Journal of Studies on
Alcohol
Volume 65
Number 6
November 2004
Issues Available Online
September 2006
July 2006
May 2006
March 2006
January 2006
November 2005
September 2005
Supplement 15 July 2005
July 2005
May 2005
March 2005
January 2005
November 2004
September 2004
July 2004
May 2004
March 2004
January 2004
November 2003
September 2003
July 2003
May 2003
March 2003
January 2003
November 2002
September 2002
July 2002
May 2002
Selected Abstracts
ABSTRACT. Objective: Serum lipids, blood pressure and body mass may mediate the U-shaped relationship of alcohol consumption with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. This study examines the cross-sectional and long-term longitudinal relationships of (changes in) alcohol consumption with (changes in) serum lipids, blood pressure and body mass indices. Method: In this prospective, observational cohort study, two measurements of alcohol consumption, serum total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, body weight, the thickness of four skinfolds and waist circumference were performed 4 years apart in healthy volunteers (143 men and 174 women, 32 years old at the first measurement). Alcohol consumption from beer, wine and distilled spirits was assessed using an extensive dietary history interview. Linear regression analyses were performed to study the cross-sectional relationships between the amount of alcohol consumed at the age of 32 years and the levels of the lipids, blood pressure and body weight indices, and to study the longitudinal relationships between the changes in the amount of alcohol consumed over the 4 years of follow-up and the concurrent changes in the lipids, blood pressure and body weight indices. Nonlinearity was investigated for the cross-sectional relationships. Results: A 10-g/day difference in alcohol consumption was positively related with a 0.05 mmol/L (1.9 mg/dl) difference in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both cross-sectional (p = .004), and longitudinal (p < .0001) analyses. This relationship did not differ for men and women or for the consumption of beer, wine or distilled spirits. Relationships with changes in total cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressure, body weight and the sum of four skinfolds were not significant. A borderline significant inverse longitudinal relationship was found with waist circumference. The other lifestyle behaviors (tobacco smoking, physical activity and dietary habits) were major confounders of most cross-sectional relationships between alcohol and serum lipids, blood pressure and body mass indices. The longitudinal relationships, however, were not confounded by changes in the other lifestyle behaviors. A significant nonlinear relationship was found for systolic blood pressure, in which drinkers of about 30 g/day had the lowest values. Conclusions: Moderate alcohol consumption and moderate long-term changes in alcohol consumption are positively related with the levels and changes in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in healthy adult men and women. A moderate inverse association between alcohol and waist circumference may be expected. No relationships were found with triglycerides, blood pressure, body weight and the sum of the thickness of four skinfolds. Other lifestyle behaviors confound the cross-sectional, but not the longitudinal, relationships between alcohol consumption and serum lipids, blood pressure and body mass indices. Gender and type of beverage do not modify the relationships between alcohol consumption and these indices. (J. Stud. Alcohol66: 713-721, 2005)
ABSTRACT. Objective: The purpose of this study was to separate the effects of heavy and nonheavy episodic drinking on mortality and hospitalizations from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and other cardiovascular disease (OCVD) and on all-cause mortality. Method: The respondents in Finnish drinking habit surveys in 1969, 1976 and 1984 (N = 6,394) were followed up for mortality and hospitalizations. There were 1,144 total deaths from all causes, 854 hospitalizations or deaths from IHD and 1,270 from OCVD. The main variables included total volume of consumption and total volume divided into volume consumed on heavy drinking occasions and nonheavy drinking occasions. Four alternative measures of heavy episodic drinking (HED) were also used. Results: Among males, the total volume of consumption showed a protective effect against IHD. A high volume consumed on light drinking occasions was associated with a decreased risk of IHD (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.56, confidence interval [CI]: 0.34-0.92) and an increased risk of OCVD (HR = 1.48, CI: 1.00-2.18). A high volume consumed on heavy drinking occasions was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.34, CI: 1.04-1.73). Among females, a protective effect of total and non-HED volume against all-cause mortality and non-HED volume against IHD was observed. Conclusions: The findings contribute to the cumulating evidence that drinking pattern matters. Moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of IHD, whereas drinking in a heavy episodic manner (often referred to as “binge drinking”) is not. The results underline the importance of considering, in addition to the volume of consumption, the pattern of drinking in epidemiological studies. (J. Stud. Alcohol66: 722-728, 2005)
ABSTRACT. Objective: Previous research shows that marriage leads to reductions in alcohol use, especially for women. Because marriage prior to age 20 (early marriage) is a marker for deviance, the protective effects of marriage may not extend to those who marry in adolescence. We compared the effects of marriage in adolescence versus young adulthood on alcohol consumption, negative alcohol-related consequences and heavy episodic drinking at age 29. Method: We analyzed data from 1,138 women in a longitudinal cohort followed from ages 18 to 29. The original sample was recruited from 30 California and Oregon middle schools and first surveyed at age 13. Results: Women who had not married, had married early or had married between ages 20 and 29 did not differ on alcohol use at age 18. Women who married as young adults were less likely than singles to engage in any alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking or experience negative consequences and reported less alcohol use at age 29. Women who married in adolescence reported fewer negative consequences at age 29 than did singles and (if they had not divorced) were less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking or experience any negative consequences, reported fewer consequences and consumed less alcohol. The protective effects of marriage in young adulthood were observed whether or not women divorced. Parenthood and college attendance before age 23 did not explain the marriage effect. Conclusions: Results support role theory, which posits that individuals who marry are socialized into conventional adult roles that discourage deviant behavior. (J. Stud. Alcohol66: 729-737, 2005)
ABSTRACT. Objective: Evidence implicating a role of natural and synthetic estrogens and/or progestin on ethanol pharmacokinetics can be traced back to the mid-1970s when reports of large metabolic differences were found suggesting that sex hormones interfered with the efficient clearance of alcohol at the liver microsomal level. Research teams in this area manipulate sex hormone levels by either examining natural-cycling women at different phases of their menstrual cycle or others taking oral contraceptives that synthetically regulate the hormonal fluctuations. These collective studies (over a dozen to date involving over 200 participants) have all been similar in focus and outcome. With one important exception, the published laboratory research since 1976 has failed to replicate the earliest research suggesting sex hormone effects. One well-controlled study in 1987 did generate renewed interest in the area with the paradoxical finding that progesterone actually enhanced alcohol elimination at low blood concentrations (<.025%). The present study represented the most direct attempt to replicate this particular finding using 5-minute breath alcohol readings that extended below blood alcohol concentrations of .025%. Method: A total of 17 women taking combined oral contraceptives were tested during both menstruation and the luteal phase (Days 16-22) of their cycle in counterbalanced sequence. Results: Pharmacokinetics differences were not found. Conclusion: These results contribute further to a literature base demonstrating the limited effects of both natural and synthetic sex hormones on alcohol metabolism in women. (J. Stud. Alcohol66: 738-744, 2005)
ABSTRACT. Objective: Identifying differing developmental trajectories of alcohol behavior is fundamental in building theories of alcoholism etiology and course. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in developmental pathways of alcoholism from onset of drinking into middle adulthood. Method: Alcohol-related behaviors and psychiatric status were assessed in 330 men from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry having a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence (AD). Using a modified version of Skinner’s Lifetime Drinking History, distinct drinking phases were identified that differed in terms of quantity, frequency and context of drinking. Person-year data were created to indicate whether AD criteria were or were not met for each year between drinking onset and age 41. Results: Using Latent Growth Mixture Modeling, a four-class model was identified: Severe Chronic Alcoholics; Severe Non-Chronic Alcoholics (SNCA); Late Onset Alcoholics; and Young Adult Alcoholics. Counterparts for three trajectories could be found in the larger alcoholism literature, whereas the fourth type (SNCA) has not been described, notwithstanding its seeming importance and prevalence. Conclusions: Present findings support the existence of different alcoholism trajectories and provide a more complete understanding of the variability of alcohol dependence over time. Findings build on the larger alcoholism literature identifying alcoholic subgroups and provide important information regarding alcoholism trajectories and associated features. Future studies are needed with regard to better understanding of the psychosocial influences related to the different alcoholism trajectories, as well as characterizing the different trajectories as individuals transition into older age. (J. Stud. Alcohol66: 745-755, 2005)