.


Author(s):  
Erika M Rosen ◽  
Stefany D Primeaux ◽  
Liz Simon ◽  
David A Welsh ◽  
Patricia E Molina ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims To assess whether binge drinking and heavy alcohol use are associated with increased sugar and fat consumption among a Southern cohort of people living with HIV (PWH). Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of PWH enrolled in the New Orleans Alcohol use in HIV (NOAH) Study (n = 215). Binge and heavy drinking were identified through a 30-day Alcohol Timeline-Followback and dietary intake was assessed through a 24-hour dietary recall. Results Participants were 65.4% male, 83.3% Black, with a mean age of 49.2 ± 9.9. Heavy drinkers consumed more total calories than abstainers (P = 0.035) and low-to-moderate drinkers (P = 0.024), and binge drinkers consumed more calories than non-binge drinkers (P = 0.025). Binge and heavy drinkers had significantly higher intake of total and saturated fat in grams. However, substantially increased caloric intake among these participants led to non-significant associations for alcohol use with high total and saturated fat intake as a percent of total energy intake (%TEI). Binge drinkers had lower odds of consuming high sugar as a %TEI (odds ratio: 0.31 [0.14, 0.68]). Additionally, sugar intake predicted total and saturated fat intake, and this association was slightly higher among binge drinkers (total fat P-value: 0.12). Conclusions In this population of PWH, while binge and heavy drinking predicted higher caloric and fat intake in grams, binge drinkers were less likely to consume a high-sugar diet. This analysis suggests that interventions focused on reduced alcohol use may be especially beneficial in reducing metabolic disease burden in PWH if supplemented with information on incorporating lower energy-dense foods with reduced fat.


2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2021-217204
Author(s):  
Neda Agahi ◽  
Lucas Morin ◽  
Marianna Virtanen ◽  
Jaana Pentti ◽  
Johan Fritzell ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Kekibiina ◽  
Julian Adong ◽  
Robin Fatch ◽  
Nneka I. Emenyonu ◽  
Kara Marson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background We aimed to describe the prevalence of PTSD symptoms and its associated factors in persons living with HIV (PLWH) in Uganda who engage in heavy alcohol use. Methods We analyzed baseline data from the Drinkers Intervention to Prevent Tuberculosis study which enrolls PLWH with latent tuberculosis who engage in heavy alcohol consumption. Using the primary care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) screening scale from the DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), probable PTSD was defined as reporting ≥3 of 5 assessed symptoms. We conducted the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption and assessed demographics, smoking, symptoms of depression, and spirituality/religiosity. Results Of 421 participants enrolled from 2018 through 2020, the majority (68.2%) were male, median age was 40 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 32–47), and median AUDIT-C score was 6 [IQR: 4–8]. Half (50.1%) of the participants reported ever experiencing a traumatic event, and 20.7% reported ≥3 symptoms of PTSD. The most commonly reported PTSD symptoms in the past 1 month in the entire sample were avoidance (28.3%), nightmares (27.3%), and being constantly on guard (21.6%). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, level of alcohol use was not associated with probable PTSD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] for each AUDIT-C point: (1.02; 95% CI: 0.92–1.14; p = 0.69); however, lifetime smoking (AOR 1.89; 95% CI: 1.10–3.24) and reporting symptoms of depression (AOR 1.89; 95% CI: 1.04–3.44) were independently associated with probable PTSD. Conclusions and recommendations A history of traumatic events and probable PTSD were frequently reported among persons who engage in heavy drinking, living with HIV in Uganda. Level of alcohol use was not associated with probable PTSD in this sample of PLWH with heavy alcohol use, however other behavioral and mental health factors were associated with probable PTSD. These data highlight the high prevalence of PTSD in this group, and the need for screening and interventions for PTSD and mental health problems.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document