Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Risky Bingeing: Women in Appalachian Ohio Report Higher Rates of Alcohol Misuse

How much alcohol women drink may depend on where they live. A new study finds one-fifth of women in Appalachian Ohio imbibe at alarming levels

Newswise, June 27, 2017 — Appalachia — stretching from the southern tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia — has long experienced deep economic distress and deprivation, and the gamut of accompanying social problems.

Compared with women living in urban areas, women who reside in these rural areas face multiple health concerns, including substance abuse issues, and often at greater rates. While the opioid epidemic in rural areas has gained attention, the rampant alcohol use has not.

“Alcohol continues to be the most prevalent and widely used and abused substance among Appalachian adults and is reported to be the primary reason for seeking substance use treatment in the region, surpassing drug abuse,” says Golfo K. Tzilos, Ph.D.

Tzilos is an assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s Departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry and the U-M Addiction Center. She and Mack T. Ruffin IV, M.D., MPH, professor emeritus and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, studied excessive drinking behavior in women from rural Appalachian Ohio because of a surprising lack of empirical data.

Tzilos and Ruffin analyzed data from the Community Awareness, Resources, and Education (CARE) Project, which investigated determinants of abnormal cervical cytology.

More than 6,000 women older than 18 and representing 14 counties in Appalachian Ohio, 95 percent of whom were non-Hispanic whites, participated in the original study.

Approximately 2,300 of those women supplied relevant information about their alcohol use and other possible predictive alcohol abuse variables. Of these, one-fifth (19.9 percent) reported recent, heavy episodic drinking.

Heavy episodic drinking, or binge drinking, is defined as consuming four or more alcoholic beverages — beer, wine, wine coolers, mixed drinks and liquor — in one sitting for women.

Younger women (under age 26) were five times more likely to binge drink than women older than 50, researchers found. Those who identified themselves as current smokers, single and with four or more lifetime sexual partners also had an increased adjusted risk of binge drinking.

“One interpretation of the findings is that these women are a vulnerable population,” says Tzilos.

“Typically, these women face a number of disadvantages in their environment, including chronic stressors such as limited resources and living in poverty, as well as acute stressors such as exposure to violence and abuse, which can all play a role in the likelihood of higher rates of alcohol use.”

Their results are published in the Journal of Rural Mental Health.

Clinical takeaways and broader implications

Binge drinking is associated with a broad range of hazardous behaviors, including tobacco use, risky sexual activity, higher risks of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. These behaviors can lead to harmful consequences that can negatively affect society as a whole.

Tzilos says primary care physicians have an opportunity to act as a conduit between their patients and critical health resources.

“Clinicians have the opportunity to inquire about risky alcohol use among their patients,” says Tzilos. “In rural settings, there are often barriers to health services that women face, including stigma, cultural concerns of confidentiality and trust, lack of anonymity, and lack of access and providers.”

This gap is particularly important to address given that rural women, including those from Appalachian regions, report a higher rate of health concerns that may be associated with, or a consequence of, unaddressed or undertreated alcohol misuse.

Tzilos and Ruffin’s findings also reflect what is happening at the national level. Women are increasingly participating in risky alcohol use at younger ages.

They suggest increasing sensitivity to this fact and work to address the obstacles to improving health outcomes for women from Appalachian communities. This could include leveraging technology to increase reach and access to screening, treatment and referrals.

“My future work will explore the relationship between stress and alcohol use among women in this region,” says Tzilos. “It may shed light on opportunities for prevention.”


Tzilos also plans to help adapt integrative strategies to identify and reduce health risk behaviors and to enhance protective factors among these women.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Social Rejection by Those Closest to You Can Lead to Subsequent Drinking


Newswise, June 6, 2017 — The need to belong and experience social connections is a fundamental human characteristic. Prior research has shown that social rejection is linked to increases in negative emotions, distress, and hostility.

This study examined the impact of social rejection on alcohol use, and whether the impact differed when the social rejection was by close others, such as friends, spouses or family members, or by strangers or acquaintances.

Researchers gathered data from 77 community participants (41 women, 36 men) who used their smartphones to record their social interactions and alcohol use for 14 consecutive days. The analysis examined associations between rejection experiences and daily alcohol use.

Findings indicated that the type of relationship may be a key factor in whether or not social rejection leads to drinking. More specifically, on days characterized by rejection by close others, the likelihood of drinking significantly increased.

In contrast, on days characterized by rejection by acquaintances, there was no increase in the likelihood of drinking. This finding contrasts with laboratory studies of rejection that emphasize rejection and ostracism by strangers rather than known others.

An Increasing Proportion of Women Who Are 60 Years of Age and Older Are Drinking

Newswise, June 6, 2017 — Most older Americans drink alcohol. Given that this segment of the population is projected to almost double by 2050, reaching 112 million, in the future, there will likely be many more older drinkers in the United States than currently.

Importantly, older individuals are more sensitive to alcohol’s effects than their younger counterparts, and are also more likely to take prescription medications that can interact negatively with alcohol, potentially leading to falls and other injuries. This study examined trends in drinking status among U.S. adults 60 years of age and older.

Researchers analyzed data from the 1997-2014 National Health Interview Surveys: 65,303 respondents 60 years of age and older (31,803 men, 33,500 women) were current drinkers; 6,570 men and 1,737 women were binge drinkers. Analysis of respondents by sex, age group, and birth cohort showed differing trends over time.

The observed upward trends in drinking among adults 60 years of age and older, particularly women, are of public health concern. Among older men, the prevalence of current drinking trended upward an average of 0.7% per year, while average volume and the prevalence of binge drinking remained stable.


Among older women, the prevalence of current drinking trended upward an average of 1.6% per year, while average volume remained stable; moreover, the prevalence of binge drinking increased an average of 3.7% per year. These findings indicate a need for alcohol-related public-health education, screening, and treatment for the growing older population.

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Social Smoking Carries Same Heart-Disease Risks as Everyday Habit

One in 10 Americans screened said they sometimes smoked, study found
Social Smoking problems
Newswise, May 4, 2017 – Social smokers’ risk for high blood pressure and high cholesterol is identical to those who light up every day, new research has found.

This large, nationally representative study is the first to look at blood pressure and cholesterol in social smokers. More than 10 percent of 39,555 people surveyed said they were social smokers, meaning they didn’t smoke every day. That’s on top of the 17 percent who called themselves current smokers.

Among current and social smokers (after researchers adjusted for differences in factors including demographics and obesity), about 75 percent had high blood pressure and roughly 54 percent had high cholesterol.

“Not smoking at all is the best way to go. Even smoking in a social situation is detrimental to your cardiovascular health,” said lead author Kate Gawlik, assistant professor of clinical nursing at The Ohio State University.

“One in 10 people in this study said they sometimes smoke, and many of them are young and already on the path to heart disease,” she said. 

Smoking is a risk factor for unhealthy blood pressure and cholesterol and both are significant contributors to cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of men and women worldwide. 

The study appears in the American Journal of Health Promotion

“These are striking findings and they have such significance for clinical practice and for population health,” said study senior author Bernadette Melnyk, dean of Ohio State’s College of Nursing and chief wellness officer for the university.

Melnyk said doctors and nurses should strive to identify social smokers and offer them advice and tools to quit smoking.

“This has been a fairly neglected part of the population. We know that regular smoking is an addiction, but providers don’t usually ask about social smoking,” Melnyk said.


“The typical question is ‘Do you smoke or use tobacco?’ And social smokers will usually say ‘No’.”

Participants in the study were screened from February 2012 to February 2016 as part of Ohio State’s Million Hearts educational program.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2012 launched Million Hearts, a five-year initiative to improve cardiovascular health co-led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ohio State was the first university-wide partner. 

During the screenings, participants identified themselves as nonsmokers, current smokers or social smokers. The screenings also included measures of blood pressure and total cholesterol.

Social smokers in the study were more likely to be younger (between 21 and 40 years old), male and Hispanic. After the researchers took into account demographic and biometric differences between the smokers and social smokers in the study, they found no difference in the risk of hypertension or high cholesterol.

Social smokers were defined as those who do not smoke cigarettes daily, but who smoke in certain social situations regularly. 

The good news about this study is there’s plenty of room for intervention and prevention of future death and disease, the researchers said. 

“Simple healthy lifestyle behavior changes including appropriate aspirin therapy, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, stress management and – very importantly – smoking cessation can do away with much of the risk of chronic disease,” Melnyk said. 

The percentage of participants who called themselves “current smokers” was in line with estimates from the CDC, which reports that 17.8 percent of U.S. adults identify as smokers.

Gawlik and Melnyk said those who consider themselves social smokers should be aware that the toll on their cardiovascular health could be just as great as if they smoked every day.

And this study should prompt clinicians to rethink how they ask patients about smoking, they said.

“Are you a smoker?” isn’t likely to work with social smokers, because they don’t think of themselves as addicted, Gawlik said.

In the study, the researchers advise asking “Do you ever smoke cigarettes or use tobacco in social situations such as at bars, parties, work events or family gatherings?”

Another option: “When was the last time you had a cigarette or used tobacco with friends?” 

Furthermore, clinicians working with smokers should be aware that cutting back on smoking isn’t a good answer from a heart-health perspective.

“Doctors and nurses need to educate patients that social smoking is still a major health risk and is not a long-term healthy choice,” Gawlik said.

Limitations of the study include the fact that the researchers don’t have information about prior smoking behavior, just what the participants reported at the screenings. In addition, the screenings were open to people who chose to participate, meaning the study subjects were self-selected.

Gawlik said she’d like to know more about how many of those who smoke socially go on to become everyday smokers.

“That’s a huge area for clinical intervention because you might be able to reach them before they’re completely and totally addicted,” she said.


Ohio State has led a national effort through Million Hearts, which now has over 150 participating organizations and universities, to provide free education and support to health care providers, students and community members looking to reduce cardiovascular death and disease. More information is available at https://millionhearts.osu.edu/ 

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Aggression Disorder Linked to Greater Risk of Substance Abuse

Alcohol addiction and aggressive behavior disorder People with intermittent explosive disorder at five times greater risk for substance abuse than those who don’t display frequent aggressive behavior

Newswise, May 2, 2017 — People with intermittent explosive disorder (IED)—a condition marked by frequent physical or verbal outbursts—are at five times greater risk for abusing substances such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana than those who don’t display frequent aggressive behavior, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Chicago.\
In the study, published Feb. 28, 2017 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Coccaro, MD, and colleagues analyzed data from more than 9,200 subjects in the National Comorbidity Survey, a national survey of mental health in the United States.

They found that as the severity of aggressive behavior increased, so did levels of daily and weekly substance use. The findings suggest that a history of frequent, aggressive behavior is a risk factor for later substance abuse, and effective treatment of aggression could delay or even prevent substance abuse in young people.

IED affects as many as 16 million Americans, more than bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined. It is often first diagnosed in adolescents, some of whom are as young as 11, years before substance abuse problems usually develop.

 IED runs in families and is thought to have a significant genetic component, although Coccaro said people tend to treat it as a social-behavioral issue instead of as a true neurobiological disorder.

“People don’t see this as a medical problem. They think of it as simply bad behavior they have developed over the course of their lives, but it isn’t. It has significant biology and neuroscience behind it,” said Coccaro, who is the Ellen C. Manning Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UChicago.

Previous research has implied that aggressive behavior in IED is due to the presence of other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety or depression. But the new UChicago study found no such relationship.

While substance abuse, like excessive drinking, can clearly make aggressive behavior worse, the onset of IED almost always precedes the development of chronic substance abuse. Coccaro and his team found that IED preceded substance abuse in 92.5 percent of the cases where subjects developed both disorders.

Coccaro emphasized that early psychological intervention, medication and cognitive therapy are the most effective treatments to prevent, or at least delay, substance abuse problems in adolescents diagnosed with IED.

“What you’re really treating is the emotional dysregulation that leads to aggression,” Coccaro said. “The earlier you treat this dysregulation, the more likely you are to offset other disorders that come later down the road.”


The study, “Intermittent Explosive Disorder and Substance Use Disorder: Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Sample,” was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health. Additional authors include Jennifer Fanning, PhD, and Royce Lee, MD, both from the University of Chicago.

Study Confirms Link Between Alcohol Consumption, Breast Cancer Risk in Black Women

Black Women Breast Cancer Link alcohol consumption
Newswise, May 2, 2017– Alcohol consumption is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer based on studies predominantly done in white women. Now a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center study has found the same risk exists for black women, an understudied group.

Researchers found in the new study that black women who drank more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week had a significantly higher risk of invasive breast cancer than those who drank less.

The findings, published in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, confirmed the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk, which has been seen in other studies drawn from majority white populations.

And while some breast cancer risk factors - like age or genetics -- aren’t easily modified, alcohol consumption is one risk factor that women, regardless of race, can change to potentially lower their cancer risk.

“Minority groups are often understudied because they represent a smaller proportion of study populations. This work avoided that limitation by working with a consortium of many different studies, including more than 20,000 black women,” said Melissa Troester, PhD, a member of UNC Lineberger and professor of epidemiology in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

“We found that the patterns observed in other studies examining alcohol and breast cancer risk hold in black women, too.”

The researchers analyzed data for 22,338 women from the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) consortium, which combines data from four large breast cancer studies.

Researchers evaluated alcohol as a risk factor for invasive breast cancer as well as for specific breast cancer subtypes, such as estrogen receptor positive or negative cancer.

“Our study demonstrated there is benefit in creating consortia to focus on understudied groups,” said the study’s first author Lindsay Williams, a graduate research assistant at UNC Gillings.

When they studied the data across all breast cancer subtypes, they found consuming seven or more alcoholic drinks per week was linked to increased risk of breast cancer across all subtypes.

Women who previously drank alcohol, and later stopped, had lower risk than women who reported recent use – indicating that women may be able to reduce their risk by drinking less.

However, they did find significantly higher risk for some women who have never drank alcohol.

The researchers said that the group of women that avoids alcohol also sometimes includes women who have other health conditions, and some of these health conditions can increase risk for breast cancer. The finding may direct additional research.

“In the future, it may be worth-while to better characterize women who identify as never drinkers to understand reasons for abstaining from alcohol,” Williams said.

The researchers underscored that the study is important as alcohol consumption can be changed or addressed.

“Overall, our findings among African American women mirror those reported in the literature for white women, namely that high levels of alcohol intake – more than one drink per day – are associated with increased breast cancer risk,” Troester said.

“Alcohol is an important modifiable exposure, and women who are concerned about their risk of breast cancer could consider reducing levels of exposure.”


In addition to Troester and Williams, other authors include: Andrew F. Olshan, Chi-Chen Hong, Elisa V. Bandera, Lynn Rosenberg, Ting-Yuan David Cheng, Kathryn L. Lunetta, Susan E. McCann, Charles Poole, Laurence N. Kolonel, Julie R. Palmer, and Christine B. Ambrosone.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Anxiety Is a Stronger Harbinger of Alcohol Problems Than Stress

Anxiety Harbinger of Alcohol Problems
Newswise, March 20, 2017 — Stress and anxiety are widely believed to contribute to drinking. Alcohol is thought to reduce tension caused by stress (the “flight or fight” response) as well as alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of anxiety (anticipation of the unpredictable, impending threats).

Prior research, however, has yielded inconsistent findings as to the unique relations between stress and anxiety, on the one hand, and alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders, on the other hand.

This study was designed to examine how differences in self-reported levels of anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and perceived stress impact the frequency and intensity of drinking, alcohol craving during early withdrawal, and alcohol craving and stress reactivity.

Recent drinking was assessed in 87 individuals (70 men, 17 women) with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Three distinct measures were used to evaluate anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and perceived stress.

A subset of 30 subjects was admitted to a medical center to ensure alcohol abstinence for one week: measures of alcohol craving were collected twice daily. On day 4, subjects participated in a public speaking/math challenge, before and after which measures of cortisol and alcohol craving were collected.

In these heavy drinkers, measures of anxiety as compared with perceived stress were more strongly associated with a variety of alcohol-related measures.


While alcohol studies often use the terms anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and stress interchangeably, this study showed the importance of differentiating among the three terms given their unique relationships with drinking, craving, and stress reactivity among individuals with AUDs.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Alcohol’s Effect Can Be More Damaging to Women


Alcohol effect can be more damaging to Women
Newswise, March 9, 2017— Listen up ladies.Women simply don’t metabolize alcohol in the same way as men. It’s called the telescoping effect.

Several research studies have shown that some women who drink heavily can do as much damage to their bodies in four to five years as a man who has been drinking for 20 to 25 years, according to Laura Veach, Ph.D., director of screening and counseling intervention services at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

“It has something to do with the concentration of water and fat, but we’re really not sure that we understand the whole picture because there is much less research on how women process alcohol,” Veach said.

“We do know that alcohol stays in the liver longer in women than in men, which may explain why women can experience more impairment and liver damage.”

Knowing what constitutes a standard drink size and learning to count and visually measure drinks can help women stay healthy, just as getting an annual physical or skin cancer check does, Veach said.

Here are some things to remember:
• According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s website Rethinking Drinking, a standard drink is five ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or one-and-a-half ounces of liquor.
• A regular bottle of wine contains five standard drinks.
• For women, no more than seven standard drinks a week are recommended.
• Risky drinking is considered to be four standard drinks in any one day or drinking episode.
• It takes about an hour per drink for the liver to metabolize alcohol.

“Get a measuring cup and pour out five ounces of wine to see what that really looks like,” Veach said. “It might surprise you to see how it looks in a wine glass, especially because the size and shape of glasses can vary so much. 


“That one simple thing can really help you keep track of how much you are drinking the next time you’re out with friends and help you avoid risky drinking.”

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Think Binge Drinking Is Safer for Your Liver Than Regular Heavy Drinking? Think Again.


Effect of alcohol of body
Newswise, February 16, 2017 — Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) occurs on a spectrum of severity. The majority of people who drink excessively develop a fatty liver, which though often symptom free, can progress to a state of inflammation, fibrosis, and cell death that can be fatal.

Little is known about liver disruption that may occur in problem drinkers who are not alcohol dependent. To help understand the development of ALD, this study used a rodent model to examine differences in liver damage between binge drinkers and heavy drinkers.

Researchers at UCSF compared the metabolic effects in mice of repeated binge-like alcohol drinking, a single binge-drinking session, and repeated moderate alcohol drinking. Several markers of early- and later-stage liver disruption were examined.

Results indicated that even limited binge-like alcohol drinking disrupts liver function, which could lead to more severe forms of liver damage. These findings point to several aspects of early liver dysfunction seen in humans, including fatty liver, induction of the liver metabolic enzyme CYP2E1, and increased alcohol metabolism.


The study, funded by the NIH/NIAAA, also demonstrates the great potential value of preclinical studies for understanding human disorders.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Gambling Addiction Triggers the Same Brain Areas as Drug and Alcohol Cravings

Gambling and Drug Addiction triggers
Newswise, February 13, 2017 — Gambling addiction activates the same brain pathways as drug and alcohol cravings, suggests new research.

The study, by international scientists including researchers from Imperial College London, suggests targeting these brain pathways may lead to future treatments for the condition.

The findings, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, also suggest connections between the parts of the brain that control our impulses may be weakened in people with gambling addiction.

This work provides vital clues into the biology of gambling addiction, which is still largely unknown, explained Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, co-author from the Department of Medicine at Imperial, and director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

"Gambling addiction can have a devastating effect not just on patients, but also their families. It can result in people losing their job, and leave families and children homeless.

"We know the condition may have a genetic component - and that the children of gambling addicts are at higher risk of gambling addiction themselves - but we still don't know the exact parts of the brain involved. This research identifies key brain areas, and opens avenues for targeted treatments that prevent cravings and relapse."

The study, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, found that two brain areas, called the insula and nucleus accumbens, are highly active when people with gambling addiction experience cravings.

Activity in these areas, which are found deep in the centre of the brain and involved in decision-making, reward and impulse control, has been previously linked to drug and alcohol cravings.

Problem gambling may affect up to 593,000 people in the UK. The condition can be treated by talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, or medications that combat cravings.

In the research, which was conducted between Imperial and the National Problem Gambling Clinic, scientists studied 19 patients with gambling addiction, and 19 healthy volunteers.

The most commonly reported problematic forms of gambling among the patients were electronic roulette and sports gambling.

Each volunteer went into a magnetic resonance imaging scanner - which uses a powerful electromagnet to monitor brain activity - and were shown various images. These included pictures of gambling scenes, such as a roulette wheel or a betting shop.

All participants were asked to rate their level of craving when they saw the images.

The team, which included scientists from the University of British Columbia and the University of Cambridge, then assessed which brain areas were activated when the volunteers experienced cravings.

They found that, in problem gamblers, the insula and nucleus accumbens were highly active when they were shown an image associated with gambling, and experienced a craving.

Interestingly, the team also found that weaker connections between the nucleus accumbens and an area called the frontal lobe in problem gamblers were associated with greater craving.

The frontal lobe, which is involved in decision-making, may help keep the insula in-check by controlling impulses, explained Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, co-author from the Department of Medicine at Imperial.

"Weak connections between these regions have also been identified in drug addiction. The frontal lobe can help control impulsivity, therefore a weak link may contribute to people being unable to stop gambling, and ignoring the negative consequences of their actions. The connections may also be affected by mood - and be further weakened by stress, which may be why gambling addicts relapse during difficult periods in their life."

Professor Lingford-Hughes added that monitoring activity and connections in the insula and nucleus accumbens in gambling addicts may not only help medics assess effectiveness of a treatment, but may also help prevent relapse - a common problem in addiction.

The group are now investigating which treatments may reduce activity in these areas, in an attempt to reduce cravings.


They would also like to compare the brain activity of problem gamblers with people who gamble but do not have an addiction, to investigate why the addiction escalates in some but not others.

Ignition Interlock Laws Reduce Alcohol-Involved Fatal Crashes

--Estimated 1,250 alcohol-involved fatal crashes were prevented in 21 states where mandatory interlock laws have been implemented

Newswise, February 13, 2017 — State laws requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders appear to reduce the number of fatal drunk driving crashes, a new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Colorado School of Public Health researchers suggests.

The study — published Jan. 5 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine — found that mandatory interlock laws were associated with a seven percent decrease in the rate of fatal crashes with at least one driver with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit.

The decrease translates into an estimated 1,250 prevented fatal crashes in states with mandatory interlock laws since states first started passing such laws in 1993.

An ignition interlock is an alcohol-sensing device, connected to the ignition of a vehicle, which detects alcohol in the driver’s breath. If alcohol in excess of a preset limit is detected by the sensor, the vehicle will not start.

While all 50 states have some type of ignition interlock laws, 26 have mandatory laws requiring all individuals convicted of a DUI offense to use an interlock in order to drive legally, as of March 2016.

This is the first study to look at all the different types of interlock laws across all 50 states.

The researchers found that interlock laws which are mandatory for all DUI offenders were much more effective than those applicable to only some offenders, such as only repeat offenders or those with a very high blood alcohol content.

In the United States in 2014, alcohol-involved fatal motor vehicle crashes caused approximately 10,000 deaths, about one-third of all motor vehicle crash deaths.

“Our study demonstrates the value of mandatory ignition interlock laws across the United States,” says study leader Emma E. “Beth” McGinty, PhD, MS, deputy director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy Research at the Bloomberg School.

“We already know that alcohol plays a tragic role in the number of motor vehicle crash fatalities each year. Interlock laws which are mandatory for all DUI offenders save lives. "

To estimate the effects of existing ignition interlock laws, the researchers studied the effects of interlock laws on trends in alcohol-involved fatal crashes over a 32-year period, 1982 to 2013, and controlled for other motor vehicle safety laws and trends in crashes over time.

The team assessed changes in pre- and post-interlock law rates of alcohol-involved fatal crashes with crash data obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and measured them against the different categories of interlock laws: permissive (at the discretion of a judge), partial (applicable to only some DUI offenders), and mandatory for all.

The researchers used two measures based on FARS data: alcohol-involved fatal crashes with a driver having a blood alcohol level of 0.08—the legal limit—and a second data set with a driver with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.15.

“Until recently, there hasn’t been any evidence on whether these laws prevent alcohol-involved fatal crashes, and specifically whether mandatory/all laws are more effective than permissive and partial laws,” McGinty says.

“Our study suggests that they are effective, and it’s encouraging to see more and more states moving towards this evidence-based policy change. Since 2005, we’ve seen over 20 states adopt interlock laws for all drunk-driving offenses. We’d like to see the remaining states follow suit.”

“Ignition Interlock Laws: Effects on Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes, 1982–2013” was written by Emma E. McGinty, PhD, MS; Gregory Tung, PhD, MPH,; Juliana Shulman-Laniel, MPH; Rose Hardy, MPH; Lainie Rutkow, JD, PhD, MPH; Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH; and Jon S. Vernick, JD, MPH.


The study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#1R49CE002466-01).

Friday, February 10, 2017

More than a Quarter of U.S. Adults, Roughly 9 Percent of U.S. Youth Use Tobacco

Roswell Park scientists report findings from first wave of PATH Study in New England Journal of Medicine

Newswise, February 10, 2017. — More than 1 in 4 adults and nearly 1 in 10 youth use tobacco, according to findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, published online ahead of print in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The PATH Study, established in 2011 through collaboration between the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, is a uniquely large, nationally representative longitudinal study designed to examine tobacco use behaviors and health among the U.S. population over multiple years of follow-up.

The PATH Study is being conducted by Westat of Rockville, Md., with Roswell Park Cancer Institute as the scientific lead.

“Tobacco use continues to be an overwhelming economic and personal burden in this country. This research provides a unique and much-needed long-term approach to understanding tobacco use and the impact those behaviors have on individuals and on society as a whole,” says Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and principal investigator of the PATH Study.

The present study reports findings from the baseline wave of data collection, conducted from September 2013 to December 2014.

As part of that first wave of the PATH Study data collection, 32,320 adults and 13,651 youths (ages 12-17) were asked about their use of 12 types of tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah, smokeless tobacco and snus. 


The research team found that 27.6% of American adults are current tobacco users and 8.9% of youth reported using tobacco in the previous 30 days. Use of multiple tobacco products was common among both adult and youth users, with cigarettes and e-cigarettes being the most common combination. 


“These findings will serve as the baseline for comparison to future waves of PATH Study data in our effort to understand changes in use of tobacco products over time, including switching among types of products, quitting tobacco, and trajectories of use of multiple products,” says Karin Kasza, MA, Senior Research Specialist in the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park and lead author of the study published today.

“The study documents that tobacco use is about much more than just cigarettes,” adds study co-author Wilson M. Compton, MD, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Both youth and adults use a remarkably broad variety of tobacco products.”

“The findings from the PATH Study will help inform the FDA’s efforts to regulate tobacco products in such a way that reduces harm and protects public health.

“We look forward to findings from future study waves that will help us better understand patterns of tobacco use in the U.S. and, ultimately, how such behaviors influence health,” says David L. Ashley, PhD, Director of the Center for Tobacco Products’ Office of Science.

Additional PATH Study partners are the Truth Initiative, the University of California at San Diego, University of Waterloo, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Medical University of South Carolina, Rutgers University and University of Minnesota.

This manuscript is supported with federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, under a contract to Westat (Contract No. HHSN271201100027C). The study, “Tobacco-Product Use by Adults and Youths in the United States in 2013 and 2014,” is available at nejm.org.


Friday, February 3, 2017

Police Sobriety Checkpoints Can Reduce Drunk Driving Better Than Increased Penalties

Police Sobriety Checkpoints Reduce Drunk DrivingNewswise, February 3, 2017 — Driving while impaired (DWI) causes more than 10,000 deaths per year in the United States. Although enforcing criminal sanctions for DWI is the traditional response, the success of these measures has been inconsistent.

This study looked at risk perceptions as a method of reducing the frequency of DWI - in other words, whether the threat of being apprehended for DWI can deter people from engaging in this behavior.

Researchers examined survey data collected from individual drivers, police, and defense attorneys specializing in DWI in eight U.S. cities.

They compared two measures to determine which was a better deterrent of alcohol-impaired driving: the threat of being apprehended for DWI or harsher penalties for DWI.

Individuals reported that a greater perceived chance of being pulled over for DWI corresponded to less alcohol-impaired driving on their part.

Conversely, individual perceptions of DWI penalties were unrelated to their self-reports of current or future alcohol-impaired driving. The authors suggested that increasing the certainty of apprehension by increasing police staffing and/or conducting more sobriety checks would likely be more effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving than legislating increased penalties.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Problem Drinking in Older Adults


Seniors' addictions problem drinking in older adults
Newswise, January 14, 2017 – Older adults suffering from multiple chronic health conditions and depression are nearly five times as likely to be problem drinkers as older adults with the same conditions and no depression, according to researchers at the University of Georgia. Their study is the first to document the connection between multiple chronic illnesses, depression and alcohol use in seniors.

This information could help health care providers identify which older adults are most likely to experience problem drinking and lead to better preventive care for this segment of society.

The study, conducted by researchers from the UGA School of Social Work, utilized data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationwide survey of older adults that is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers looked at more than 1,600 individuals aged 57 to 85 who identified as active alcohol consumers.

Among problem drinkers, or individuals who reported a high amount of negative consequences associated with alcohol use, the researchers found that more than half—66 percent—reported having multiple chronic health conditions, or MCC, and 28 percent reported having symptoms of depression.

The researchers also found that older adults who experienced MCC combined with depression were those who experienced the highest likelihood of problem drinking.


“These findings suggest that effective training in screening and referral for mental health and alcohol use issues for health care providers of older adults may better serve the approximate 4 million older adults who currently experience problem drinking in the U.S.,” said Orion Mowbray, assistant professor at the UGA School of Social Work and lead author of the study.

Previous efforts to prevent and manage disease in older adults have focused on a single disease at a time, said Mowbray. Few physicians consider the combination of multiple chronic conditions in connection with depression as a potential sign for increased alcohol misuse, although screening and follow-up counseling for behavioral problems is known to help.

“There is sufficient evidence that even brief interventions delivered in medical-related settings can have a positive influence on reducing problem drinking among most older adults,” said Mowbray.

“These interventions can include screening for signs of depression in individuals with long-term health problems, engaging the individual in a conversation about the risks of problem drinking, and providing a referral for brief alcohol-related treatment.”

Other contributors to the paper include Tiffany Washington, assistant professor of social work, social work doctoral student Greg Purser and Jay O’Shields.


The study, “Problem drinking and depression in older adults with multiple chronic health conditions,” was published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and will be presented this month at the Society for Social Work and Research’s annual conference in New Orleans. It is available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.14479/full