Addiction is one of society’s most misunderstood and rebuked health conditions. That stigma discourages many people from seeking treatment for substance dependence, according to a new scientific report.
A new study led by the University of Portsmouth in England has tested the hypothesis that people are more likely to find someone attractive while drunk, because their face appears more symmetrical.
College students reporting increased mental distress during the pandemic also reported greater quantity and frequency of alcohol use, and distress was linked to certain pandemic-related factors which differed by race.
Lung airway cells of people with alcohol use disorder developed “enhanced inflammation” three days after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and the University of Georgia.
Learning that their peers’ alcohol use is declining over time may help reduce young adults’ drinking, according to the first study that tested this approach among community-based participants (versus college students).
It's the moooost wonderful time...of the year! Are you looking for new story ideas that are focused on the winter holiday season? Perhaps you're working on a story on on managing stress and anxiety? Perhaps you're working on a story on seasonal affective disorder? Or perhaps your editor asked you to write a story on tracking Santa? Look no further. Check out the Winter Holidays channel.
Although widely considered a blunder of public policy, the alcohol prohibition laws of early 20th century America may have led to increased longevity for those born in places where alcohol was banned, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.The study — recently published in the journal Economics and Human Biology and co-authored by Jason Fletcher of UW’s La Follette School of Public Affairs — is the first to research the long-term effects of Prohibition Era on longevity, adding to the understanding of the longer-term costs of alcohol exposure during pregnancy.
More older Americans use cannabis now than before the pandemic, with 12% saying they’ve consumed a THC-containing substance in the past year and 4% saying they do so multiple times a week, according to a new study of people aged 50 to 80.
A new study finds that alcohol consumption may have counteractive effects on cardiovascular disease risk, depending on the biological presence of certain circulating metabolites—molecules that are produced during or after a substance is metabolized and studied as biomarkers of many diseases.
Tens of millions of Americans are addicted to illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other substances including opioids, with both immediate and long-term harm to not just themselves, but also family, friends and society.
The process contributing to an individual’s alcohol consumption may be linked to the consequences that person experiences from drinking, a new study suggests.
The former Metabolic and Fatty Liver Clinic at the University of Chicago Medicine is undergoing a name change, as part of a shift in language to drop stigmatizing words, precisely describe the condition and identify a subgroup of patients omitted under the former diagnostic criteria.
A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 20, entitled, “Alcohol consumption and epigenetic age acceleration across human adulthood.”
Emotional support was the simplest and most common means of helping others in an online forum related to recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), according to a new study.
Treating people for alcohol use disorder, even multiple times, results in long-term cost savings. When accounting for societal benefits of treatment, such as reduced crime and increased productivity, cost savings are realized in both the short- and long-term.
Therapy by videoconference may be as effective, and in some cases more effective, than in-person treatment for alcohol use disorder. Rates of stopping drinking are similar for those who receive treatment for their alcohol use disorder via videoconference and those who receive in-person treatment.
A study by a team of researchers across the country, including two from the University of Kentucky, is the first to demonstrate a connection between the characteristics of patients receiving buprenorphine for opioid use disorder and the use of urine drug testing.
New research published earlier this month in the International Journal of Aging and Human Development has highlighted the significant health disparities among older adults with a General Education Development (GED) certificate compared to their peers with a high school diploma.
There are few things tastier than the crisp bite of a cold IPA…for now. A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications found the changing global climate may be affecting the flavor and cost of beer. A warmer and drier climate is expected to lower the yield of hops — the aromatic flowers of the Humulus lupulus plant that give beer its signature bitter flavor — in Europe up to 18 percent by 2050.
A study spearheaded by Oregon State University has shown why certain polyunsaturated fatty acids work to combat a dangerous liver condition, opening a new avenue of drug research for a disease that currently has no FDA-approved medications.
Highly vulnerable patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) who received regular assessments after their initial intervention had substantially better outcomes a year later than those who did not receive the same follow-up, according to a new study. Fewer than one in ten people with SUD receive any form of treatment in a given year; among those who do, relapse and treatment reentry are common. A Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol is intended to facilitate treatment referrals, especially among patients with more severe SUDs, but research has shown it to be relatively ineffective in that regard. Adding a Recovery Management Checkup (RMC) intervention can improve treatment rates; RMC conceptualizes AUD and SUD as chronic conditions requiring longer-term monitoring via regular check-ins, early re-intervention in cases of relapse, and treatment retention strategies. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Resear
Adults aged 60 and older reported better overall health and quality of life after treatment for their alcohol use disorder, according to a new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Liver fibrosis is associated with various liver injuries, including viral infection, inflammation, excess alcohol consumption, and metabolic dysfunction.
Certain characteristics of people seeking remission from alcohol use disorder (AUD) are linked to their choice of recovery meeting, a new study suggests. Informal peer recovery groups—mutual-help organizations—play a crucial role for many individuals with AUD or other drug disorders. Such groups are proliferating and differ substantially in approach.
Some people may be physically unable to use the current evidential breath analysis machines, relied upon by police to gather proof of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, new research from the University of Sheffield indicates.
Hospital visits from alcohol- and substance-related disorders are driven by elevated temperatures and could be further affected by rising temperatures due to climate change, according to new research by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
A conversation can be the catalyst for someone struggling with addiction to get the care they need. But tread carefully. Two Penn State Health experts discuss a difficult conversation.
Women aged 18 to 44 living in states that outlaw Sunday liquor sales or driving with a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08 drink less than their counterparts in other states, according to a new study recently published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Eighteen U.S. states have laws that allow insurance companies to deny health care payments to treat people who were intoxicated when they sustained an injury, despite evidence showing that these laws prevent people from receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder and shift costs from insurance companies to the health care system, the government, individuals and families.
Up to one in four young adults use alcohol and marijuana simultaneously (i.e., use at the same time with overlapping effects), a behavior linked to a greater risk of adverse consequences. Given the expanding legalization of non-medical marijuana use, there is an urgent need to better understand the effects of simultaneous use and who is most vulnerable to adverse outcomes.
Certain genetic influences contribute to disordered eating and problematic alcohol use, leaving some people vulnerable to both conditions, according to a large study of late adolescent twins. Previous research has found concurrent eating disorders and risky drinking in younger teens amplify the chance of worse outcomes, including death.
Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with acute and repeated episodes of pancreatitis, an inflammatory condition that can cause severe abdominal pain and death.
Does drinking an excessive amount of alcohol increase the amount of fat deposits in the body? The answer is yes according to new findings from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
La cirrosis a menudo es consecuencia del consumo de alcohol crónico a largo plazo. Sin embargo, algunas personas que consumen poco o nada de alcohol pueden presentar cirrosis.
A cirroseé geralmente associada ao consumo prolongado e excessivo de álcool. No entanto, algumas pessoas que consomem pouco ou nenhum álcool podem acabar desenvolvendo a doença.
It’s “liquid courage,” not necessarily “beer goggles”: New research indicates that consuming alcohol makes you more likely to approach people you already find attractive but does not make others appear more attractive, according to a report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The study involved a longitudinal sample of 2,002 youth ages 12 to 26 in 12 rural communities in seven states, including Washington. Survey responses were collected annually from 2004 to 2019 starting with children who were in fifth/sixth grades.
Gene therapy might offer a one-time, sustained treatment for patients with serious alcohol addiction, also called alcohol use disorder, according to a new study led by a researcher at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine.
People who drink heavily experience heightened pleasurable effects throughout a drinking episode, which may be what motivates them to continue drinking, and not, as is commonly believed, that they require more alcohol in order to experience these effects.
People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are less able to learn from others' negative experiences, potentially rendering them more vulnerable to maintaining their dangerous drinking or relapsing, according to the first study of its type. The study explored social cognition, processes that enable us to understand and interact with others, and specifically social learning, our ability to learn by observing others' experiences.
Brain imaging of neuron activity in certain areas of the brain may predict whether an individual is likely to successfully respond to interventions to reduce their drinking. In a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, individuals whose baseline imaging showed decreased activity in areas of the brain associated with reward processing and impulsivity and increased activity in regions responsible for complex cognitive processes and emotional regulation were more likely to reduce their drinking following an intervention.
Life is harder for adolescents who are not attractive or athletic. New research shows low attractive and low athletic youth became increasingly unpopular over the course of a school year, leading to subsequent increases in their loneliness and alcohol misuse. As their unpopularity grows, so do their problems.
A Kaiser Permanente study provides new information that may help oncologists answer one of the most common questions they hear from breast cancer survivors: Is it safe to drink alcohol?