Search

Young adulthood is a developmental period during which individuals experience shifts in their social roles in various domains, which coincides with a period of time that is also high risk for lifetime peaks in alcohol use. The current study examined age‐related changes in heavy episodic drinking (HED) and high‐intensity drinking (HID) and associations with short‐term (i.e., monthly) variation in young adults' social roles over a 2.5‐year period in a community sample of young adults who reported past‐year alcohol use (N = 778, baseline age range 18–23). Results showed probabilities of past‐month HED and HID changed in a nonlinear fashion across ages 18–26 with greater probabilities of use at younger ages. Most participants did not report being in the same social role status every sampled month, underscoring the presence of short‐term role variation. Living with parents and being in a serious romantic relationship in a given month were negatively associated with past‐month HED. Living with parents in a given month was also negatively associated with past‐month HID. Being a 4‐year college student and being employed full‐time in a given month were not significantly related to either outcome. Findings provided partial evidence that monthly statuses were associated with heavy drinking. Several avenues for future research are described in light of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unhealthy alcohol use is prevalent among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) and contributes to impaired functioning, diminished quality of life, and poorer HIV outcomes. Common cooccurring conditions such as chronic pain may be associated with negative outcomes both directly and through its influence on unhealthy drinking itself. However, there is relatively little known about how pain influences unhealthy drinking among PLWH over time. The current study examined whether pain was associated with indices of unhealthy alcohol use, namely heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) assessed 12 months later. Methods: The study sample (n = 207) was from the Boston Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (ARCH) Cohort, a prospective cohort of PLWH with a history of illicit substance or unhealthy alcohol use. We conducted logistic regression analyses to examine the associations between pain and both heavy drinking and AUD status (DSM‐5 criteria) (yes/no) over time. In secondary analyses, we examined whether pain was associated with greater AUD severity and whether pain interference was associated with heavy drinking and AUD outcomes. Results: We found that pain at baseline was associated with greater odds of AUD [aOR = 2.29 (95% CI: 1.13, 4.64), p = 0.02] but not heavy drinking [aOR = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.44, 1.88), p = 0.79] at 12 months. Pain was also associated with more severe AUD. Analyses of pain interference showed similar results. Conclusions: Pain is prospectively associated with higher odds of AUD among PLWH with a substance/unhealthy alcohol use history. Providers should routinely address pain among PLWH to improve AUD outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to identify the prevalence and types of harm to children from others' drinking in Australia, as indicated by caregivers, and examine socio‐demographic characteristics of caregivers who indicated a child was affected by others' drinking. Design, setting, participants and measurements: A subsample of 854 adult respondents, who were caregivers of children under 18 years from the 2021 Australian Alcohol's Harm to Others study, were asked questions about whether children in their care had been negatively affected by others' drinking in the past year. Weighted prevalence estimates of overall and specific harms to children are presented. Logistic regressions were conducted to determine characteristics associated with indicating harms to children from others' drinking. Findings: Over 17% of caregivers (95% confidence interval [CI] = 13.0–19.0) indicated that one or more children in their care had been affected by others' drinking in the past 12 months. Verbal abuse (6.2%; 95% CI = 4.3–8.3) was the most common harm indicated, followed by financial harm (4.3%; 95% CI = 2.7–6.2). One percent of caregivers (95% CI = 0.4–2.3) indicated a child was physically hurt and less than 1% (95% CI = 0.2–1.4) indicated a child was the subject of a child protection call due to someone's drinking. Women and caregivers over 65 years were more likely to indicate a child had been affected compared with men and caregivers under 65 years. Caregivers who drank five or more drinks at least three times per week were four times more likely to indicate a child was affected compared with abstainers. Living in a household with someone who drinks heavily and who had negatively affected the child's caregiver was associated with an increased likelihood of child harm. Conclusions: In 2021, a weighted survey estimate for caregivers in Australia indicated that almost one in six children had been affected by others' drinking. Heavier drinking of caregivers and other household members was the most substantial predictor for indicating a child had been negatively affected by others' drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NIAAA's 2022 definition of recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD) includes two core components, remission of DSM-5 AUD criteria and cessation of heavy drinking. This study's purpose was to assess patterns of AUD symptoms and heavy drinking in a heterogeneous national sample, in order to clarify the utility of the definition. Participants who self-reported having resolved an alcohol problem for at least 6 months were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 386) and surveyed about their problem severity, current drinking, and AUD symptomology. We used latent class analysis to discern meaningful clusters of AUD symptoms and heavy drinking, as well as factors associated with class membership. A two-class model was the best fit for the data. The first class, which we termed Less Symptomatic, included 83.4% of the sample. Individuals in this class were unlikely to endorse any of the 10 AUD criteria (<2.5% of the time) and 24.3% reported heavy drinking. In the second class (16.6% of the sample), termed Symptomatic, 45% of respondents endorsed at least one AUD criterion and 88.2% reported heavy drinking. These findings suggest that some individuals in recovery may continue to drink heavily with minimal problems, while others continue to experience AUD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many young people in Western countries are abstaining from alcohol consumption, but their Nigerian counterparts are adopting lifestyles that valorize alcohol use and heavy drinking rituals. This study explored heavy drinking practices and alcohol-related harms among young Nigerians (students and nonstudents) who use alcohol. Although participants were highly knowledgeable about the harms associated with heavy drinking, they reported heavy drinking and normalized intoxication. Most participants consumed between 3 and 12 bottles of beer, stout and other alcoholic beverages on a single occasion and suffered multiple incidents of intoxication and loss of control with adverse outcomes. Many participants suffered more than one health-related consequence, like vomiting, hangovers, and abdominal pain, while others fell sick, which incapacitated them for many days/weeks. Heavy drinking and intoxication also adversely impacted training and studies, as some participants could not go to work or attend lectures as planned. The findings highlighted the need for prevention and intervention strategies that seek to reduce heavy drinking and associated harms by targeting the social norms around heavy drinking specifically. Lessons learned in regions with youth drinking decline may inform public health strategies that can be implemented in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular illnesses remain the primary cause of death, accounting for at least 17.9 million fatalities per year and posing a significant public health problem because of its extensive predominance and effect on healthcare systems. The etiology of cardiovascular disease is complex and involves several environmental and lifestyle factors. Alcohol use is a highly important determinant because of its dual-edged effect on cardiovascular health. Multiple studies indicate that moderate alcohol consumption may have certain advantages, such as slight enhancements in lipid profiles. Conversely, excessive alcohol intake is associated with serious negative consequences, including cardiomyopathy, hypertension, arrhythmias, and even mortality. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the several effects of alcohol on cardiovascular health and their understanding within the medical field over time. It uses an interpretative narrative review methodology and analyzes studies that focus on genetic risk factors, gender differences, and shifts in paradigms in recent years. This article highlights the need for obtaining a thorough understanding of the effects of alcohol on cardiovascular health to support public health guidelines and clinical practice, and it underscores the significance of including alcohol consumption into the broader context of cardiovascular risk management and identifies important subjects for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the limited access to treatments for alcohol dependence, we developed ALM-002, a therapeutic application to be "prescribed" for non-abstinence-oriented treatment in internal medicine settings. Our objective was to preliminarily assess the efficacy and safety of ALM-002. In a multicenter, open-label randomized controlled trial, participants aged ≥20 with alcohol dependence and daily alcohol consumption exceeding 60 g for men and 40 g for women, without severe complications, were randomly assigned to either the intervention group using ALM-002 or the treatment-as-usual control group. Participant in both groups received individual face-to-face sessions by physicians at weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12. The primary endpoint was the change in heavy drinking days (HDDs) from week 0 to week 12. A mixed model for repeated measures was employed. We enrolled 43 participants: 22 in the intervention group and 21 in the control group. A significant reduction in HDDs every 4 weeks from week 0 to week 12 was observed, with a between-group difference of −6.99 days (95% CI: −12.4 to −1.6 days, standardized mean difference: −0.80). These results indicate the potential of ALM-002 as a viable treatment for alcohol dependence. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical potential of ALM-002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation is investigated between situational drinking norms which accept heavier drinking and the experience of harm from others' drinking. How does the experience of such harm relate to the acceptance of heavier drinking in drinking situations? Respondents in a 2021 combined sample from random digitally dialed mobile phones and a panel survey of Australian adults (n = 2,574) were asked what level of drinking is acceptable in 11 social situations, including 3 "wet" situations where drinking is generally acceptable. Besides their own drinking patterns, respondents were also asked about their experience of harm from others' drinking in the last 12 months. Focussing on respondents' answers concerning the wetter situations, regression analyses were used to examine the relation between experiencing such harm and views on how much drinking was acceptable in the situations. Heavier drinkers were more likely to have experienced harm from others' drinking. Among heavier drinkers, those who experienced such harm generally did not differ significantly in their normative acceptance of any drinking in "wet" situations but were more accepting of drinking enough to feel the effects. From these cross-sectional results, experiencing harm from others' drinking does not seem to result in less acceptance of drinking to intoxication; rather, experiencing such harm was associated with more acceptance of heavy drinking. However, these findings may be the net result of influences in both directions, with the acceptance of intoxication in wet situations being more common among heavier drinkers, whose drinking exposes them to harm from others' drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study examined the relationships between stress, excessive drinking, including binge and heavy drinking, and health insurance status among a regionally representative sample of adults living in Northern Larimer County, Colorado, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject and methods: Data from 551 adults aged 18 to 64 years (62.98% aged 45 to 65 years; 73.22% female; 92.98% non-Hispanic White) were used. The sample was weighted by age and binary sex. A series of logistic regressions were applied to examine bivariate associations among stress, drinking, and health insurance status, with and without accounting for the effects of sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Stratified analyses were applied to explore differential associations of stress and drinking among individuals with different health insurance coverage. Results: A total of 23.23% of the adult sample reported binge drinking, and 16.15% reported heavy drinking; 10.53% of the sample reported both binge and heavy drinking. Individuals with higher levels of stress were more likely to report binge drinking (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.65, 1.68) and heavy drinking (OR: 2.61; 95% CI: 2.54, 2.67), after adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Relative to individuals with private health insurance coverage, adults enrolled in Medicaid and those without health insurance coverage were more susceptible to the effect of stress on binge and heavy drinking. Conclusion: Our results highlighted a need for continuing statewide and/or national efforts in closing the insurance coverage gap and providing affordable marketplace health insurance in the hope of preventing excessive drinking due to high levels of stress during a challenging time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Excessive alcohol consumption has a multifaceted impact on the body's metabolic pathways and organ systems. The objectives of this study were to characterize global metabolomic changes and identify specific pathways that are altered in individuals with excessive alcohol use. Methods: This exploratory study included 22 healthy controls with no known history of excessive alcohol use and 38 patients identified as using alcohol excessively. A Fibrosis‐4 score was used to determine the risk of underlying alcohol‐associated liver disease among the excessive drinkers. Results: We found significantly altered urinary and serum metabolites among excessive drinkers, affecting various metabolic pathways including the metabolism of lipids, amino acids and peptides, cofactors and vitamins, carbohydrates, and nucleotides. Levels of two steroid hormones—5alpha‐androstan‐3beta,17beta‐diol disulfate and androstenediol (3beta,17beta) disulfate—were significantly higher in both the serum and urine samples of excessive drinkers. These elevated levels may be associated with a higher risk of liver fibrosis in individuals with excessive alcohol use. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption leads to marked alterations in multiple metabolic pathways, highlighting the systemic impact of alcohol on various tissues and organ systems. These findings provide a foundation for future mechanistic studies aimed at elucidating alcohol‐induced changes in these metabolic pathways and their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory studies reveal that participants' expectations influence the relation between acute alcohol consumption and gambling behaviors. However, specific expectations have not been explored. To fill this gap, people who gamble frequently were asked about their expectations for how alcohol influences their gambling behaviors. Individuals who gamble frequently (n = 472) were recruited via MTurk and completed a survey that included current gambling behaviors and alcohol expectancies while gambling. As many as 55% agreed to some extent that they were more focused, had skills increase, felt calmer, and won more when gambling under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, positive alcohol expectancies significantly predicted percentage of time spent simultaneously consuming alcohol and gambling. Several specific expectations were related to percentage of time gambling while drinking. Individuals who gamble weekly hold both positive and negative expectations about how alcohol consumption impacts gambling. Responsible gambling practices might target these expectations in efforts to educate consumers. Providing resources regarding the effects of acute alcohol use on gambling might curb both alcohol and gambling-related harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhetorically speaking, drinking was an opportunity for Hemingway to probe into gender. His younger alter ego Frederic Henry, the drinking lieutenant in A Farewell to Arms could thus envisage the personality of the 'mother-nurse' who will have inhabited the dream-phantasies of soldier-patients in World War I; his older alter ego Cantwell, the drinking colonel in Across the River and into the Trees, could thus draw the contours, if rather flimsy, of the 'daughter-whore,' submissive and forever willing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Adicciones is the property of Sociedad Cientifica Espanola de Estudios sobre el Alcohol and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Veterans in the United States are at an elevated risk for substance use and risky sexual behaviors, either of which may function as coping responses to trauma exposure. The current study examined risky sexual behaviors in a sample of Veterans seeking therapy to reduce substance use behaviors and mental health symptoms as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Self-report measures assessed substance use behaviors, PTSD, and risky sexual behaviors. Veterans (N = 834) were mostly male (93.4 %) and White (71.6 %) with an average age of 48.25 years. In the past 30 days, 50.5 % of Veterans had sex and 57.3 % of Veterans reported at least one day of heavy drinking. Among Veterans who had a regular sexual partner, 84.9 % did not always use a condom, whereas 77.1 % of Veterans who had a casual partner did not always use a condom. Of Veterans who endorsed sex in the past month, 49 % had a sexual encounter while intoxicated from alcohol and/or drugs, an outcome that was significantly associated with heavy drinking via multiple regression analysis. Nevertheless, other forms of risky sexual behavior (i.e., number of sexual partners and condom use) were not significantly associated with heavy drinking. Further, risky sexual behaviors were not directly associated with PTSD symptoms. Findings suggest that despite the high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors, these behaviors among this sample of treatment-seeking Veterans may be explained by other unexplored factors. Future research is necessary to explore alternative explanations for these behaviors to inform interventions.

Existing measures of reasons for limiting alcohol use are over 30 years old or don't distinguish between limiting drinking/abstinence and limiting heavy drinking. The present study describes the development and evaluation of the Reasons for Limiting Heavy Drinking (RFLHD), a 15-item measure assessing reasons to limit heavy drinking. Participants were 591 college students from two southern universities identifying primarily as White (68%) and female (82.3%) who completed the RFLHD, Protective Behavioral Strategies Survey-20, US-Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test Consumption scale, and the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses supported a two-factor solution – Avoiding Consequences (i.e., limiting use to reduce alcohol related negative consequences) and – Personal and Other's Values (i.e., limiting use in accordance with personal, or other people's values, regarding alcohol consumption). Generally, the RFLHD was negatively correlated with measures of alcohol use measures and positively correlated with measures of alcohol harm reduction. The RFLHD displayed promising preliminary psychometric properties in this study. Harm reduction interventions aimed at the behavioral component of alcohol use may benefit from using the RFLHD to examine cognitive motivations for limiting heavy drinking. Further investigation of the RFLHD is needed to advance the measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes how emerging adults negotiate their relation to alcohol in the context of declining youth drinking and how this relationship changes over time. The sample consists of longitudinal qualitative interview data (N = 28) with 9 boys and 19 girls aged 15 to 21. The participants were recruited through schools, social media and non-governmental organizations from mainly the Stockholm region and smaller towns in central Sweden to reach a heterogeneous sample in terms of sociodemographic factors and drinking practices. We interviewed the participants in-depth three times between 2017 and 2019. Thematic coding of the whole data with NVivo helped us select four cases for more detailed analysis, as they represented the typical trajectories and showed the variation in the material. We used the master narrative framework and Bamberg's narrative positioning analysis to examine the data. The analysis demonstrates what kinds of narrative alignments in identity development encourage heavy drinking, moderate alcohol consumption, and fuel abstinence. The results suggest that the decline in youth drinking is produced by a co-effect of multiple master narratives that intersect and guide the identity development away from heavy drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The comorbidity of binge eating and heavy drinking (BE + HD) is concerning due to high prevalence and associated consequences. Affective pathways may maintain BE + HD, yet more micro‐level research is needed. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine between‐person and day‐level relationships between positive and negative affect and binge eating or heavy drinking episodes in BE + HD. Methods: Participants (N = 53) were adults with binge‐spectrum eating disorders who completed between 7 and 14 days of EMA prior to a treatment for binge eating. Results: Anxiety was highest on days with both binge eating and heavy drinking, while excitement and confidence were highest on days with only heavy drinking episodes for BE + HD. Global negative affect was relatively stable surrounding binge eating episodes. Guilt significantly increased prior to binge eating, and sadness significantly decreased following binge eating. Global positive affect significantly decreased prior to and stopped decreasing following heavy drinking episodes. Discussion: Results support binge eating being negatively reinforced by specific aspects of negative affect, while heavy drinking may be positively reinforced by global positive affect for individuals with BE + HD. Clinicians should incorporate interventions that focus on specific negative affect dimensions and that promote alternative rewarding activities besides heavy drinking. Highlights: In individuals with binge eating and heavy drinking, guilt worsens before binge eating episodes, while sadness decreases afterwards.Individuals with co‐morbid binge eating and heavy drinking may experience less anhedonia than commonly seen in binge eating samples.However, trajectories of positive affect suggest that heavy drinking may be positively reinforced in individuals with binge eating and heavy drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We aimed to identify alcoholic beverage types more likely to be consumed by demographic subgroups with greater alcohol‐related health risk than others, mainly individuals with low socio‐economic status, racial/ethnic minority status and high drinking levels. Methods: Fractional logit modelling was performed using a nationally representative sample of US adult drinkers (analytic N = 37,657) from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Waves 2 (2004–2005) and 3 (2012–2013). The outcomes were the proportions of pure alcohol consumed as beer, wine, liquor and coolers (defined as wine‐/malt‐/liquor‐based coolers, hard lemonade, hard cider and any prepackaged cocktails of alcohol and mixer). Results: Adults with lower education and low or medium income were more likely to drink beer, liquor and coolers, while those with a 4‐year college/advanced degree and those with high income preferred wine. Excepting Asian adults, racial/ethnic minority adults were more likely to drink beer (Hispanics) and liquor (Blacks), compared with White adults. High‐ or very‐high‐level drinkers were more likely to consume liquor and beer and less likely to consume wine (and coolers), compared with low‐level drinkers. High‐level and very‐high‐level drinkers, who were less than 10% of all drinkers, consumed over half of the total volume of beer, liquor and coolers consumed by all adults. Discussion and Conclusions: Individuals with low socio‐economic status, racial/ethnic minority status or high drinking level prefer liquor and beer. As alcohol taxes, sales and marketing practices all are beverage‐specific, targeted approaches to reduce consumption of these beverages, particularly among individuals with these profiles, are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with significant psychological and economic burdens, as well as physical comorbidities that can lead to death. Previous research has found that probiotics may reduce inflammatory biomarkers in persons with AUD and comorbid conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver. This relationship has not been explored in heavy drinkers without comorbid conditions. In a proof-of-concept study, individuals who were heavy drinkers without known comorbidities received a 30-day course of a daily probiotic supplement in an open-label pilot trial. Eligible participants (N = 16) met NIAAA guidelines for heavy alcohol use and did not report any preexisting medical problems. Blood samples were taken at four timepoints: prior to the probiotic course, at the midpoint, at the end, and after a washout period of at least one month. Immunoassays were conducted on plasma samples to quantify the following inflammatory biomarkers: IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, LBP, MCP-1, sCD14, sCD163, and TNF-α. Linear mixed models were used to test within-subjects changes in biomarker concentrations over the study period, with alcohol use included as a time-varying covariate. Biomarker concentrations did not change significantly. A higher number of heavy drinking days was statistically associated with higher concentrations of IL-6 (F (1,8) = 6.66, p = 0.0326) and IL-8 (F (1,17) = 6.38, p = 0.0218). Greater days since last drink was associated with a lower concentration of MCP-1 (F (1,17) = 5.77, p = 0.028). In summary, biomarker trajectories were associated with alcohol consumption variables, but not probiotic use, in this open-label pilot study. Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate fully the potential benefits of probiotics in heavy drinkers without known comorbidities and under conditions of non-abstinence. • Greater heavy drinking days was associated with higher levels of cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. • Greater number of days since last drink was associated with lower levels of chemokine MCP-1. • Probiotic use was not associated with changes in inflammatory biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence for the use of integrated treatments targeting co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorders is steadily growing. However, limited work has evaluated the temporal association between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and alcohol misuse over the course of integrated treatment, with no studies examining such interventions in primary care (PC). The current study examined temporal changes in PTSS and heavy drinking among individuals who received a brief treatment for co-occurring PTSD and alcohol misuse in PC (Primary Care Treatment Integrating Motivation and Exposure; PC-TIME) compared with those who received PC treatment as usual (PC-TAU). A total of 63 veterans (33 randomized to PC-TIME and 30 randomized to PC-TAU) presenting to PC with co-occurring PTSD and alcohol misuse were included in this study. PTSS and heavy drinking were examined at each treatment session for those in PC-TIME. Veterans in both conditions provided reports of PTSS and heavy drinking at baseline, 8-weeks (post-treatment), 14-weeks, and 20-week follow-ups. Session-by-session findings for PC-TIME demonstrated that PTSS at Session 1 predicted a greater decrease in heavy drinking from Session 1 to Session 2. Moreover, heavy drinking at baseline predicted greater decreases in PTSS at 8-weeks for those in PC-TIME, whereas the reverse association was found for those randomized to PC-TAU. Additionally, heavy drinking at 8-weeks predicted decreased PTSS at 14-weeks for those randomized to PC-TAU. The current study evidenced mixed support for the temporal precedence of PTSS and alcohol misuse. Relations between PTSS and heavy drinking appeared to be linked to treatment targets within PC-TIME and varied between treatment condition (PC-TIME versus PC-TAU). Notably, those with greater than average heavy drinking at the initiation of integrated treatment appeared to have greater reductions in PTSS at post-treatment. Results suggest a mutual maintenance model may best characterize the association between co-occurring PTSS and heavy drinking among treatment-seeking individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular illnesses remain the primary cause of death, accounting for at least 17.9 million fatalities per year and posing a significant public health problem because of its extensive predominance and effect on healthcare systems. The etiology of cardiovascular disease is complex and involves several environmental and lifestyle factors. Alcohol use is a highly important determinant because of its dual-edged effect on cardiovascular health. Multiple studies indicate that moderate alcohol consumption may have certain advantages, such as slight enhancements in lipid profiles. Conversely, excessive alcohol intake is associated with serious negative consequences, including cardiomyopathy, hypertension, arrhythmias, and even mortality. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the several effects of alcohol on cardiovascular health and their understanding within the medical field over time. It uses an interpretative narrative review methodology and analyzes studies that focus on genetic risk factors, gender differences, and shifts in paradigms in recent years. This article highlights the need for obtaining a thorough understanding of the effects of alcohol on cardiovascular health to support public health guidelines and clinical practice, and it underscores the significance of including alcohol consumption into the broader context of cardiovascular risk management and identifies important subjects for further study.

• Cognitive control and attentional control share similar goal-driven attributes. • Heavy drinkers and controls performed similarly on go/no-go and Stroop tasks. • Suppression of high-frequency distractors was blunted in heavy drinkers. • Drinkers had difficulty leveraging statistical regularities to facilitate ignoring. • Distractor suppression is distinct from the suppression of prepotent responses. Impaired cognitive control has been linked to weakened self-regulatory processes underlying compulsive substance intake. Previous research has provided evidence for impaired task performance in substance-abusing groups during Stroop and Go/No-Go tasks. Mechanisms of distractor suppression in visual search might also involve overlapping regulatory components that support goal-directed behavior by resolving the attentional competition between distractors and the target of search. However, the efficiency of learning-dependent distractor suppression has not been examined in the context of drug abuse and a direct comparison between cognitive control and distractor suppression is lacking. A total of 84 participants were assigned either to the heavy drinking group (ALC, n = 42) or the control group (CTL, n = 42) based on self-reported substance use. Participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). After that, participants completed a computerized version of the Stroop task, Go/No-go task, and a visual search task measuring learning-dependent distractor suppression. The Stroop effect and the frequency of no-go errors did not differ between groups. However, learned distractor suppression was significantly blunted in the ALC group compared to the control group. Across participants, performance on the Stroop and Go/No-go task were correlated, while the magnitude of distractor suppression was related to neither. Our findings support a divergence of mechanistic processes underlying cognitive control and attentional control, and demonstrate impaired learning-dependent distractor suppression in heavy drinkers relative to a control group. Impaired distractor suppression offers new insight into why drug cues can be difficult to ignore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veterans in the United States are at an elevated risk for substance use and risky sexual behaviors, either of which may function as coping responses to trauma exposure. The current study examined risky sexual behaviors in a sample of Veterans seeking therapy to reduce substance use behaviors and mental health symptoms as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Self-report measures assessed substance use behaviors, PTSD, and risky sexual behaviors. Veterans ( N = 834) were mostly male (93.4 %) and White (71.6 %) with an average age of 48.25 years. In the past 30 days, 50.5 % of Veterans had sex and 57.3 % of Veterans reported at least one day of heavy drinking. Among Veterans who had a regular sexual partner, 84.9 % did not always use a condom, whereas 77.1 % of Veterans who had a casual partner did not always use a condom. Of Veterans who endorsed sex in the past month, 49 % had a sexual encounter while intoxicated from alcohol and/or drugs, an outcome that was significantly associated with heavy drinking via multiple regression analysis. Nevertheless, other forms of risky sexual behavior (i.e., number of sexual partners and condom use) were not significantly associated with heavy drinking. Further, risky sexual behaviors were not directly associated with PTSD symptoms. Findings suggest that despite the high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors, these behaviors among this sample of treatment-seeking Veterans may be explained by other unexplored factors. Future research is necessary to explore alternative explanations for these behaviors to inform interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) young adults are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and heavy drinking (i.e., having five or more drinks of alcohol in a row within a couple of hours). Social support, in general, is protective in reducing individuals' risk of heavy drinking. However, whether and how support from different sources may have different implications on heavy drinking among SGM young adults experiencing homelessness (SGM-YAEH) remains unclear. Informed by the risk amplification and abatement model (RAAM), this study examined the associations between support sources and heavy drinking among SGM-YAEH. A purposive sample of SGM-YAEH (N=425) recruited in homeless service agencies from seven major cities in the U.S. completed a self-administered computer-assisted anonymous survey. This survey covered heavy drinking behaviors and social network properties. Logistic regression models were conducted to identify social support sources associated with SGM-YAEH's heavy drinking. Over 40 % of SGM-YAEH were involved in heavy drinking in the past 30 days. Receiving support from street-based peers (OR=1.9; 95 % CI=1.1, 3.2) and home-based peers (OR=1.7; 95 % CI=1.0, 2.8) were each positively associated with SGMYAEH heavy drinking risks. This study was not able to identify the protective role social supports may play in reducing SGM-YAEH's heavy drinking. Furthermore, receiving support from network members was correlated with elevated heavy drinking risks among this population. As heavy drinking prevention programs develop interventions: they should use affirming and trauma approaches to promote protective social ties, as research points to its association in reducing alcohol use disparities among SGM-YAEH. • For SGM-YAEH, receiving social support from street and home-based peers is significantly associated with heavy drinking. • Over 40 % of SGM-YAEH had drank heavily in the past 30 days. • Further research is needed to explore which supportive ties are protective of SGM-YAEH's heavy drinking. • Heavy drinking reduction programs should be tailored to SGM-YAEH distinctive needs, including affirmative and trauma informed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is known that APOE genotype is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease, development is a multifactorial process. Alcohol use is a contributor to the epidemic of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in the US and globally, yet mechanisms are not fully understood. Carriers of the APOE ε4 allele show elevated risk of dementia in relation to several lifestyle factors, including alcohol use. In this review, we describe how alcohol interacts with APOE genotype and aging with potential implications for Alzheimer's disease promotion. Age-related immune senescence and "inflammaging" (i.e., low-grade inflammation associated with aging) are increasingly recognized as contributors to age-related disease. We focus on three immune pathways that are likely contributors to Alzheimer's disease development, centering on alcohol and APOE genotype interactions, specifically: 1) microbial translocation and immune activation, 2) the senescence associated secretory phenotype, and 3) neuroinflammation. First, microbial translocation, the unphysiological movement of gut products into systemic circulation, elicits a proinflammatory response and increases with aging, with proposed links to Alzheimer's disease. Second, the senescence associated secretory phenotype is a set of intercellular signaling factors, e.g., proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, growth regulators, and proteases, that drives cellular aging when senescent cells remain metabolically active. The senescence associated secretory phenotype can drive development of aging-diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Third, neuroinflammation occurs via numerous mechanisms such as microglial activation and is gaining recognition as an etiological factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. This review focuses on interactions of alcohol with APOE genotype and aging along these three pathways that may promote Alzheimer's disease. Further research on these processes may inform development of strategies to prevent onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease and to delay associated cognitive decline., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: None.

Background/aim: Organs of the digestive system are frequent sites of cancer development, and digestive tract cancers are the leading causes of death worldwide, including in Japan. Most of these cancers are associated with smoking or drinking habits. This study focused on the clinical and genomic characteristics of patients with these cancers using the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) database, which comprises a large volume of data on Japanese patients who have undergone tumor profiling gene panel tests., Patients and Methods: The genomic and clinical data from patients with digestive tract cancers registered in C-CAT between 2019 and 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. The data were derived from 412 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, 558 with gastric adenocarcinoma, 3,368 with colorectal adenocarcinoma, 139 with hepatocellular carcinoma, 2,050 with cholangiocarcinoma, and 2,552 with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma., Results: CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and MTAP mutations were associated with both smoking and drinking history, and patients with these mutations had a worse prognosis. Almost all gene alterations in CDKN2B and MTAP were deletions, often accompanied by CDKN2A deletion. CDKN2A mutation emerged as the most decisive prognostic factor among these mutations. Although CDKN2A mutations were frequently seen in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, statistically significant differences in survival outcomes were only identified in the latter two., Conclusion: CDKN2A mutations were associated with smoking and drinking in digestive cancers. This mutation was prevalent among patients with cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, for whom they could serve as prognostic factors., (Copyright © 2024 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)