SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “heavy drinking”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Heavy drinking in the restaurant business: the role of social modelling and structural factors of the work-place.

The role of social modelling and structural factors of the work-place in predicting the probability of heavy drinking was investigated in a sample of 3267 Norwegian male and female waiters and cooks. In the logistic regression analysis, the probability of heavy drinking was increased by two social modelling factors and one structural factor. Having co-workers who, at least weekly, took an end-of-work drink at the work-place gave an odds ratio for heavy drinking of 2.8 (95% CI 1.9-4.1), and having co-workers who went out after work at least every week gave an odds ratio of 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.8). Working at a place with a liberal alcohol policy gave an odds ratio 1.5 (95% CI 1.1-2.2). Among the background factors, only household type significantly predicted heavy drinking. As compared with living with children, the odds for heavy drinking when living alone was 4.3 (95% CI 2.9-6.4). The results indicate that preventive measures in the restaurant business should not only concentrate on the individual, but also deal with factors related to the occupational activity that promote and sustain heavy drinking.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of alcohol intake and heavy drinking in early adulthood: a 5-year follow-up of 15-19-year-old Finnish adolescents.

Relative contributions of earlier drinking and smoking vs mental health risk factors in predicting alcohol intake and heavy drinking in young adulthood were assessed. Higher average alcohol intake and heavy drinking (13 or more drinks on one occasion) in 1995 were significantly related to male gender and earlier high scores in 1990 of relief smoking, relief drinking, and their interaction. Parental alcohol problems, social group, perceived degree of social support, trait anxiety, number of negative life events, self-esteem, grade-point average, somatic symptoms score, or immature, neurotic, or mature defence style measured in 1990 did not predict alcohol intake or heavy drinking 5 years later. The findings suggest that alcohol intake and heavy drinking in young adulthood can be predicted by earlier self-reports on relief smoking and alcohol intake in adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Heavy drinking on Canadian campuses.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and frequency of heavy drinking episodes among Canadian undergraduates. METHODS: Data are drawn from the Canadian Campus Survey, a national mail survey, conducted in the fall of 1998, with a random sample of 7,800 students from 16 universities. RESULTS: Overall, 62.7% and 34.8% of students reported consuming 5 or more drinks and 8 or more drinks, respectively, on a single occasion at least once during the fall semester. On average, drinkers reported having 5 or more drinks almost 5 times during the fall semester, and having 8 or more drinks almost twice during the same period. The groups reporting the highest rates of heavy drinking were males, those living in university residences, those with low academic orientation and those with high recreational orientation. INTERPRETATION: Generally, this study has shown that heavy drinking is highly engrained in Canadian undergraduates' drinking patterns, and is related to a number of factors. These factors can be used to develop targeted prevention efforts.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Heavy drinking is associated with more severe psychosocial dysfunction among girls than boys in Finland.

PURPOSE: To investigate social, psychological, and environmental factors related to heavy drinking by 15-year-old Finnish school pupils. METHODS: Each of 240 pupils completed a questionnaire about alcohol use, smoking, and illicit drug use; an Offer Self-Image Questionnaire; an Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment; and a Psychosomatic Symptoms Questionnaire. Teachers assessed each pupil according to a Social Skills Rating Scale. Academic achievement was assessed on the basis of report grades. RESULTS: Heavy drinking was associated with smoking, trial of drugs, poor social skills in class, and poor school achievement in both boys and girls. In girls, heavy drinking was associated with psychosomatic symptoms and a negative social self-image. Girls who drank heavily also had more difficulty with concentration and externalizing problems and more problems with teachers than those who were abstinent or consumed alcohol moderately. The self-images of boys who drank heavily were more negative than those of alcohol-abstinent boys. In boys, heavy drinking was associated with higher numbers of peer relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy drinking is associated with more severe psychosocial dysfunction among girls than boys. It may be possible to identify girls at school who drink heavily and guide them toward treatment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Self-reported childhood sexual and physical abuse and adult HIV-risk behaviors and heavy drinking.

CONTEXT: Although studies of clinical samples have identified links between childhood abuse, especially sexual abuse, and adult health-risk behaviors, the generalizability of these findings to the population and the relative importance of different types of abuse in men and women are not known. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the risk of self-reported adult HIV-risk behaviors and heavy drinking that is associated with self-reported childhood histories of physical and/or sexual abuse for men and women in a general-population sample, after controlling for age and education. A second objective is to determine whether, among women, early and chronic sexual abuse is associated with heightened risk compared to later or less extensive abuse. DESIGN: A population-based telephone survey, the 1997 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), asked a representative sample of adults whether they had ever been physically or sexually abused in childhood, and if so, the age at first occurrence and number of occurrences. The survey also asked about levels of alcohol use and, for those under 50 years, about HIV-risk behaviors. PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand four hundred seventy-three English-speaking non-institutionalized civilian adults in Washington State. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported HIV-risk behaviors in the past year and heavy drinking in the past month. RESULTS: We identified associations between reported abuse history and each health-risk behavior that we examined. For women, early and chronic sexual abuse (occurring without nonsexual physical abuse) was associated with more than a 7-fold increase in HIV-risk behaviors (odds ratio [OR], 7.4; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 2.4 to 23.5); and any sexual abuse, combined with physical abuse, was associated with a 5-fold increase in these risk behaviors (OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 2.2 to 11.5). For women, only combined sexual and physical abuse was associated with heavy drinking (OR, 6.2; 95% CI, 2.2 to 16.9). Physical abuse alone was not associated with either health-risk behavior for women. For men, any sexual abuse was associated with an 8-fold increase in HIV-risk behaviors (OR, 7.9; 95% CI, 1.8 to 35.1). Physical abuse alone was associated with a 3-fold increase in risk of HIV-risk behaviors (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.3 to 7.9) and a similar increase in risk of heavy drinking (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.8 to 5.5). Although only 29% of the women and 19% of the men who were asked about HIV-risk behaviors reported any history of childhood abuse, these accounted for 51% and 50% of those reporting HIV-risk behaviors, respectively. For heavy drinking the corresponding figures were 25% of the women and 23% of the men reporting any abuse, who accounted for 45% and 33% of those reporting heavy drinking, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to prevent or remediate adult health-risk behaviors should consider the possibility of a history of childhood abuse, as one third to one half of those reporting HIV-risk behaviors or heavy drinking in a general-population survey also reported childhood abuse.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Changes in heavy drinking over the third decade of life as a function of collegiate fraternity and sorority involvement: a prospective, multilevel analysis.

Although affiliation with a fraternity or sorority is an important risk factor for heavy drinking, recent research indicates that this risk may be limited to the college years. Random coefficient growth modeling was used to track changes in patterns of heavy drinking over the course of 11 years as a function of gender and collegiate Greek involvement (N=318). Overall, greater cumulative exposure to the Greek system led to increased heavy drinking during the college years, particularly among men. Shortly after leaving college, heavy drinking levels dropped markedly and remained low through approximately age 30. Inclusion of peer alcohol use norms in the model reduced the influence of Greek involvement. Implications for models of heavy drinking and health risks are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and heavy drinking: a study in 40,851 employees.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model with heavy drinking. METHODS: Questionnaire survey data were obtained from 32,352 women and 8499 men employed in the Finnish public sector (participation 67%). Logistic regression analyses for all employees and for separate subgroups were undertaken by sex, adjusted for age, education, occupational position, marital status, job contract, smoking, and negative affectivity. Different cutoff points of heavy drinking were used for men and women. RESULTS: High job strain and high effort-reward imbalance as global constructs were not associated with heavy drinking. However, some components of these models were associated with heavy drinking but the relationships were not all in the expected direction and they varied by sex, age, and occupational position. CONCLUSIONS: Stressful work conditions are not consistently associated with heavy drinking.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Perceptions of risks of smoking and heavy drinking during pregnancy: 1985 NHIS findings.

As part of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Questionnaire administered in the 1985 National Health Interview Survey, nearly 20,000 respondents ages 18-44 answered questions about their awareness of the risks of smoking and heavy drinking during pregnancy. In reference to smoking, interviewers asked about miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, and low birth weight; in reference to heavy drinking, they asked about miscarriage, mental retardation, low birth weight, and birth defects, as well as fetal alcohol syndrome. For each of these adverse outcomes, a majority of subjects acknowledged increased risk because of smoking or heavy drinking during pregnancy. The range was 66-80 percent of respondents for the four questions on smoking, with the perceived association to smoking strongest for low birth weight. Approximately 84 percent of respondents associated heavy drinking with increased risk for each of the suggested pregnancy outcomes. Smoking seemed to be perceived to pose a lesser risk to pregnancy than heavy drinking. This relative lack of awareness of the pregnancy risks of smoking was more apparent among respondents with less education and more pronounced among blacks than whites. Women were more likely than men to express some opinion on these pregnancy-related questions and were more cognizant than men of the risks. On this limited survey, Americans ages 18-44 were not very knowledgeable about fetal alcohol syndrome. Among the 55 percent who had heard of fetal alcohol syndrome, fewer than one in four correctly identified it as a set of birth defects when offered three possible definitions. It will be interesting to correlate responses to these "knowledge" questions with NHIS data still forthcoming on reported actual smoking and drinking behavior among women respondents who were recently pregnant.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Relative frequency of heavy drinking and the risk of alcohol dependence.

Data from a national representative sample of US adults were analyzed to determine the association between the relative frequency of heavy drinking (the proportion of drinking occasions on which 5+ drinks were consumed) and past-year alcohol dependence, adjusting for the influences of average ethanol intake and sociodemographic factors. Fifty-seven percent of current drinkers reported never drinking 5+ drinks, and 21% drank 5+ drinks at least once but on less than 10% of all drinking occasions. Nine percent reported drinking 5+ drinks on at least half of all drinking occasions. Average daily intake was positively correlated with the relative frequency of heavy drinking, and both consumption measures were positively associated with the risk of alcohol dependence. Increases in either relative frequency of heavy drinking or average ethanol intake reduced, but did not eliminate, the effect of the other on the risk of dependence. The excess risk of dependence associated with frequent heavy drinking varied among population subgroups and was increased by age, education, and female gender.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Spouse concordance for alcohol dependence and heavy drinking: evidence from a community sample.

Using data from a community sample of 586 married couples, levels of spouse concordance for lifetime and current alcohol dependence and heavy drinking were estimated. In addition, marital quality ratings in concordant and discordant couples were compared. Spouse concordance was significant for lifetime alcohol dependence and for both lifetime and current heavy drinking. Marital quality varied as a function of current heavy drinking and alcohol dependence such that members of couples in which neither spouse drank heavily reported better marital quality than other couples. Furthermore, although marital quality did not differ significantly between concordant and discordant couples, couples concordant for current heavy drinking consistently reported poorer marital quality than other couples.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Increased serum pancreatitis associated protein (PAP) concentration after longterm alcohol consumption: further evidence for regular subclinical pancreatic damage after heavy drinking?

It has been shown recently that longterm but not short term heavy drinking of alcohol frequently results in increased serum activities of pancreatic enzymes suggesting subclinical pancreatic injury. Serum pancreatitis associated protein (PAP) is a novel protein, whose synthesis in the acinar cells and release into serum is specifically induced by acute pancreatic damage. This study was performed to further characterise the alcohol induced subclinical pancreatic injury by using serum PAP measurements. Three groups were studied: (1) control group (n = 25), (2) short term drinking group (n = 20), who consumed 2.0 g of ethanol per kg body weight during four hours, and (3) longterm drinking group (n = 32), who were admitted to withdrawal clinic after a median 30 months heavy drinking period. Serum PAP concentration was low in the control group (8 (5 to 12) micrograms/l, geometric mean (95% confidence intervals)). In the short term drinking group serum PAP was in the range of the control group values during 56 hours after drinking. Longterm drinking induced at least a 10-fold increase in serum PAP, the highest concentrations being seen on day 2 after drinking had ended (106 (61 to 184) micrograms/l). The patients did not develop abdominal symptoms, increased blood white cell count, or increased serum C reactive protein concentration. These results further support the suggestion that heavy longterm drinking often induces subclinical pancreatic damage, but not clinical pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

A comparison of two measures of low response to alcohol among heavy drinking male college students: implications for indicated prevention.

Low response (LR) to alcohol is a risk factor that strongly predicts later problems. This study compares subjective measures of high tolerance (HT) to measures of LR, using the Self-Rating of Effects of Alcohol (SRE) form. First-year heavy drinking students (N = 250) at an all-male college completed a survey during a mandatory class that included the SRE, past month peak consumption, 2-week heavy episodic use, family history, self-reported high tolerance, and whether it takes more alcohol to become impaired compared to others. The SRE identified LR for 96.7% of those reporting HT and 100% of those reporting both HT and that it takes comparatively more alcohol to become impaired. The measure of HT correlated more with heavy drinking than did that of LR (peak of 14.5 drinks and 4.3 occasions of heavy episodic drinking vs. 12.6 and 3.7) whereas those identified as not LR drank less than those who reported no HT (peak of 6.1 drinks and 1.3 occasions of heavy episodic drinking vs. 9.6 and 2.4). Those reporting uncertainty about HT averaged peaks of 10 drinks and 3.13 occasions of heavy episodic drinking; 73.6% scored LR on the SRE. These data suggest that, at least in a heavy drinking group, the SRE may be most effective as a selected follow-up to an initial two-question screening. Self-reporting a high tolerance provides as much information as the 12-question SRE and is associated with heavier use. The SRE may provide corrective feedback to those who report uncertainty about HT or who give conflicting responses to the two screening questions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Short- and long-term effects of fraternity and sorority membership on heavy drinking: a social norms perspective.

This study sought to determine whether the well-established relation between fraternity/sorority (Greek) membership and heavy alcohol use persists beyond the college years and whether some common third variables might account for the relation between Greek status and heavy drinking. During each of 4 years of college and 1 additional year, young adults (N = 319) completed measures of alcohol use, personality, alcohol expectancies, and environmental influences on drinking. Throughout the college years, Greeks consistently drank more heavily than non-Greeks. Statistically controlling for previous alcohol use did not eliminate this effect. However, Greek status did not predict postcollege heavy drinking levels. Also, perceived peer norms for heavy drinking mediated the relation between Greek affiliation and heavy alcohol use. Results are discussed in terms of situational determinants of heavy alcohol involvement in young adults.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Social network, social support and heavy drinking in elderly men--a population study of men born in 1914, Malmö, Sweden.

We analysed whether there were associations among different aspects of social network and social support, on one hand, and heavy drinking and alcohol problems on the other. The study sample (n = 621) comprised a random half of all male residents born in 1914 in Malmö, Sweden. Five hundred (80.5%) participated. Heavy drinking was defined as an alcohol consumption above 250 g alcohol per week and alcohol problems were assessed by a modified Michigan Alcoholism Screening test. Eight conceptually differential aspects of social networks and social support were measured. Four of five social network indices (social anchorage, social participation, contact frequency, spousal support) were associated with heavy drinking (OR 1.9-2.5) and two social network indices (social anchorage, spousal support) were associated with alcohol problems (OR 2.1-2.3). The results in this study are independent of social class, but based on a cross-sectional study, so we do not know if heavy drinking has caused social isolation or the contrary. If these results can be verified in a prospective study, a strengthening of the social network of the individual could perhaps lead to more moderate alcohol habits and better health, a finding of potential importance in the field of health promotion.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Hippocampus volume loss due to chronic heavy drinking.

OBJECTIVE: No clear consensus exists regarding the effect of sustained, heavy drinking on hippocampal volume. Our prior work hypothesized significantly lowered total hippocampus volumes in heavy chronically drinking alcohol-dependent (AD) subjects compared with light-drinking nondependent control subjects matched for age and gender. METHOD: Using a series of applicable exclusion criteria culled from previous published studies, we measured hippocampal volumes from MRI scan data acquired on a 3T scanner and subjected those data to automated volume analysis blind to the drinking history. RESULTS: Comparison with AD test (n=8) and non-AD control (n=8) subjects found significant lessening in total (p=0.020) and left (p=0.010) hippocampal volumes with a near-significant difference on the right (p=0.051). Linear regression demonstrated that neither total brain volume nor intracranial volume affected the hippocampus measures. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the view that heavy drinking exerts a unique and selectively injurious effect on the hippocampus. Further study in larger samples must verify this in a search for possible mechanisms of injury.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Why do women with alcohol problems binge eat? Exploring connections between binge eating and heavy drinking in women receiving treatment for alcohol problems.

Questionnaires assessing heavy drinking and binge eating were administered to 58 women with alcohol problems. A sub-sample of the binge-eaters then participated in qualitative interviews about their perceptions of the connections between their two problems. Seventy-one percent self-identified as binge-eaters with most reporting 'severe' binge eating. Binge-eaters were younger, more frequent drinkers and drank more often for emotional relief than non-binge-eaters. Binge eating and heavy drinking appeared to serve similar functions in a given client (i.e. emotional relief or reward functions). We discuss implications of the findings for the development of better treatments for women struggling with both health issues.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Five-shot questionnaire on heavy drinking.

To develop an effective, but short, questionnaire to detect heavy drinking, we combined two questions from AUDIT and three from CAGE. We have tested earlier this new Five-Shot questionnaire among male alcoholics who all had a total score of at least 4/7. The purpose of the present study was to find out the effectiveness of the Five-Shot questionnaire among middle-aged men. In the present study, the Five-Shot questionnaire was distributed to all (n = 853) 40-year-old men attending health screening in a Finnish town. The participation percentage in the screening was 70.3%. Self-reported alcohol consumption was used as a gold standard; 557 of these men gave a self-report that they consumed less absolute alcohol than 140 g/week (moderate drinkers), and 70 reported consuming > or = 280 g/week (heavy drinkers). None of the individual Five-Shot questions was superior to any other in detecting heavy drinkers. The cut-off point > or = 3 for Five-Shot gave a 77% sensitivity in detecting heavy drinkers, with a specificity of 83% and an overall accuracy of 83%. The corresponding figures with > or = 2.5 cut-off were 96%, 76%, and 78%. The commonly used cut-off for CAGE, > or = 2, gave a result of 47%, 87%, and 83%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the CAGE was clearly worse, compared with that of the Five-Shot. The new Five-Shot questionnaire seems to be efficient in differentiating between moderate and heavy drinkers. It is also easy and fast for physicians to use in different health-care settings. Thus, it can serve as a good aid in early detection of heavy drinking.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin levels reflect heavy drinking in alcohol-dependent women seeking treatment.

BACKGROUND: Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a biochemical marker that has been shown to be sensitive in detecting heavy drinking in men, but studies examining CDT in women have been inconsistent because of small sample sizes and failure to consider hormonal status. In healthy female subjects, CDT levels are significantly higher in premenopausal women with higher estradiol (E2) levels (>30 pg/ml) and those taking exogenous estrogens (oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy) compared with men and postmenopausal women. This study examined the relationship between drinking behavior and CDT levels in a large sample of alcohol-dependent women and contrasted findings in a comparison group of alcohol-dependent men. The study also examined the extent that E2 levels mediated the relationship between CDT levels and heavy drinking in the alcohol-dependent women. METHODS: This study examined the association between CDT level at treatment entry and alcohol consumption the month before initiating treatment in 96 women with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of alcohol dependence, as compared with similar data in 123 male alcoholics. To explore the relationship between E2 and CDT, E2 was measured in women at the time of CDT sampling. Linear regression was used to examine whether patterns of alcohol consumption in the 28 days before the CDT blood sampling predicted the CDT level in women and men presenting for treatment for alcohol dependence. RESULTS: CDT levels were higher in women than men and were related to quantitative alcohol consumption (total standard drinks, percentage of days drinking, percentage of days of heavy drinking) in the month before initiating treatment, irrespective of E2 levels in women. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that in a larger sample of female alcoholics, the amount of alcohol consumed predicted CDT, similar to what has been reported in male alcoholics. The E2 status did not seem to mediate these results.

Adult↗