Search this site

What's new!

 
 
NEXT MEETING 
Thursday February 18, 2010

 
 

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 
Check what is happening
     
  • . EVIDENCE LINKING EARLY ALCOHOL USE AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE MOUNTS

    New research published in Addiction [2009 Sep;104(9):1512-8] provides new evidence on the common genetic influences of timing of first alcohol use and alcohol dependence (AD).  In both sexes, the relationship between age at first alcohol use and risk for AD followed a linear trend, such that the highest rates of AD were observed in individuals who began drinking at an earlier than average age (14 years or younger).  According to the abstract (see below),  findings highlight the substantial role of genetics in the development of AD and the early manifestation of that genetic risk in the timing of alcohol use initiation which, unlike AD, is also influenced to a modest degree by shared environmental factors.  http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122529072/HTMLSTART

  •  NEW STUDY SHOWS ONE IN TEN BINGE DRINKERS DRIVE AFTER DRINKING
Data from a CDC telephone survey conducted in 2003 and 2004 on binge drinking will be released in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  The  study, conducted by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), revealed that one in 10 people who consume alcohol in excess of five or more drinks in a single drinking session (binge drinking) reported that they also drive a car during or just following the binge drinking episode.   Of those who binge and drive afterward, more than half had consumed their liquor in a bar, restaurant, or club.   More than 14,000 adults reported binge drinking in the previous 30 days.  Respondents who ranged in ages 18-55 had an average of eight drinks at a time; more than a quarter had 10 or more. Overall, 11.9% of binge drinkers drove during or within 2 hours of their most recent binge drinking episode. Those drinking in licensed establishments (bars, clubs, and restaurants) accounted for 54.3% of these driving episodes. Significant independent risk factors for driving after binge drinking included male gender; being aged 35--54 or >55 years compared to 18 --34 years; and drinking in bars or clubs compared to drinking in the respondent's home. Drivers who drank most of their alcohol in licensed establishments consumed an average of 8.1 drinks, and 25.7% of them consumed >10 drinks. To read the entire article, follow this link.
Approximately two of five college students—more than 40 percent—have engaged in binge drinking at least once during the past 2 weeks, according to the NIAAA definition of binge drinking.  [Source:  http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/TaskForce/HeavyEpisodic_00.aspx.]