Alcoholism
Hypomania and Alcohol Use
Individuals with clinically significant Mood Disorders such as Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder have long been considered to be at risk for alcohol abuse and dependence. Mood fluctuations such as those found in Bipolar Disorder are tied to substance use in multiple ways. Some with these conditions report substance use to self-medicate negative symptoms. The effects of substance use to self-medicate, however, are unpredictable, varied and can result in worsened symptoms or a free-standing Substance Use Disorder. Additionally, the more ‘pleasant’ (Piper, 2010) symptoms of Mood Disorders such as Bipolar I and Bipolar II also seem to impact patterns of substance use.
Higher Percentage of Drinkers Across American Ethnic Groups
Greater proportions of white, African American, and Hispanic drinkers have emerged since the early 1990s, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Texas’s Department of Public Health and affiliates discovered that the number of both male and female drinkers of white, African American, and Hispanic backgrounds had risen from 1992 to 2002, but that only white drinkers had increased the volume of alcohol they consumed whereas African American and Hispanic drinkers’ alcohol consumption remained level. Lead researcher Raul Caetano and his team’s study has been published in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
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Research Examines Impact of Alcohol on Fetus Semen Count Later in Life
Research throughout the medical industry has shown for years that drinking while pregnant can put the unborn child at risk. While much of this research has centered on developmental issues in relation to alcohol intake, the latest research shows a different impact altogether.
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Substantial Increase in Death Rates from Alcohol-Related Diseases in the U.K.
A new study has found that there has been a substantial increase in death rates from alcohol-related diseases in socioeconomically deprived areas of England and Wales. Researchers at the University of Sheffield published the findings in the journal BMC Public Health.
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Study Examines Role Chromosome 11 Plays in Alcohol Dependency
Alcohol dependency is an element of life worth researching to empower professionals to identify risk factors and proper prevention tools. Recent research by the Indiana University School of Medicine and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that chromosome 11 could be partially responsible for alcohol dependency.
This genome-wide association study was part of a long-range research on alcohol dependence. Researchers found that a cluster of genes on chromosome 11 may incrementally add to a person’s risk for developing alcohol dependency, according to a post on Genome Web.
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Alcoholics: Are You Too Good for AA?
Maybe you know you have a problem with alcohol. Or, maybe you haven’t had the guts to admit it yet. But you are slowly becoming aware that things are deteriorating around you at a fairly rapid rate. You just can’t seem to put your finger on the cause – or you don’t want to. Perhaps you’ve tried to “cut down” your drinking in the mistaken belief that this would somehow make things better, allow you to see the situation more clearly and figure out where to go next. Nothing good comes out of this strategy, however, and you find yourself deeper in the pit of despair, hating yourself, but still you insist you’re darned well going to figure this out on your own.
Study Identifies Hormone as Culprit in Alcohol Overindulgence
Is it possible that overeating and indulging in the intoxication of alcohol could be blamed on a hormone? According to a recent study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the hormone gherlin may be responsible for the overindulgence in alcohol.
The study included trials on mice who were injected with gherlin, a hormone known to promote appetite and food intake. The mice receiving the injections were more likely to choose alcohol over water when presented with the two choices.
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Patterns of Alcohol Consumption for those with Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) can look different for different people. The behaviors and risks associated can vary greatly, and it can be hard to understand how to intervene and educate regarding such a varied condition.
A recent study examined how AUD changes over time. In 2008, Dawson, Stinson, Chou and Grant looked at the associations between the course of AUD and changes in the average daily volume of ethanol consumption, frequency of risk drinking, and maximum quantity of drinks consumed per day.
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Heavy Drinking at the Holidays Can Be Dangerous
‘Tis the season for drinking. Much like the free reign we give ourselves at the buffet table, too many of us consume too much champagne, eggnog or spiced wine at this time of year.
In a recent Chron article, Dr. Richard Pesikoff, a professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, noted, “Holidays have a certain aura about them. They give us permission to do a lot of things that at other times of the year we tend not to do. It gives a lot of people permission to drink more than they might at other times.”
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Exercise Does Not Offset Affects of Binge Drinking
Few people may recognize an association between binge drinking and regular exercise, but it turns out that one helps to compensate for the other. A recent news report on a site for Bulgaria shares the results of a new survey that more than 25 percent of drinkers exercise regularly to compensate for a spree of binge drinking.
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