Think twice before drinking that holiday nightcap. According to a recent survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), a vast 68% of Americans have lost sleep due to drinking alcohol past bedtime. With the holidays approaching, the AASM explains why alcohol and sleep don’t mix.
Data from a new study presented this week at The Liver Meeting Digital Experience® – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – found that the burden of cirrhosis in women in North America has increased substantially in recent years, a worrying trend driven by a rise in alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Projections suggest that both ALD and NAFLD rates will result in even higher cirrhosis incidence by 2040, with the most worrisome upward trends seen in young women with ALD and post-menopausal women with NAFLD.
In a study published today in Scientific Reports, a Nature Research Journal, a team of researchers led by Dr. Joseph Fisher presents a proof of concept of a simple method that could become a game-changer in rescue therapy for severe alcohol intoxication, as well as just “sobering up.”
Both fatal and nonfatal overdoses have increased this year compared to last, according to a recent report by the Overdose Data Mapping Application Program. And, anecdotal information suggests that compared to last year, people in recovery are relapsing at alarming rates.
Researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans honed in on one population particularly at risk during the pandemic: people living with HIV with at-risk alcohol use. They surveyed 80 people living with HIV in Louisiana during that state’s stay-at-home order, recruiting participants from the ongoing longitudinal Aging in Louisiana: Immunosenescence, HIV and Socioenvironmental Factors-Exercise (ALIVE-Ex) study.
People experiencing depression, anxiety disorder, or bulimia are at heightened risk of unhealthy drinking, according to a new study involving more than two million patients. Unhealthy drinking is known to frequently co-occur with behavioral health conditions, potentially impeding disease management and leading to more serious problems such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) and chronic medical issues. Although one in four US adults drink beyond recommended limits, little is known about the relationship between particular psychiatric diagnoses and varying levels of alcohol consumption. The study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research aimed to change that.
Clinical testing of an online cognitive training intervention for co-occurring alcohol misuse and social anxiety will soon be underway, following successful evaluation of a demo program in young adults. In a study reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, researchers assessed the demo’s acceptability and ease-of-use among service providers and target users in Sydney, Australia, with the feedback used to develop and refine the full program.
Study Highlights • The full impact of COVID-19 on alcohol use is not yet known, but rates have been rising during the first few months of the pandemic • There’s an urgent need for public health and medical responses to address harmful alcohol use
A study has revealed diverse routes to recovery among people with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders admitted for psychiatric inpatient care, while highlighting that some patients need additional support. Problem drinkers who also have a psychiatric condition — such as major depressive disorder (MDD) — often struggle to sustain long-term recovery following treatment. Mutual health groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can provide an ongoing source of recovery support for alcohol misuse, and involvement with AA is also linked to improvement in depression. However, it was not known how depression and involvement influence drinking during and after inpatient psychiatric treatment, and how they predict recovery. The new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, investigated long-term trajectories of alcohol use, depression, and AA involvement over time among patients with co-occurring diagnoses.
People who report having low social support are substantially more likely to experience heavy drinking and binge drinking than those who feel more supported, a large European study suggests. The researchers also found strong evidence that risky drinking is associated with areas of residence. Although alcohol use is known to be linked to social, economic, and demographic factors, the research is incomplete; it is not clear to what extent some of these factors, especially environmental conditions, predict dangerous drinking. Investigators in Spain designed a study that was unusual in exploring both heavy drinking and binge drinking and both individual and contextual (environmental) factors. The study, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, confirmed individual risk factors and highlighted certain environmental conditions that may help target interventions for those at risk.
A new IU study examining effects of low-level developmental lead exposure in mice could explain why some people dependent on alcohol return to using.
Fewer college-age Americans drink alcohol, compared to nearly 20 years ago, according to a new study.
US veterans with unhealthy alcohol use who reduce their drinking may gain some improvement in chronic pain symptoms and use of other substances, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Hazardous drinking is common in the US, and frequently co-occurs with chronic pain, depression and anxiety, and with tobacco, cannabis or cocaine use. Many people use alcohol and other substances to mask or self-manage pain and psychiatric symptoms, although there is little evidence to support such use. If, conversely, a reduction in drinking (or use of treatment for alcohol misuse) were to benefit co-occurring conditions or substance use, this could support an integrated approach to screening or treatment. The new analysis assessed the impact of drinking reduction on improvement of chronic pain, psychiatric symptoms, and other substance use among US veterans with unhealthy alcohol use – a population with high rates of these co-occurring conditions.
A new report has highlighted key differences between participants in early and later stages of drug research for alcohol use disorder (AUD), which could affect study findings and confound evaluations of novel treatments. In the US, only 4% of people with diagnosed AUD receive medication to treat their condition, and currently only three drugs are approved for this purpose. Early-stage laboratory studies of new treatments, which often involve controlled alcohol use, usually enroll heavy drinkers who have not sought treatment for their AUD. Later-stage trials, however, typically enroll patients who have sought treatment (and hence better reflect those who might be prescribed an approved treatment in clinical practice). A lower motivation and ‘readiness to change’ of non-treatment seekers compared with treatment seekers could affect drinking behavior and medication adherence in research studies. As such, it is vital to compare these groups and assess for differences that could influence s
A new study suggests that a single episode of extreme drinking in young adults may be linked to almost immediate structural brain atrophy. Adolescence and emerging adulthood are known to represent critical stages for brain development, involving heightened vulnerability to the toxic effects of drinking. Chronic alcohol use among young adults is associated with structural brain abnormalities, especially in the corpus callosum, which transfers information between brain hemispheres — a key function in learning and memory. Preclinical research in rodents suggests that a single drinking episode might result in brain atrophy. However, it was unclear whether and how a single episode of extreme drinking in young adults could affect brain structure. The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, assessed participants before and after a single episode of extreme drinking — consuming more than four to five alcohol-containing beverages in a single episode — scanning the br
After more than six months of living in a pandemic, large percentages of Americans continue to indulge in unhealthy lifestyle habits, including overeating and increased use of alcohol and marijuana — all while many are exercising less, according to a study of the cultural impact of COVID-19 conducted by the USC Center for the Digital Future (CDF).
Young adults who binge drink can be categorized within distinct subgroups based on substance use and mental health symptoms, according to research reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Binge drinking in young people is very common and linked to adverse outcomes including academic underachievement, risky behaviors, alcohol poisoning, other substance use, and harm to the brain. While some ‘age out’ of binge-drinking in their mid-to-late 20s, others continue with harmful patterns of alcohol use. Previous research has shown that other substance use and mental health indicators vary widely among binge-drinking youth, and could help explain the differences in trajectories. It is also important to understand young people’s motivation for drinking alcohol to inform why some people naturally reduce and others persist or worsen. In the new study, researchers sought to identify distinct patterns of drinking, drug use, and mental health symptoms among young binge drinkers, an
The University of Illinois Chicago has received $4.5 million in continuation funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to support the UIC site of the national Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood, or NADIA, consortium.
Using alcohol to cope with distress was associated with increased drinking during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Adults experiencing greater depression or lower social connectedness, and those with children under age 18, were among those at risk for drinking to cope. The COVID-19 pandemic brought extensive disruptions to daily life, involving elevated stress among the general public. This increased the likelihood of people using alcohol to cope, a motive linked to solitary drinking, heavier drinking, and alcohol-related problems. At the same time, social distancing and closures meant that access to healthier supports, such as counseling and recreation, was reduced. The study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research explored adult drinkers’ use of alcohol to cope with distress during the early pandemic, with the goal of informing interventions to address long-term alcohol-related harms.
Brief interventions can potentially reduce incarcerated women’s alcohol use when they leave jail, according to a new study.
New study findings in mice suggest that repeated binge drinking increases the motivation to consume alcohol to excess. In humans, the pattern of drinking (as well as quantity consumed) can be an important indicator of future drink problems; in adolescents, for example, a binge-drinking pattern can predict development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Studies using laboratory animals that have been selectively bred to drink alcohol (ethanol) in large amounts can provide valuable insights on problematic drinking patterns, using experimental approaches that would be impossible or unethical to apply in humans. Indeed, many important findings on responses to alcohol have been gained from animal studies, conducted to strict welfare guidelines. The latest study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, examined two behaviors in mice that reflect their motivation to experience alcohol’s rewarding effects on the brain.
"One day at a time" is a mantra for recovering alcoholics, for whom each day without a drink builds the strength to go on to the next. A new brain imaging study by Yale researchers shows why the approach works.
FACULTY Q&ABoth fatal and nonfatal overdoses have increased this year compared to last, according to a recent report by the Overdose Data Mapping Application Program. And, anecdotal information suggests that compared to last year, people in recovery are relapsing at alarming rates.Faculty from the University of Michigan School of Nursing’s Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health discuss why the pandemic has hit people with substance abuse problems especially hard and the expanded role of virtual recovery programs.
A study of more than 300,000 couples in Sweden finds marriage to a spouse who grew up exposed to parental alcohol misuse increases a person’s likelihood of developing a drinking problem.
Both fatal and nonfatal overdoses have increased this year compared to last, according to a recent report by the Overdose Data Mapping Application Program. And, anecdotal information suggests that compared to last year, people in recovery are relapsing at alarming rates. Faculty from the University of Michigan School of Nursing's Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health discuss why the pandemic has hit people with substance abuse problems especially hard and the expanded role of virtual recovery programs.
Each week a woman consumes alcohol during the first five to 10 weeks of pregnancy is associated with an incremental 8% increase in risk of miscarriage, according to a study published today by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers.
A team of chemists from HSE University and the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry used molecular modelling to find out that two medications that have been known for a long time can be used to fight SARS-CoV-2.
Aggressive behavior often, but not always, occurs alongside alcohol and drug misuse. Indeed, alcohol and drugs contribute to at least 40% of violent acts. However, despite the importance of substance misuse to understanding aggression, the relationships between alcohol-related, drug-related, and non-substance-related aggression are unclear. In particular, it is not known if these are three different facets of an individual’s overall aggressive tendency, or if they are three distinct and separate entities. A new analysis reported in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has probed this question using statistical modeling.
Recovering from alcohol use disorder (AUD) can sometimes involve drinking reductions that do not come close to abstinence, according to recent research — challenging the dogma that recovery from AUD requires abstinence or infrequent drinking. In a new study, one in five participants achieved stable recovery while occasionally drinking heavily. These participants reported success in various measures of life satisfaction, functioning, and health several years after treatment for AUD, according to the study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Their experience highlights the value of any drinking reduction. This study expands a body of work that is calling into question the longstanding emphasis — in research and recovery programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous — on drinking practices as a primary measure of success. A similar shift is taking place around other psychiatric disorders, with recovery increasingly measured by improved health and functioning over the absence of
Twenty-eight world-leading dementia experts added three new risk factors in the new report — excessive alcohol intake and head injury in mid-life and air pollution in later life. These are in addition to nine factors previously identified by the commission in 2017.
Friends’ drinking behaviors may be key to risky drinking among pregnant teens and young adults, according to a new study. Researchers used a previously untried approach to examine the ways that adolescents’ and young adults’ alcohol use and beliefs before they become pregnant related to their drinking as they entered into motherhood. Young mothers may be particularly vulnerable to moderate or heavy drinking during pregnancy, with adverse outcomes for their babies. Understanding the factors that influence risky alcohol use in pregnancy (3+ drinks per occasion) is important for identifying and supporting at-risk teens and young adults. The study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research may be the first to use data collected before pregnancy, minimizing inaccurate recall.
Long-term heavy drinking and alcohol dependence are linked to multiple health problems, including premature death. The risk of serious harm is higher for women than men, and also depends on the person’s current level of drinking. However, it is not known if other factors, such as previous drinking history and co-existing psychiatric conditions, might also contribute to early death in people with alcohol dependence. One way to evaluate the impact of these factors is to group patients based on clusters of characteristics and assess outcomes in each group. Alcohol dependence ‘subtypes’ have previously been used to group patients for treatment planning purposes, but have not been assessed for their role in predicting long-term outcomes of alcohol dependence. A new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, has evaluated four alcohol dependence subtypes as predictors of relapse in the year after treatment, and as predictors of mortality over 36 years of follow-up.
Johns Hopkins researchers have demonstrated that behavior therapy that exposes people to memories of their trauma doesn’t cause relapses of opioid or other drug use, and that PTSD severity and emotional problems have decreased after the first therapy session.
High-risk drinkers who substantially reduce their alcohol use can lower their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) despite not completely abstaining, according to study findings published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. CVD encompasses a range of conditions involving the heart or blood vessels, and is the leading cause of death in the US. It is also one of many negative health outcomes associated with heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Reductions in drinking can be defined using World Health Organization (WHO) ‘risk drinking levels’, which classify drinkers into ‘very high’, ‘high’, ‘moderate’ and ‘low’ risk categories based on their average daily alcohol consumption. Previous research has shown that a reduction of two or more levels (for example, from ‘very high’ to ‘moderate’) can lower the risk of multiple health issues, but did not assess the impact on CVD specifically. The latest study has examined associations between reductions in WHO risk drinking
Light to moderate drinking may preserve brain function in older age, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
Chemists have found a way to turn alcohol into amino acids, the building blocks of life.
Residents of wealthier neighborhoods drink alcohol twice as frequently as people in poorer areas, a new study suggests. The neighborhood environment is known to be associated with alcohol use. But the separate effects of various factors — for example, average income and the number of off-sales outlets — are complex, situational, and difficult to unravel. A new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research demonstrates a sampling technique that isolates these influences. It explores how certain individual characteristics interacted with certain neighborhood characteristics among 984 survey respondents.
Heavy-drinking peer groups increase young adults’ desire to drink, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Investigators used behavioral economic theory — the science of how people make choices — to assess motivations for consuming alcohol among a diverse sample of young adult drinkers. Young adults’ motivation to drink alcohol, as well as their likelihood of misusing it, is associated with how it is consumed within their social networks. But it is not well understood how these factors influence each other, and how those effects may vary depending on sex, race, and education level. For example, does the culture of heavy drinking in US colleges drive the high demand for alcohol there, or is alcohol demand high among young adults generally?
A study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research provides support for treatment goals based on reducing drinking, and not necessarily stopping completely, for people recovering from alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD is linked to damaging reductions in the gray and white matter of certain brain regions. This tissue loss, particularly in the frontal brain lobes, can contribute to cognitive deficits and may increase the risk of relapse following treatment. In people with AUD who quit alcohol completely, brain tissue volumes can increase quite dramatically during abstinence, in parallel to cognitive improvements. Complete abstinence is also associated with improvements in general health and quality of life - therefore abstinence is the usual goal of treatment for AUD.
A first-in-class clinical trial suggests a novel treatment measurably slowed progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to its more progressive and deadly form.
How young adults perceive their own drinking habits may distort their self-reported alcohol use, according to a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study scrutinizes the accuracy of participants’ self-reported drinking — a frequent component of alcohol research. Self-reports are prone to inaccuracies, especially in recalling past use. To improve accuracy, researchers often incorporate both “real time” self-reports and retrospective assessments. When these two reports diverge, however, the implications for research are not well understood. For this study, investigators assessed how these two types of self-report differ and what factors may predict inaccurate self-reporting. Unraveling these influences has the potential to improve the accuracy of some alcohol research — and, ultimately, better support people experiencing hazardous drinking.
The 55-page handbook, now available in English and soon to be available in Spanish, features sections on prenatal exposure, dysmorphology, neuropsychology, the diagnostic process, and case-based learning modules.
The University of Illinois at Chicago received $8.2 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to continue the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics and its research on how alcohol affects genes through epigenetics -- chemical changes to DNA, RNA or proteins that alter the expression of genes without directly modifying them.
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is the body’s key stress response system. By driving production of the stress hormone cortisol, and then ensuring a return to baseline levels, the HPA axis regulates our reaction to stressful events. Chronic alcohol use, however, can lead to persistently elevated cortisol, reducing the body’s capacity to respond appropriately to stress. Among people in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), the blunted stress response predicts risk of relapse and a return to drinking. Longer-term life stress, including childhood adversity, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic stress, can also dampen HPA axis function, complicating interpretation of the alterations evident in people with AUD. However, it is not known how stress and trauma intereact with AUD to affect HPA-axis reactivity. A new report in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research by researchers from the universities of Texas, Florida, and Colorado addresses this issue, u
The $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable researchers to identify interventions that will lead to a healthier, more resilient Native American community.
Researchers show that high estrogen levels may make alcohol more rewarding to female mice and reducing the number of estrogen receptors led to decreased drinking behavior, but only in female mice.
Female college students appear to be more affected by high alcohol use than men, which may lead to less interest in academics, according to new research including by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
The brain responds to rewarding stimuli by increasing the release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. When we feel motivated, it is because our brain anticipates this dopamine reward. The transition from early to mid-adolescence is associated with increased reward sensitivity and reward-seeking behavior, a consequence of normal brain development. This heightened sensitivity or prioritization of reward can be thought of as reflecting a greater motivation to obtain rewards. A new study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, has addressed whether drinking alcohol in early adolescence might impact the brain’s reward systems, by examining associations between alcohol initiation and subsequent changes in reward motivation while accounting for baseline scores. Differences between boys and girls were also evaluated.
Early exposure to anesthetics may make adolescents more susceptible to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
A University of Louisville study will evaluate how health care, public health and social services organizations are working together to improve the health and well-being of individuals served through Freedom House programs in Louisville and Manchester, Ky.Freedom House, operated by Volunteers of America Mid-States (VOAMID), is a residential treatment program for alcohol and/or drug dependent pregnant women and women with young children.
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