A new study that has important implications for the understanding of sex differences in alcohol consumption has shown that stress alone leads to excessive drinking in women but not men. The study, from the Arizona State University Department of Psychology, used a simulated bar environment to test how stress affected whether participants drank more than intended.
A pilot study at the University of Washington in Seattle has shown that messaging on shifting “drinking norms” could help curb intentions to use alcohol among college students. Young people’s drinking is known to be influenced by their (often erroneous) perceptions of how their peers drink. To date, social norms interventions on campuses have focused on correcting students’ overestimates of how much alcohol their peers are consuming. Such interventions reflect the current state of normative behavior, known as static norms. In contrast, dynamic norms emphasize that a behavioral norm is shifting over time. These norms could be important in health behavior interventions, given emerging evidence that people align their behavior with social norms that they anticipate being prevalent in the future, even more so than the current norm. The new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, tested the concept of integrating dynamic norms messaging into alcohol interventions.
Drinking alcohol may relieve boredom, enhance social enjoyment, cause a blackout or hangover, or impair performance, among other consequences. But whether these experiences are positive or negative is a matter of disagreement among college students, according to the literature and supported by findings from a new study. Moreover, how these drinkers subjectively rate their experiences may influence their future alcohol consumption and risk of problematic drinking. Heavy drinking is common among college students, despite its seemingly negative consequences. “Behavioral economic demand” refers to the value placed on a commodity, in this case alcohol. Alcohol demand may influence future behavior, including drinking. Greater reinforcement (alcohol demand) is a key risk factor for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorder. College students report more positive than negative alcohol consequences, and previous studies suggest that positive perceptions influence their drinking behavior more
Availability of nonalcoholic beverages together with alcohol price increases could reduce alcohol consumption among college students at high risk for drinking-related harm, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
American Indians who believe a myth falsely implying that they are biogenetically predisposed to heavy drinking may experience more alcohol craving, more frequent drinking, and worse alcohol-related consequences than those who don’t believe that myth, according to a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
A study has revealed college students’ reasons for abstaining from alcohol or cannabis, including on days when they had initially planned to use one or both substances. The analysis, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, extends research into the so-called “intention-behavior gap” by being the first study to examine reasons for non-use following an intention to drink or to use cannabis. The findings could inform strategies for alcohol and substance use prevention and intervention on college campuses.
The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and MitoPower LLC were awarded an Small Business Innovation Research grant of $6.5 million from the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to develop a treatment for alcoholic liver disease-associated hepatorenal syndrome.
Men, young adults, motorcyclists, and people in European and other reasonably well-developed countries are more likely to die in road crashes caused by drinking, according to a novel review of global data. Researchers found that the risk of dying in a road crash attributed to alcohol consumption varied markedly around the world and across population groups. The new review may be the first to provide detailed information on the rate of fatal injury in traffic crashes caused by alcohol use and its variation by location, the sex and age of victims, or transit circumstances. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2018, one in four road deaths worldwide were attributable to drinking. For the review in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators in Mexico explored how these fatalities are distributed, geographically and demographically. This more granular information can potentially help target prevention resources at locations and communities where they may most eff
A study has revealed important gender and age differences in forecasted future levels of binge drinking, and highlighted key factors underlying these trends.
The study used information from Statistics Canada to compare 16 months of alcohol and cannabis sales before and after the pandemic began (November 2018 to February 2020 compared to March 2020 to June 2021). During the pandemic period, Canadians bought 1.86 billion dollars more alcohol than was predicted based on the pre-pandemic trend. Increases in cannabis sales were $811 million higher, nearly a billion dollars above the predicted amount.
Increased mortality risk among current alcohol abstainers might largely be explained by other factors, including previous alcohol or drug problems, daily smoking, and overall poor health, according to a new study publishing November 2nd in PLOS Medicine by Ulrich John of University Medicine Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues.
Registrations for the national organ transplant waiting list related to alcoholic hepatitis as well as the number of deceased donor liver transplants for the inflammatory liver condition rose significantly during the pandemic, Michigan Medicine researchers found.
Researchers report waiting list registrations and deceased donor liver transplants in the U.S. for alcoholic hepatitis, which can develop after a short period of alcohol misuse, increased during COVID-19, exceeding volumes forecasted by pre-COVID-19 trends, while trends for alcohol-related cirrhosis and non-alcohol-associated liver disease remained unchanged.
Adults’ may report their symptoms of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) differently as they age, potentially impeding clinicians’ ability to recognize problematic drinking among older people, a new study suggests.
A researcher at Binghamton University, State University of New York has received a $1.74 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore how pre-natal alcohol exposure leads to ‘anxious’ offspring.
Research project to explore how pre-natal alcohol exposure leads to ‘anxious’ offspring
Americans drank and smoked more, have spent less time exercising, and spent more time in front of a computer or television in comparison to before the pandemic, a UCLA-led research team has found.
An analysis of electronic health records of nearly 580,000 fully vaccinated people in the United States found that while the risk of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection among those with substance-use disorders was low overall, it was higher for people who misuse substances such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and opioids.
Cedars-Sinai is joining a nationwide study to investigate how children's development is impacted by biological and environmental exposures, especially to opioids, marijuana, alcohol and tobacco, before and shortly after birth. The goal is to develop insights that can inform public policy to improve the health of children across the nation.
College students who misuse stimulant drugs or nootropics like Adderall or Ritalin are also likely to drink heavily and use other drugs, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
With fewer people on the road during the early days of the pandemic, more drivers were speeding and driving recklessly, resulting in more crashes being deadly, a new study found.
College students’ beliefs around the likelihood and desirability of alcohol’s effects vary over time, and predict drinking level and consequences, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
A new study from the Arizona State University Department of Psychology shows that the combination of genetic predisposition to alcohol use disorders and personality type can lead to problematic drinking behaviors. Having strong social support from friends was identified as protective against excessive drinking. The work was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as false health information spread on social media, the number of children and teens poisoned with hand sanitizer or alcoholic beverages surged in Iran. These poisonings resulted in hundreds of hospitalizations and 22 deaths. Misinformation circulating on social media included the false suggestion that consuming alcohol (methanol) or hand sanitizer (ethanol or isopropyl alcohol) protected against COVID-19 infection (it does not). A major alcohol poisoning outbreak sickened nearly 6,000 Iranian adults, of whom 800 died. It was not known, however, to what extent children and adolescents were affected. For the study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators compared pediatric hospitalizations for ethanol and methanol poisoning during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Iran with the same period the previous year. They also looked at types of exposure and how those were linked to the children’s ages and clinical outcomes.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York have explored the motivational impact of cigarette and alcohol “cues”, with important implications for understanding and treating addiction and relapse.
A new study from Arizona State University and Virginia Commonwealth University examined the pathways that contribute to and protect against alcohol use problems in Black American college students. Racial discrimination led to depressive symptoms and to problem alcohol consumption. Positive feelings about being a Black American were associated with a weaker link between discrimination, mental health and alcohol use. The study was published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Half of adults aged 20-39 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have had a substance use disorder (SUD) in their lifetime according to new research published online ahead of print this month in Alcohol and Alcoholism.
from alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been clarified in a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. AUD recovery was already known to be multidimensional, with behavioral changes – ranging from stopping heavy drinking to complete abstinence – accompanied by partial reversal of alcohol-induced brain damage. While the relationship between early abstinence (the “withdrawal phase”), negative mood, and sex-specific effects of alcohol on the brain’s “reward system” have been well-established, a growing body of evidence is revealing that AUD individuals in long-term abstinence (greater than five years) report higher levels of subjective happiness and emotional well-being, as well as a significantly lower risk of relapse. Yet, the way these long-term behavioral and emotional improvements relate to underlying brain changes, and potentially differ between men and women, remains unknown. To better understand and characterize these aspects of the recovery process, the study’s res
Expert Q&A: Do breakthrough cases mean we will soon need COVID boosters? The extremely contagious Delta variant continues to spread, prompting mask mandates, proof of vaccination, and other measures. Media invited to ask the experts about these and related topics.
During the COVID-19 pandemic months of March 2020 to September 2020, U.S. alcohol retail store sales increased compared to usual trends while food services and drinking places sales decreased markedly during the same period, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Alcohol intoxication is linked to impairments in the ability to interpret other people’s facial expressions, especially in men, according to a new study. The findings may help explain why alcohol use is often associated with harmful interpersonal and social consequences, such as physical aggression, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or being victimized. Heavy drinking is known to have the potential to disrupt the recognition of facial expressions, leading to misinterpretation. This may in turn contribute to inappropriate behaviors. Identifying the social processing mechanisms influenced by alcohol may inform interventions designed to reduce these negative outcomes. Previous laboratory studies of alcohol use and emotion processing have had mixed findings, however, and the roles of gender and naturalistic settings have not been investigated. For the study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators explored the influence of alcohol intoxication on recognizing
People of mixed race are experiencing high levels of racial discrimination, and this is linked to their increased risk of heavy drinking, according to a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Multiracial individuals also report relatively low levels of racial identity affiliation — a sense of connection to a racial group or groups that may buffer against the impact of discrimination. Heavy alcohol use is linked to higher risk of negative health consequences including alcohol use disorder. But research on relevant factors linked to heavy alcohol use in multiracial people is incomplete, with mixed findings. Understanding the interaction of racially linked influences and alcohol consumption can potentially inform interventions aimed at preventing or reducing risky drinking. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island compared levels of heavy drinking and some factors that may influence it, including racial discrimination and racial identity affiliation, in multiracia
Young adulthood is a period of multiple transitions, with individuals navigating changes in education and employment status, living situation, and relationships. Such role transitions are often positive for the individual. However, a study has shown that when young adults perceive transitions to have a negative impact on their lives, they experience more stress and are at increased risk for alcohol-related consequences. The research, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, is based on data from 767 young adult drinkers, aged 18-23 years at time of recruitment, in the Pacific Northwest region.
Financial instability, lack of infrastructure, a deteriorating sense of community and family fragmentation are key contributors to diseases of despair in Pennsylvania communities, according to Penn State College of Medicine and Highmark Health researchers.
Rejection of adolescent female rats by their peers has long-term effects on alcohol-seeking behavior, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and could provide a tool for studying alcohol relapse in humans. There is growing evidence from experimental studies that women who had adverse social experiences in childhood are more susceptible to alcohol relapse following abstinence. This is not observed in men, despite men having higher rates of alcohol dependence overall. Laboratory-bred rodents are important for studying the molecular and neurobiological underpinnings of addiction and alcohol dependence, but few animal studies have assessed the sex-dependent effects of adverse social experiences on later alcohol-seeking behavior. Recently, researchers in Germany have developed a rat model for adolescent peer rejection which has allowed them to study the long-term consequences of these experiences in adult male and female rats.
A new study from the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), published in the journal Lancet Oncology, has found an association between alcohol and a substantially higher risk of several forms of cancer, including breast, colon, and oral cancers.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) who are successfully treated for trauma likely need additional interventions addressing persistent drinking patterns, according to a new study.
Young adults’ use of cannabis and alcohol tends to rise and fall together, rather than one substance substituting for the other, according to a new study. Understanding the relationship between cannabis use and alcohol use is critical for informing policy and public health strategies. Legalizing recreational cannabis use has raised the possibility that cannabis may substitute for risky drinking or other substance use, potentially with less severe public health consequences.
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) frequently co-occur with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and this dual diagnosis often results in poorer treatment outcomes than for either disorder alone. An innovative study uses pre-treatment functional neuroimaging to predict treatment responses among individuals with both AUDs and PTSD. These results and others will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disproportionately more assaults occur in higher-capacity licensed venues than in their smaller counterparts, according to an Australian study reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Licensed premises are high-risk settings for violent incidents, and a sizeable proportion of all alcohol-related violence occurs within them. Factors linked to aggressive in-venue behavior include inadequate seating, inconvenient bar access, crowded spaces, and drunkenness – which are all more likely in venues with more people (and hence in higher-capacity premises). However, although venue capacity had been proposed as a risk factor for on-premises violence, most previous research has focused on the relationship between crowding and aggression, and on the impact of longer trading hours. In the current study, therefore, researchers investigated the association between venue capacity and the number of violent incidents on-premises; the impact of longer opening hours was also assessed.
Few patients with alcohol-use problems who might benefit from either pharmacotherapy or specialized addiction treatment typically receive care. That may now change owing to a pilot study which examined the feasibility of providing a real-time video consultation resource in primary care. The study’s findings will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sexual minority adolescents – lesbian, gay, or bisexual youth – are at an increased risk for substance use, including alcohol. A new study finds that discriminatory and stigmatizing experiences may be to blame. These results and others will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021.
An ongoing analysis of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol and related outcomes shows that COVID-related stressors experienced by study participants – including work-, financial-, and family-related stressors – are having a varied impact on individuals with and without alcohol use disorders (AUDs). These results will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only is cannabis the most commonly used illicit – in a number of states – drug among people who drink alcohol, cannabis is also by far the most commonly used illicit drug in the U.S. overall. New research findings tease out the nuanced relationship between alcohol and cannabis through a survey of regular cannabis users who also report drinking alcohol, as well as heavy drinkers in treatment who also use cannabis. These findings will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021.
Risky drinking has been a public health concern in the U.S. for decades, but the significant increase in retail alcohol sales following COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders in particular raised red flags for alcohol researchers. New research has assessed changes in alcohol drinking patterns from before to after the enactment of stay-at-home orders. These results and others will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social-media sites – for example, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook – that provide clear networking functions such as liking, sharing, commenting, and personal messaging with other users or “followers” are popular among youth. They have also become a prime milieu for the socialization of young people's alcohol use. These results and others will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th - 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.