Feature Channels: Alcohol and Alcoholism

• share
• favorite_border

Many people with a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) struggle with certain cognition issues that often accompany AUD itself, even if they don’t themselves drink dangerously, according to a novel study. The findings suggest that these issues may be markers of vulnerability for the condition. A family history of AUD—having one or more first-degree relatives with the disorder—increases the risk of developing it, owing to genetic and environmental factors. Differences in cognitive functioning, especially in executive function (EF) and social cognition (SC), may predispose people to AUD and be amplified by chronic drinking. EF involves mental flexibility, inhibiting responses, and working memory, among other processes. SC facilitates social interactions through theory of mind (understanding others’ mental states), emotion recognition, and empathy. Research on healthy people with a family history of AUD has identified EF and SC differences in their neural networks, though little i

• share
• favorite_border

Following a brief intervention delivered to certain heavy drinkers, alcohol use and risky social ties decreased among those students’ close social connections who were also heavy drinkers, according to a novel study of first-year college students’ alcohol consumption and social networks.

• share
• favorite_border

Taking away the largest serving of wine by the glass – in most cases the 250ml option – led to an average reduction in the amount of wine sold at pubs and bars of just under 8%, new research led by a team at the University of Cambridge has discovered

• share
• favorite_border

Using artificial intelligence to scan surgery patients’ medical records for signs of risky drinking might help spot those whose alcohol use raises their risk of problems during and after an operation, a new study suggests.

• share
• favorite_border

Veterans with alcohol use disorder (AUD) appear to benefit from a non-invasive technique that uses magnetism to stimulate neurons in areas of the brain linked to psychiatric disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

A new ACG Clinical Guideline on alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is featured in the January 2024 issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

• share
• favorite_border

Hepatitis linked to alcohol, the most severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, is increasingly prevalent, severe, and likely to involve emergency departments, according to a new analysis.

• share
• favorite_border

An artificial intelligence-based program efficiently and accurately identified patients’ risky alcohol use by analyzing their health records, according to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

• share
• favorite_border

Would you pour your friends a glass of wine from a cask or sip your favourite red from a can? Researchers at UniSA's Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science are exploring how wine marketers can influence people to consider packaging options other than glass bottles.

• share
• favorite_border

College students with social anxiety may be driven by social motives to ‘pre-game,’ meaning drink prior to a party or event.

• share
• favorite_border

Taking a break from drinking alcohol even for just one month can lead to surprising and significant improvements in both physical and mental health, according to Jennifer Steiner, an assistant professor at Florida State University.

• share
• favorite_border

Adam Roy, food and beverage expert in Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business, explores what it takes to craft a delicious nonalcoholic beverage, provides tips for a successful Dry January and more.

• share
• favorite_border

Health care workers want you to think long and hard before getting behind the wheel, even if you had just a little. A Penn State Health expert discusses the grim statistics – and how you can avoid becoming one.

• share
• favorite_border

An online treatment for insomnia may improve both sleep and problem drinking patterns in people who drink heavily, according to a study in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.