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Drinking Occasions (drinking + occasion)
Selected AbstractsPolicy implications of the widespread practice of ,pre-drinking' or ,pre-gaming' before going to public drinking establishments,are current prevention strategies backfiring?ADDICTION, Issue 1 2009Samantha Wells ABSTRACT Aim To describe the research, policy and prevention implications of pre-drinking or pre-gaming; that is, planned heavy drinking prior to going to a public drinking establishment. Methods The authors describe the phenomenon of pre-drinking, motivations for pre-drinking and its associated risks using available research literature, media and popular internet vehicles. Results Heavy drinking prior to going out has emerged as a common and celebrated practice among young adults around the world. Apparent motivations are: (i) to avoid paying for high priced drinks at commercial drinking establishments; (ii) to achieve drunkenness and enhance and extend the night out; and (iii) to socialize with friends, reduce social anxiety or enhance male group bonding before going out. Limited existing research on pre-drinking suggests that it is associated with heavy drinking and harmful consequences. We argue that policies focused upon reducing drinking in licensed premises may have the unintended consequence of displacing drinking to pre-drinking environments, possibly resulting in greater harms. Conclusions Effective policy and prevention for drinking in licensed premises requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account the entire drinking occasion (not just drinking that occurs in the licensed environment), as well as the ,determined drunkenness' goal of some young people. [source] Hostility, drinking pattern and mortalityADDICTION, Issue 1 2008Stephen H. Boyle ABSTRACT Aims This study examined the association of hostility to drinking pattern and whether this association mediated the relation of hostility to mortality. Participants and design Subjects were 3326 current drinkers from the Vietnam Experience Study cohort who were followed for vital status. Setting United States. Measurements Hostility was measured by an abbreviated version of the Cook,Medley Hostility Scale (ACM). The alcohol variables were total monthly intake of alcohol, drinking frequency, drinks per drinking day and drinking , 5 drinks on at least one occasion in the past month (i.e. heavy episodic drinking). Findings Regression analyses showed associations between the ACM and total monthly intake of alcohol (P < 0.0001), drinks per drinking day (P < 0.0001) and heavy episodic drinking (P < 0.0001), but not with frequency of drinking days. Hostility, drinks per drinking day, heavy episodic drinking and total monthly alcohol intake were also associated with all-cause mortality (all Ps < 0.0001). Further analyses showed that drinking pattern, particularly drinks per drinking day, may account partially for the relation of hostility to mortality. Conclusions High hostility is associated with elevated mortality and a deleterious drinking pattern characterized by relatively high intake per drinking occasion. Drinking pattern could help explain the relationships between hostility and health. [source] Effects of home access and availability of alcohol on young adolescents' alcohol useADDICTION, Issue 10 2007Kelli A. Komro ABSTRACT Aims The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of parental provision of alcohol and home alcohol accessibility on the trajectories of young adolescent alcohol use and intentions. Design Data were part of a longitudinal study of alcohol use among multi-ethnic urban young adolescents who were assigned randomly to the control group of a prevention trial. Setting Data were collected from a cohort of youth, and their parents, who attended public schools in Chicago, Illinois (2002,2005). Participants The sample comprised the 1388 students, and their parents, who had been assigned randomly to the control group and were present and completed surveys at baseline, in the beginning of 6th grade (age 12). The sample was primarily low-income, and African American and Hispanic. Measurements Students completed self-report questionnaires when in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades (age 12,14 years; response rates 91,96%). Parents of the 6th grade students also completed questionnaires (70% response rate). Findings Student report, at age 12, of parental provision of alcohol and home alcohol availability, and parental report of providing alcohol to their child and the accessibility of alcohol in the home, were associated with significant increases in the trajectories of young adolescent alcohol use and intentions from ages 12,14 years. Student report of receiving alcohol from their parent or taking it from home during their last drinking occasion were the most robust predictors of increases in alcohol use and intentions over time. Conclusions Results indicate that it is risky for parents to allow children to drink during early adolescence. When these findings are considered together with the risks associated with early onset of alcohol use, it is clear that parents can play an important role in prevention. [source] A Metric of Maternal Prenatal Risk Drinking Predicts Neurobehavioral Outcomes in Preschool ChildrenALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2009Lisa M. Chiodo Background:, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, continue to be high-incidence developmental disorders. Detection of patterns of maternal drinking that place fetuses at risk for these disorders is critical to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, but is challenging and often insufficient during pregnancy. Various screens and measures have been used to identify maternal risk drinking but their ability to predict child outcome has been inconsistent. This study hypothesized that a metric of fetal "at-risk" alcohol exposure (ARAE) derived from several indicators of maternal self-reported drinking would predict alcohol-related neurobehavioral dysfunctions in children better than individual measures of maternal alcohol consumption alone. Methods:, Self-reported peri-conceptional and repeated maternal drinking during pregnancy were assessed with semi-structured interviews and standard screens, i.e., the CAGE, T-ACE, and MAST, in a prospective sample of 75 African-American mothers. Drinking volumes per beverage type were converted to standard quantity and frequency measures. From these individual measures and screening instruments, a simple dichotomous index of prenatal ARAE was defined and used to predict neurobehavioral outcomes in the 4- to 5-year-old offspring of these women. Study outcomes included IQ, attention, memory, visual-motor integration, fine motor skill, and behavior. Statistical analyses controlled for demographic and other potential confounders. Results:, The current "at-risk" drinking metric identified over 62% of the mothers as drinking at risk levels,23% more than the selection criterion identified,and outperformed all individual quantity and frequency consumption measures, including averages of weekly alcohol use and "binge" alcohol exposures (assessed as intake per drinking occasion), as well as an estimate of the Maternal Substance Abuse Checklist (Coles et al., 2000), in predicting prenatal alcohol-related cognitive and behavioral dysfunction in 4- to 5-year-old children. Conclusions:, A metric reflecting multiple indices of "at-risk" maternal alcohol drinking in pregnancy had greater utility in predicting various prenatal alcohol-related neurobehavioral dysfunction and deficits in children compared to individual measures of maternal self-reported alcohol consumption or a previous maternal substance abuse index. Assessing fetal risk drinking in pregnant women was improved by including multiple indicators of both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences and, if appropriate practical applications are devised, may facilitate intervention by health care workers during pregnancy and potentially reduce the incidence or severity of FASDs. [source] The relation between different dimensions of alcohol consumption and burden of disease: an overviewADDICTION, Issue 5 2010Jürgen Rehm ABSTRACT Aims As part of a larger study to estimate the global burden of disease and injury attributable to alcohol: to evaluate the evidence for a causal impact of average volume of alcohol consumption and pattern of drinking on diseases and injuries; to quantify relationships identified as causal based on published meta-analyses; to separate the impact on mortality versus morbidity where possible; and to assess the impact of the quality of alcohol on burden of disease. Methods Systematic literature reviews were used to identify alcohol-related diseases, birth complications and injuries using standard epidemiological criteria to determine causality. The extent of the risk relations was taken from meta-analyses. Results Evidence of a causal impact of average volume of alcohol consumption was found for the following major diseases: tuberculosis, mouth, nasopharynx, other pharynx and oropharynx cancer, oesophageal cancer, colon and rectum cancer, liver cancer, female breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, alcohol use disorders, unipolar depressive disorders, epilepsy, hypertensive heart disease, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, conduction disorders and other dysrhythmias, lower respiratory infections (pneumonia), cirrhosis of the liver, preterm birth complications and fetal alcohol syndrome. Dose,response relationships could be quantified for all disease categories except for depressive disorders, with the relative risk increasing with increased level of alcohol consumption for most diseases. Both average volume and drinking pattern were linked causally to IHD, fetal alcohol syndrome and unintentional and intentional injuries. For IHD, ischaemic stroke and diabetes mellitus beneficial effects were observed for patterns of light to moderate drinking without heavy drinking occasions (as defined by 60+ g pure alcohol per day). For several disease and injury categories, the effects were stronger on mortality compared to morbidity. There was insufficient evidence to establish whether quality of alcohol had a major impact on disease burden. Conclusions Overall, these findings indicate that alcohol impacts many disease outcomes causally, both chronic and acute, and injuries. In addition, a pattern of heavy episodic drinking increases risk for some disease and all injury outcomes. Future studies need to address a number of methodological issues, especially the differential role of average volume versus drinking pattern, in order to obtain more accurate risk estimates and to understand more clearly the nature of alcohol,disease relationships. [source] A dose,response perspective on college drinking and related problemsADDICTION, Issue 2 2010Paul J. Gruenewald ABSTRACT Aims In order to examine the degree to which heavy drinking contributes to risks for problems among college drinkers this paper develops and tests a dose,response model of alcohol use that relates frequencies of drinking specific quantities of alcohol to the incidence of drinking problems. Methods A mathematical model was developed that enabled estimation of dose,response relationships between drinking quantities and drinking problems using self-report data from 8698 college drinkers across 14 campuses in California, USA. The model assumes that drinking risks are a direct monotone function of the amount consumed per day and additive across drinking days. Drinking problems accumulate across drinking occasions and are the basis for cumulative reports of drinking problems reported by college drinkers. Results Statistical analyses using the model showed that drinking problems were related to every drinking level, but increased fivefold at three drinks and more gradually thereafter. Problems were associated most strongly with occasions on which three drinks were consumed, and more than half of all reported problems were related to occasions on which four or fewer drinks were consumed. There were some important differences in dose,responsiveness between men and women and between different groups of ,light', ,moderate' and ,heavier' drinkers. Conclusion Many problems among college students are associated with drinking relatively small amounts of alcohol (two to four drinks). Programs to reduce college drinking problems should emphasize risks associated with low drinking levels. [source] Diverse alcohol drinking patterns in 20 African countriesADDICTION, Issue 7 2009Thomas Clausen ABSTRACT Aims This paper describes drinking patterns in 20 African countries, exploring the extent of abstention, heavy occasional drinking and daily light drinking and how these aspects of drinking are inter-related. Design and participants Data were collected as part of the World Health Survey in 2002,04 and comprise national representative data sets from 20 African countries. A cross-sectional survey of 77 165 adults aged 18 years and older were undertaken by face-to-face interviews in respondent households. Measures Drinking behaviour was assessed in terms of life-time abstention and the following measures over the 7 days immediately preceding interview: high consumption (15 or more drinks); heavy drinking occasions (five or more standard units at at least one session) and daily light drinking (one or two drinks daily). Findings In four countries (Comoros, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal), virtually all respondents were life-time abstainers. The prevalence of current drinkers (previous week) did not exceed one-third in any country. Among current drinkers the prevalence of heavy drinking varied between 7% and 77% and the prevalence of daily light drinkers varied between 0% and 21%. Overall drinking patterns varied significantly between and within the examined African countries. Conclusions African drinking patterns are diverse, and although life-time abstinence dominates in African countries, a single typical pattern of drinking for the African continent, such as the alleged ,all-or-none' pattern, was not observed. [source] Alcohol in Mayan Guatemala: consumption, distribution, production and composition of cuxaADDICTION, Issue 5 2009Fotis Kanteres ABSTRACT Aims To describe the consumption, distribution, production and chemical composition of alcohol, including cuxa (pronounced ,coo sha'), in Nahualá, a highland Mayan municipality in Guatemala. Cuxa is a sugarcane-derived spirit, in part produced clandestinely, that has been distributed in the community for several decades. Methods Key informant interviews with alcohol distributors and consumers, cuxa producers and health professionals, as well as analyses of questionnaires from a sample of 47 spouses who came to the local health centre for problems related to their husband's drinking. Sampling and chemical analysis of cuxa from 12 of 13 identified sales points in the head-town of Nahualá and its nearby settlements (10 km radius). Fieldwork was conducted between November 2007 and March 2008. Results Alcohol consumption was found to be integrated culturally in this community. The overall drinking culture was marked by irregular heavy drinking occasions, especially around market days, with substantial inebriation and health problems, especially among street inhabiting drinkers. Cuxa contributed to these problems, and cuxa drinking was socially stigmatized. Cuxa was produced both clandestinely and industrially, and sold legally by taverns and illegally by clandestine distributors. The alcoholic strength of the samples was typically between 17 and 19% vol.; clandestinely produced cuxa samples showed acetaldehyde contamination. Conclusions Measures should be taken to reduce the harm associated with alcohol in this community, including efforts to reduce acetaldehyde levels in cuxa. [source] Exploring Pregnancy-Related Changes in Alcohol Consumption Between Black and White WomenALCOHOLISM, Issue 3 2008Daniel S. Morris Background:, Although epidemiological data indicate that White women are more likely to drink and binge drink before pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is more common in the Black population than among Whites in the United States. Differences in drinking cessation between Black and White women who become pregnant may help explain the disparity in FAS rates. Methods:, The study sample was comprised of 280,126 non-Hispanic Black and White women, ages 18 to 44, from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2001 to 2005 data sets. Predictors of reduction in alcohol consumption (in drinks per month) and binge drinking (>4 drinks on one occasion) by pregnant and non-pregnant women were identified with logistic regression. The effect of interactions of pregnancy status with age, education, and Black or White race on drinks per month and binge occasions were explored using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results:, Pregnant White women averaged 79.5% fewer drinks per month than non-pregnant White women (F = 1250.1, p < 0.001), and 85.4% fewer binge drinking occasions (F = 376, p < 0.001). Pregnant Black women averaged 58.2% fewer drinks per month than non-pregnant Black women (F = 31.8, p < 0.001) and 64.0% fewer binge occasions (F = 13.8, p < 0.001). Compared to Black women, White women appear to make a 38% greater reduction in drinks per month, and a 33% greater reduction in binge occasions. Conclusions:, Non-Hispanic White women appear more likely to reduce drinks per month and binge drinking occasions than non-Hispanic Black women during pregnancy. These findings may help explain disparities in FAS in the United States, though this cross-sectional sample does not permit claims of causation. To better describe the impact of differential drinking reduction on FAS rates, future studies of longitudinal data should be done. [source] | ||||||||||