Utility and evaluation of biochemical markers of alcohol consumption

Biochemical markers of alcohol consumption have a variety of clinical and research applications. Currently available markers such as the serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), serum transaminases, and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) lack sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be used for screening of alcoholism in ambulatory patients. However, these tests can be helpful in corroborating a clinical suspicion of alcoholism. A number of special laboratory markers of alcoholism recently have been developed which may have increased diagnostic accuracy. Promising potential markers include serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), red blood cell acetaldehyde, and acetaldehyde adducts. The application of reliable and practical markers of alcohol consumption could lead to significant improvements in the treatment of alcoholism and in the assessment of clinical trials.     

Environmental context effects on alcohol cognitions and immediate alcohol consumption

The present experimental study sought to demonstrate the effects of environmental context on accessibility of alcohol-related cognitions and immediate alcohol consumption. Fifty-six males were randomly assigned and exposed to either a simulated bar (alcohol contextual prime) or a neutral laboratory (neutral prime). Memory accessibility was measured using implicit memory association measures and immediate drinking behavior was measured unobtrusively using a taste-rating task. Contextually primed participants reported significantly more alcohol-related memory associations to ambiguous stimuli and exhibited significantly greater alcohol consumption than controls. These results strengthen support for the influence of environmental context on retrieval of alcohol cognitions in memory and on drinking behavior. Our findings complement theoretical assertions of the critical role of alcohol cognitions in directly influencing alcohol consumption.     

Saving face? survey respondents who claim their last week's drinking was atypical

Thirty-one per cent of survey respondents asked about their last week's drinking claimed it was atypical. They are shown, by examining their levels on two blood tests (mean cell volume and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase) and by a comparison of their consumption on a recent social occasion with that of their companions, to be reporting a trivial difference between their last week and their typical week and appear to be attempting to deny heavy habitual consumption.     

Interactive effects of alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol cues on nonconsumptive behavior

Experimental research and popular belief suggest that, among its many effects, alcohol consumption reduces tension and facilitates aggression. Such observations could result from direct, pharmacological effects of alcohol on neural control of behavior but also may be accounted for by positing that drinking behavior activates mental representations of relaxation-related or aggression-related alcohol expectancies in long-term memory. Building on this latter view, in 2 experiments, the authors investigated whether rudimentary drinking-related cues, which presumably activate encoded alcohol expectancies, facilitate tension reduction and hostility in the complete absence of actual or placebo alcohol consumption. In Experiment 1, following contextual exposure to alcohol-related words, individuals with stronger expectancies that drinking reduces tension showed an increased willingness to meet with an opposite-gender stranger under relatively anxiety-provoking circumstances, suggesting that they experienced less apprehension regarding the meeting. Analogously, in Experiment 2, following near-subliminal exposure to alcohol-related words, individuals with stronger expectancies that drinking fosters aggression showed greater hostility toward a target person following an experimentally engineered provocation. Neither of the latter effects was obtained following exposure to nonalcoholic beverage words, which presumably did not activate alcohol outcome expectancy representations in long-term memory. Moreover, the strength of relevant, content-specific expectancies (i.e., for tension reduction or aggression, respectively) moderated alcohol cue exposure effects, but the strength of other expectancies (e.g., for sociability or sexual arousal) did not. Together, these findings demonstrate that exposure to rudimentary alcohol cues independently engenders expectancy-consistent behavior, thereby attesting to the remarkable breadth and subtlety of the behavioral impact of alcohol expectancy activation.     

Co-occurring marijuana use is associated with medication nonadherence and nonplanning impulsivity in young adult heavy drinkers

Few studies have examined the co-occurrence of alcohol and marijuana use in clinical samples of young adults. The present study investigated whether co-occurring marijuana use is associated with characteristics indicative of a high level of risk in young adult heavy drinkers. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years (N=122) participated in an ongoing 8-week randomized clinical trial that tested the efficacy of placebo-controlled naltrexone plus brief individual counseling to reduce heavy drinking. At intake participants completed self-report assessments on alcohol consumption, alcohol-related negative consequences, motivation to reduce drinking, trait impulsivity, expectancies for alcohol-induced disinhibition, use of cigarettes, and history of medication nonadherence. In univariate tests heavy drinkers with and without co-occurring marijuana use did not differ on alcohol consumption, most alcohol-related negative consequences, and motivation to reduce drinking. In multivariate tests controlling for demographic characteristics, co-occurring heavy alcohol and marijuana use was significantly associated with nonplanning impulsivity (β=2.95) and a history of both unintentional (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=3.30) and purposeful (aOR=3.98) nonadherence to medication. Findings suggest that young adult heavy drinkers with co-occurring marijuana use exhibit a high-risk clinical profile and may benefit from interventions that increase adherence to medications.     

Relationship between General and Sport-Related Drinking Motives and Athlete Alcohol Use and Problems

Objective: Alcohol use (and adverse consequences due to alcohol use) among college student-athletes is a common occurrence and consequently garners attention as a health concern within athletic departments and the NCAA. One of the strongest predictors of alcohol use in athletes is motivation to drink. However, not much is known about the influence of alcohol use motivations on drinking in collegiate athletes. Therefore, this study examined the influence of sport-related and general drinking motives on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Method: Participants were female collegiate softball players (N?=?721) from 62 NCAA teams. Athletes completed the Athlete Drinking Scale (Martens et al., 2005), the Drinking Motives Questionnaire, revised (Cooper, 1994; Cooper et al., 1992), alcohol consumption measures, and the Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index (White & Labouvie, 1989). Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: Higher scores on Positive Reinforcement motives were associated with greater alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol-related problems. Enhancement motives were positively associated with heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems, while Coping motives were positively associated with alcohol-related problems. Lower scores on Conformity motives were related to higher alcohol consumption, whereas higher scores were related to more alcohol-related problems. Conclusions: These results assist in understanding salient drinking motives among athletes while accounting for nesting effects of athletes within teams. Results demonstrate alcohol use as a perceived means of reward for hard work or good athletic performance, thus attempts to control alcohol use in college athletics should emphasize alternative methods to positively reinforce efforts or celebrate victories.     

Relationship between self-control and alcohol consumption patterns and problems of college students

The relationship between self-control strategies, alcohol-related problems and the quantity and frequency of alcohol use was examined. Analyses of data from 410 university students who completed the Student Alcohol Questionnaire and the Self-Control Questionnaire indicated that both internal and external self-control strategies were significantly correlated with alcohol-related problems and alcohol consumption variables. Self-control strategies were also found to be applied differentially across drinking patterns and problem status. It was concluded that college students naturally attempt to control their alcohol consumption or the unwanted consequences related to drinking. Further research is needed to detail the self-change attempts of college-aged drinkers.     

Drinking motives,drinking restraint and drinking behaviour among young adults

Motives to drink alcohol are widely thought to be the proximal cognitive factors involved in the decision to consume alcohol beverages. However it has also been argued that the ability to restrain drinking may be a more proximal predictor of drinking behaviour. The current study aimed to examine the relationships between drinking motives, drinking restraint and both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in a sample of young adults. A sample of 221 young adults (aged 17–34 years) completed self-report measures assessing drinking behaviour, motives for drinking and drinking restraint. Multiple regression analyses revealed that coping, enhancement and social motives were related to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, while Cognitive and Emotional Preoccupation with drinking was related to all criterion variables. Further, the relationship between coping motives and drinking behaviour was mediated by preoccupation with drinking. The results are discussed in light of the roles of drinking motives and drinking restraint in risky drinking among young people, and implications for prevention and early intervention are presented.     

Depressive Symptoms and Drinking Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Drinking Motives and Protective Behavioral Strategies Among College Students

Background: College students with depressive symptoms tend to engage in more hazardous drinking and experience more alcohol-related consequences to cope with their symptoms. Given the perceived tension reducing effects of alcohol among these students, it is important to explore how protective factors, such as protective behavioral strategies, account for the relationships among depressive symptoms, drinking motives, and alcohol-related outcomes. Objective: To examine the mediating role of drinking motives and protective behavioral strategies on the associations that depressive symptoms have with typical weekly alcohol consumption, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences in a sample of college student drinkers. Methods: Traditional age college students (n = 566, 73% women; 58% White, non-Hispanic) completed measures of depression, drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies, weekly alcohol use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Results: Coping with depression motives and controlled consumption PBS explained the association between depression and weekly alcohol consumption and hazardous drinking whereas coping with depression motives and serious harm reduction PBS explained the depression-negative consequences relationship. Conformity motives and serious harm reduction PBS explained the association between depression and hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Conclusions: Findings suggest that students with more depressive symptoms would benefit from clinical interventions tailored to address negative reinforcement drinking motives and, by extension, increase student utilization of PBS related to minimizing harm. Clinical and research implications are provided.     

Cytochrome CYP2E1 phenotyping and genotyping in the evaluation of health risks from exposure to polluted environments.

Humans are exposed to over 70,000 man-made chemicals including drugs, food additives, herbicides, pesticides, and industrial agents. It is well established that environmental chemicals are the cause of numerous human diseases including cancer. In most cases, chemical carcinogens require metabolic activation, which is mainly achieved by P450s enzymes. CYP2E1 is of clinical relevance because it is inducible by ethanol, and it metabolizes many common organic solvents such as benzene, alcohols and halogenated solvents. Therefore, alteration in the level of CYP2E1 might influence the health effects of the environmental pollutants. This hypothesis needs to be validated by epidemiological studies and the objective of the "Biomed-2" project was to develop new tests to assess the individual metabolic capacity of workers exposed to volatile organic compounds in order to predict their occupational risk. In vivo chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation was validated as a non-invasive and selective test for the determination of liver CYP2E1 activity. Preliminary data in workers exposed to organic solvents indicated that chlorzoxazone metabolism may be a biomarker of occupational exposure to organic solvents. Other approaches, such as use of salicylate as catalytic probe or measurement of catalytic activity in lymphocytes, were not conclusive. Attempts to use CYP2E1 genotyping for estimating human risks from chemical exposure did not bring convincing data as genetic polymorphism of CYP2E1 could not be clearly related to its catalytic activity.     

Alcohol is bad for blood pressure

1. The regular consumption of alcohol elevates blood pressure, with global estimates that the attributable risk for hypertensive disease from alcohol is 16%. 2. The increase in blood pressure is approximately 1 mmHg for each 10 g alcohol consumed and is largely reversible within 2-4 weeks of abstinence or a substantial reduction in alcohol intake. 3. This increase in blood pressure occurs irrespective of the type of alcoholic beverage. In particular, the postulated effects of vasodilator flavonoid components of red wine to lessen or reverse alcohol-related hypertension have not been borne out in intervention studies. 4. Heavy drinking, especially a binge pattern of drinking, is linked to a higher incidence of cerebral thrombosis, cerebral haemorrhage and coronary artery disease deaths, although a role for alcohol-related hypertension in the causal pathway is not well defined. 5. In contrast, the light to moderate intake of alcohol has been consistently linked to a reduced risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease end-points. Such a protective effect may also extend to hypertensive subjects. 6. However, the magnitude of any protective effect appears to have been exaggerated because of unmeasured confounders, especially diet, lifestyle and patterns of drinking. Furthermore, a decrease in overall mortality with drinking appears confined to older subjects and to populations with a high background cardiovascular risk profile. 7. Any putative cardiovascular benefits from drinking need to be carefully considered against the effects of alcohol to elevate blood pressure, together with many other adverse health consequences from drinking. Maximum cardiovascular benefit occurs at relatively low levels of consumption (i.e. one to two standard drinks a day in men (10-20 g alcohol) and up to one a day in women (10 g alcohol)). In hypertensive subjects, consumption beyond these levels would be unwise.     

Protective strategies: A mediator of risk associated with age of drinking onset

The goal of the current study was to determine if failure to develop/utilize alcohol-specific strategies to manage drinking behavior might serve as a mechanism through which early alcohol exposure leads to higher levels of later alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences, while taking into account impulsivity as an underlying risk factor for both of these outcomes. Data were collected between September and December of 2005 from a random sample of college students via an online survey. A total of 309 students provided complete data on all measure of interest. Separate regression analyses predicting typical weekly alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems indicated that use of alcohol-specific protective strategies partially mediated the effect of age of first use on these outcomes. An earlier age of onset was associated with less frequent use of alcohol-specific protective strategies, which in turn was associated with drinking- and alcohol-related problems. Implications for tailoring alcohol prevention and intervention programs targeting adolescents are discussed.     

Assessment of DNA damage in car spray painters exposed to organic solvents by the high-throughput comet assay

Occupational exposure as a painter is associated with DNA damage and development of cancer. Comet assay has been widely adopted as a sensitive and quantitative tool for DNA damage assessment at the individual cell level in populations exposed to genotoxics. The aim of this study was to assess the application of the high-throughput comet assay, to determine the DNA damage in car spray painters. The study population included 52 car spray painters and 52 unexposed subjects. A significant increase in the %TDNA median (p?< 0.001) was observed in the exposed group in comparison to the unexposed group. Neither age (%TDNA: p?= 0.913) nor time of exposure (%TDNA: p?=?0.398) were significantly correlated with DNA damage. The car spray painters who consumed alcohol did not show a significant increase in DNA damage compared to nonalcohol consumers (p >?0.05). The results showed an increase in DNA breaks in car spray painters exposed to organic solvents and paints; furthermore, they demonstrated the application of high-throughput comet assay in an occupational exposure study to genotoxic agents.     

Individual differences in temptation and responses to alcohol cues.

OBJECTIVE: Research on the Temptation and Restraint Inventory has established that the Temptation factor is associated with greater use of alcohol, more alcohol-related problems, and more severe symptoms of alcohol dependence. However, there is little known about the mechanisms by which Temptation may be associated with these higher levels of alcohol involvement. The present study was designed to examine how individual differences in Temptation are associated with responses to alcohol cues. METHOD: Eighty-nine hazardous drinkers were exposed to the sight and smell of their favorite alcoholic beverage, attempted to control their urges, and then participated in a beer taste test. Subjective experience, alcohol-related cognitive processing, and behavioral responses were assessed in the context of these cues. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that Temptation was associated with stronger urges to drink alcohol, greater difficulty controlling urges, and increased alcohol consumption, even when controlling for alcohol consumption in the past month. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Temptation has utility for predicting responses to alcohol cues among hazardous drinkers even when the effects of typical drinking patterns are accounted for. Moreover, the results suggest that individuals who exhibit high levels of Temptation may be particularly reactive to anticipatory cues for alcohol consumption.     

Activating action tendencies: The influence of action priming on alcohol consumption among male hazardous drinkers

OBJECTIVE: Despite the importance of action components in information processing models of substance-use motivation, there has been relatively little research that has specifically examined the effects of behavioral cues on motivation to use alcohol. The current study examined the effects of action priming on alcohol-use motivation. METHOD: One hundred and eighty-eight hazardous drinkers completed a cue-exposure procedure followed by a beer-tasting task. Participants were exposed to their preferred alcohol beverage while they either lifted the beverage (action prime) or leaned toward the beverage (control). Following alcohol-cue exposure, participants completed a taste-test procedure in which they sampled three glasses of beer. Urges to drink following cue exposure and volume of beer consumed during the taste test were the primary dependent variables. RESULTS: Ratings of urge to drink increased in both prime conditions following alcohol-cue exposure and predicted the amount of beer consumed. The priming conditions did not differentially influence urge; however, there was a significant Prime x Gender interaction for volume of beer consumed. Men in the action-prime condition consumed more alcohol in the subsequent taste-test procedure than men who were in the control condition. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that behavioral sequences associated with drinking may prime alcohol-related motivational states among hazardous-drinking men. Moreover, these action primes may affect subsequent alcohol use independent of changes in subjective indices of alcohol-related motivation. Implications for understanding the distinct effects of alcohol-related cues on controlled and automatic processes underlying alcohol use are discussed.     

Coping with jealousy: The association between maladaptive aspects of jealousy and drinking problems is mediated by drinking to cope

Previous research has shown that both alcohol use and jealousy are related to negative relationship outcomes. Little work, however, has examined direct associations between alcohol use and jealousy. The current study was aimed to build upon existing research examining alcohol use and jealousy. More specifically, findings from current jealousy literature indicate that jealousy is a multifaceted construct with both maladaptive and adaptive aspects. The current study examined the association between maladaptive and adaptive feelings of jealousy and alcohol-related problems in the context of drinking to cope. Given the relationship between coping motives and alcohol-related problems, our primary interest was in predicting alcohol-related problems, but alcohol consumption was also investigated. Undergraduate students at a large Northwestern university (N = 657) in the US participated in the study. They completed measures of jealousy, drinking to cope, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems. Analyses examined associations between jealousy subscales, alcohol use, drinking to cope, and drinking problems. Results indicated that drinking to cope mediated the association between some, but not all, aspects of jealousy and problems with alcohol use. In particular, the more negative or maladaptive aspects of jealousy were related to drinking to cope and drinking problems, while the more adaptive aspects were not, suggesting a more complex view of jealousy than previously understood.     

Alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies as a mediator of the relationship between drinking motives and risky sexual behaviors

Risky sexual behaviors (RSB) frequently occur in the context of alcohol use and are associated with distinct drinking motives among college students. Use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) is associated with reductions in alcohol use and related problems, which may extend to alcohol-related RSB. Moreover, as PBS use mediates the relationship between positive reinforcement drinking motives and alcohol-related problems, the same may be true for alcohol-related RSB, specifically. The current study examined whether PBS mediates the relationship between drinking motives and RSB among college students. Participants (N = 2039, 72.8% female, M_age = 19.79) from ten universities across ten U.S. states completed an online survey assessing past-month drinking motivation, alcohol PBS, alcohol consumption, and RSB. To test study aims, a saturated path model in which drinking motives were modeled as predictors of RSB via PBS use subscales and alcohol consumption was conducted. Several double mediation effects were found, such that stronger endorsement of motives (i.e., social, enhancement, conformity, coping for depression) were associated with lower PBS (particularly manner of drinking and serious harm reduction), which was associated with higher alcohol use, which was associated with higher RSB. Multi-group models found the mediation effects to be gender invariant, although several differences in direct associations were found across genders. For college students high in positive reinforcement motives (i.e., social or enhancement) for drinking, interventions that aim to increase PBS use, specifically related to modifying the manner in which one drinks and avoiding very dangerous consequences, may be effective in reducing alcohol-related RSB.     

The limited utility of BAC for identifying alcohol-related problems among DWI offenders.

To see if blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a significant indicator of problem drinking or an alcohol-related diagnosis, the relationships between BAC at arrest for drinking and driving, typical drinking, alcohol-related problems, problem drinking and an alcohol abuse or dependence diagnosis were examined for 235 drinking and driving offenders referred for alcoholism evaluation. BAC and typical drinking correlated weakly and no significant relationship between alcohol-related problems and BAC was found. Further, no significant relationship was found between BAC and alcohol abuse or dependence diagnoses, or between problem drinking and BAC. These findings cast doubt on the usefulness of a single report of BAC for diagnostic and screening purposes.     

Neurobehavioural effects of industrial mixed solvent exposure in chinese printing and paint workers

Neurobehavioural symptoms and performance tests were evaluated in a group of 78 workers exposed to mixed organic solvents (printers, paint sprayers and paint production workers) and a referent group of 145 unexposed subjects (nonproduction factory workers and volunteer postal workers). Both groups were administered a structured symptoms questionnaire and eight neurobehavioural tests for psycho-motor function, visual and auditory memory. An excess of symptoms of fatigue, irritability, depression, poor memory, sleep disturbances and symptoms suggestive of autonomic dysfunction was found in the exposed group. Neurobehavioural test performance was generally worse, and performance on tests of psycho-motor function (choice reaction test and digit symbol) and auditory memory (digit span and associate learning) was significantly poorer in the exposed group. The findings support the view that apparently healthy and actively employed workers exposed to mixed solvents show neurobehavioural deficits.     

Alcohol's impact on kidney function

Both acute and chronic alcohol consumption can compromise kidney function, particularly in conjunction with established liver disease. Investigators have observed alcohol-related changes in the structure and function of the kidneys and impairment in their ability to regulate the volume and composition of fluid and electrolytes in the body. Chronic alcoholic patients may experience low blood concentrations of key electrolytes as well as potentially severe alterations in the body's acid-base balance. In addition, alcohol can disrupt the hormonal control mechanisms that govern kidney function. By promoting liver disease, chronic drinking has further detrimental effects on the kidneys, including impaired sodium and fluid handling and even acute kidney failure.