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Consuming Alcohol (consuming + alcohol)
Selected AbstractsExperiences of alcohol drinking among Swedish youths with type 1 diabetesEUROPEAN DIABETES NURSING, Issue 1 2009A Leger RN Diabetes Nurse Abstract Background: Alcohol consumption in Europe and North America is greatest in 18,25-year-olds. This behaviour can be seen as a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, where consuming alcohol is perceived as a typical feature of adult behaviour. Youths often start to consume alcohol when they are 14,15 years of age, and one in five youngsters around 15 years of age report binge drinking. Studies of alcohol consumption among youths with type 1 diabetes have not been undertaken but it is well known that, in these people, alcohol drinking can cause hypoglycaemia and worsen the capacity to feel and interpret the symptoms of hypoglycaemia. Aim: The overall aim was to explore experiences of alcohol consumption among youths with type 1 diabetes. Another objective was to identify strategies as to how they deal with situations when they drink alcohol. Methods: Semistructured interviews with ten 18-year-old youths with type 1 diabetes, using Burnard's content analysis method. Results: This study illustrates that informants strive for security, independence and control. Frequency of binge drinking did not seem to differ from rates in other teenagers. Informants exposed themselves to considerable risks and many had met with serious incidents. Moreover, the result exemplifies how symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis (such as nausea and vomiting) can easily be misinterpreted as a hang-over or gastroenteritis. Informants lacked age-appropriate knowledge about diabetes and the effects of alcohol, but had tested things out themselves; some involved their friends in their diabetes treatment. Moreover, three strategies occurred with the aim of normalisation and security: the 'low-consumption' strategy, the ,ambitious' strategy and the ,rather-high-than-dead' strategy. Fear of hypoglycaemia was a significant concern and the consequence was poor diabetes control. Conclusion: To increase youths' independence and security, the diabetes care team should provide adequate and relevant information about alcohol. Treatment plans might contain practical steps such as advice about responsible alcohol intake and adjustments of insulin and meals, and could also encourage young people with diabetes to carry diabetes ID and inform friends about hypoglycaemia (and how to handle situations involving alcohol). Copyright © 2009 FEND [source] Maternal Alcohol Use During Pregnancy Causes Systemic Oxidation of the Glutathione Redox SystemALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2010Theresa W. Gauthier Background:, Increased systemic oxidant stress contributes to a variety of maternal complications of pregnancy. Although the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and its oxidized component glutathione disulfide (GSSG) have been demonstrated to be significantly altered in the adult alcoholic, the effects of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy on oxidant stress in the postpartum female remain under investigation. We hypothesized that maternal alcohol use would increase systemic oxidant stress in the pregnant female, evidenced by an oxidized systemic GSH redox potential. Methods:, As a subset analysis of a larger maternal language study, we evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on the systemic GSH redox status of the postpartum female. Using an extensive maternal questionnaire, postpartum women where queried regarding their alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Any drinking, the occurrence of drinking >3 drinks/occasion, and heavy drinking of >5 drinks/occasion during pregnancy were noted. Using HPLC, maternal plasma samples were analyzed for GSH, oxidized GSSG and the redox potential of the GSH/GSSG antioxidant pair calculated. Results:, Maternal alcohol use occurred in 25% (83/321) of our study sample. Two in ten women reported consuming >3 drinks/occasion during pregnancy, while 1 in 10 women reported consuming alcohol at >5 drinks/occasion. Any alcohol use during pregnancy significantly decreased plasma GSH (p < 0.05), while alcohol at >3 drinks/occasion or >5 drinks/occasion significantly decreased plasma GSH concentration (p < 0.05), increased the percent of oxidized GSSG (p < 0.05), and substantially oxidized the plasma GSH redox potential (p < 0.05). Conclusions:, Alcohol use during pregnancy, particularly at levels >3 drinks/occasion, caused significant oxidation of the systemic GSH system in the postpartum women. The clinical ramifications of the observed alcohol-induced oxidation of the GSH redox system on high risk pregnancies or on the exposed offspring require more accurate identification and further investigation. [source] Detecting Alcohol-Related Problems in Developing Countries: A Comparison of 2 Screening Measures in IndiaALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2009Madhabika B. Nayak Background:, There is inadequate recognition of alcohol misuse as a public health issue in India. Information on screening measures is critical for prevention and early intervention efforts. This study critically evaluated the full and shorter versions of the AUDIT and RAPS4-QF as screening measures for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in a community sample of male drinkers in Goa, India. Methods:, Data from male drinking respondents in a population study on alcohol use patterns and sexual risk behaviors in randomly selected rural and urban areas of North Goa are reported. Overall, 39% (n = 743) of the 1899 screened men, age 18 to 49, reported consuming alcohol in the last 12 months. These current drinkers were administered the screening measures as part of detailed interviews on drinking patterns and AUD symptoms. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted for each combination of screening measure and criterion (alcohol dependence or any AUD). Reliability and correlations among the 4 measures were also examined. Results:, All 4 measures performed well with area under the curves of at least 0.79. The full screeners that included both drinking patterns and problem items (the AUDIT and the RAP4-QF) performed better than their shorter versions (the AUDIT-C and the RAPS4) in detecting AUDs. Performance of the AUDIT and RAPS4-QF improved with lowered and raised thresholds, respectively, and alternate cut-off scores are suggested. Scores on the full measures were significantly correlated (0.80). Reliability estimates for the AUDIT measures were higher than those for the RAPS4 measures. Conclusions:, All measures were efficient at detecting AUDs. When screening for alcohol-related problems among males in the general population in India, cut-off scores for screeners may need to be adjusted. Selecting an appropriate screening measure and cut-off score necessitates careful consideration of the screening context and resources available to confirm alcohol-related diagnoses. [source] Hazardous Drinking: Prevalence and Associations in the Finnish General PopulationALCOHOLISM, Issue 9 2008Jukka T. Halme Background:, Hazardous drinking, defined as consuming alcohol on a risky level and not meeting the diagnostic criteria of alcohol use disorders (AUDs), has been suggested for a new complementary nondependence diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associations of hazardous drinking in comparison to AUDs, moderate drinking, and abstinence. Methods:, A national representative sample of Finns was examined in the Health 2000 Survey. For 4477 subjects aged 30 to 64 years (76%, 2341 females), both the quantity frequency data about alcohol consumption and Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) data concerning AUD diagnoses were available. The nationally recommended limits for hazardous dinking were used (males: 24 drinks, females: 16 drinks/wk). Logistic regression models were used to analyze associations. Results:, The prevalence of hazardous drinking was 5.8%. Hazardous drinking was more prevalent among males than females (8.5% vs. 3.1%). It was most prevalent among the subjects aged 40 to 49 years (7.3%), divorced or separated (8.3%), unemployed (8.2%) and subjects living in the southern (Helsinki) region (7.5%). AUDs versus hazardous drinking were more likely to be in males versus females and in the unemployed versus employed. Subjects aged 40 and over had higher odds for hazardous drinking versus AUDs. The odds for hazardous versus moderate drinking were higher for males versus females (adjusted odds ratio = 3.24), for subjects aged over 40 years, unemployed versus employed and cohabiting, divorced/separated or unmarried subjects versus married subjects. Conclusion:, The high prevalence of hazardous drinking makes it an important public health concern. Hazardous drinkers have different sociodemographic characteristics as compared to people in other alcohol use categories. [source] Ethanol Consumption Alters Electroretinograms and Depletes Neural Tissues of Docosahexaenoic Acid in Rhesus Monkeys: Nutritional Consequences of a Low n-3 Fatty Acid DietALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2001Robert J. Pawlosky Background: Alcohol amblyopia is a rare neuropathy characterized by the development of blurred vision and a reduction in visual acuity. Further diagnostic details of this condition have shown abnormalities in the electroretinogram (ERG) that include an increase in implicit times in the a- and b-waves and a depression of b-wave amplitude. Methods: Periodically, the ERGs and the fatty acyl composition of nervous tissue were analyzed from alcohol-consuming rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) (mean consumption 2.6 g kg/day over a 5-year period) and controls that were maintained on a nutritionally sufficient diet that had low, yet adequate, amounts of linoleic acid but very low ,-linolenic acid. Results: Animals consuming alcohol had increased a- and b-wave implicit times and decreased b-wave amplitudes in their electroretinograms compared with those of the dietary control group at 2.5 and 5 years. The fatty acyl composition of brain specimens obtained by surgical biopsy at baseline, 2.5 years, and 5 years demonstrated that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had decreased in both groups of animals compared with baseline values. In the brains of the alcohol-treated animals, DHA was even further decreased (2.5 years: ,20%; 5 years: ,33%) compared with the diet controls. In the retinas of the alcohol-consuming animals at 5 years, there was a similar decrease in DHA (-35%) compared with controls. Generally, the n-6 fatty acid, docosapentaenoic acid (DPAn-6) increased in these tissues, apparently compensating for the loss of DHA. Conclusions: A reciprocal change in the DHA/DPAn-6 ratio is known to be associated with abnormal electroretinograms in a number of species. Thus, a marginal intake of n-3 fatty acids in some alcohol abusers may, in part, be responsible for the biochemical changes that underlie the diminished retinal function associated with the visual abnormalities observed in alcohol-amblyopic patients. [source] | ||||||||||