Biomedical subjects

J W Welte

Publications and source records attributed to J W Welte.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Total body water adjustment of mean alcohol intakes.

Total body water volume (TBW) is one factor that determines the functional effect of a standard dose of alcohol. Because women and the elderly generally have lower TBW values than men and younger persons, respectively, less alcohol needs to be consumed by women and elders to achieve the same or higher blood alcohol levels compared to men and younger persons. An existing data set on elderly drinkers was analyzed with and without TBW adjustment of intakes using mean TBW estimates per decade for each gender. The estimates were obtained from a published report that pooled cross-sectional data to produce mean TBW values and TBW prediction equations applicable to Western populations. As the analyses confirm, the use of cutoff points of alcohol intake not adjusted for TBW results in drinking-level misclassification and findings biased towards younger males. This report supports the standard use of TBW-adjusted alcohol intakes in analyses of samples with both genders and/or a wide age range.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Detection of alcoholism in three populations by the brief-MAST.

The brief MAST (B-MAST) questionnaire was used to detect alcoholism in three populations, namely, alcoholics in treatment, clinical outpatients, and the general population. Nearly all the alcoholics in treatment tested positive in the B-MAST (99.2%), for lifetime as well as for current (past year) alcohol-related problems. Among the clinical outpatients and general population, 35.6% and 20.2% respectively, tested positive for lifetime alcohol problems, but only 19.6% and 7.6%, respectively, tested positive for past-year alcohol problems. The sensitivity/specificity of the B-MAST (lifetime) was 64.7%/90.0% and 48.3%/96.4% in the clinical outpatients and general population, respectively. Even lower sensitivity (28.2%) was obtained when the B-MAST was used to detect past-year alcohol problems in the general population sample. The poor sensitivity of the B-MAST in the general population was probably because most of the B-MAST questions deal with severe alcohol problems, and they are not sufficiently sensitive to detect those who drank heavily but who had not yet developed these alcohol problems. Anomalous responses to the two questions about "normal drinker" and to the question about "attendance in AA meeting" also contributed (< 3%) to inflated positive B-MAST scores. There were gender differences, and to a lesser extent, racial differences (Whites versus Blacks), in the responses to individual B-MAST questions in the three subject populations, with more males than females in each group reporting more alcohol-related problems. However, there were no gender and racial differences in the average B-MAST scores among those clinical outpatients and general population subjects who tested positive.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Gender comparisons of alcohol consumption in alcoholic and nonalcoholic populations.

The purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences between male and female drinkers in terms of the estimated functional impact of alcohol intake on drinking occasions. Alcohol consumption on drinking occasions was documented in male and female alcoholics and occasional drinkers in face-to-face interviews and also in a general population statewide sample by means of a telephone survey. Expression of ethanol intake in terms of grams of ethanol consumed per kilogram of total body water yielded data consistent with the notion that blood concentrations of ethanol achieved by females on drinking occasions may have been quite similar to the values achieved by males. However, important gender differences were also found in terms of an older age of onset of regular drinking, less frequent alcohol intake and a higher percentage of abstainers among females.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Influence of socially desirable responding in a study of stress and substance abuse.

Socially desirable responding is the reluctance to admit unpopular beliefs or behavior in order to avoid making a negative impression. It poses a problem for researchers who rely on self-report of heavy drinking and drug use. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS), which measures socially desirable responding, was administered to 1933 respondents in a general population survey. The relationships between SDS and various self-report measures were examined. SDS was not correlated with gender or race, it increased with greater age and decreased with higher socioeconomic status. With age and socioeconomic status controlled, SDS had a moderate negative relationship with alcohol and drug use, and a strong negative relationship with variables reflecting the expression of anger. Correlations between drinking/drug use and such variables as age, marital conflict, and stressful life events were not substantially changed by controlling for SDS. It was concluded that social desirability response bias probably results in underestimates of rates of heavy drinking and drug use, but does not compromise the study of predictors of heavy drinking or drug use.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Decline in alcohol use among 7-12th grade students in New York State, 1983-1990.

The prevalence and patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were determined in two large representative samples of 7-12th grade students in New York State in 1983 and 1990. Comparable sampling procedures and measures were used in both surveys. Logistic regression analyses showed that overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems decreased significantly for the population as a whole; furthermore, all subgroups according to age, gender, and racial/ethnic status showed significant declines in alcohol use and related problems over this time period. The social context of this change is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Use of the TWEAK test in screening for alcoholism/heavy drinking in three populations.

TWEAK is an acronym for Tolerance (T1 number of drinks to feel high; T2, number of drinks one can hold), Worry about drinking, Eye-opener (morning drinking), Amnesia (blackouts), and Cut down on drinking (K/C). In this study, two versions (T1 and T2) of the TWEAK were part of a questionnaire used to detect alcoholism or heavy alcohol intake in three populations, namely, alcoholics in treatment, patients in two outpatient clinics, and the general population. Similar to the CAGE and the 10-item brief MAST, the TWEAK identified most known alcoholics, but the TWEAK had a higher sensitivity and specificity than the CAGE and B-MAST in detecting alcoholism/heavy drinking in the clinical and general populations. Different cut-off values for tolerance (T1 and T2) are recommended for screening different populations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Drinking among homeless and marginally housed adults in New York State.

The drinking patterns of 412 homeless and marginally housed adults in New York State are described, and compared with 5,952 domiciled adults. The homeless and marginally housed persons interviewed were randomly selected from a representative group of public shelters and low-price hotels in New York City and upstate New York. They showed transience in their sleeping arrangements, and in recent months many had slept with friends or in public places. They are disproportionately male (71%), aged 18-34 (61%) and black or Hispanic (74%). Many of the homeless and marginally housed are abstainers (40%, as opposed to 26% in the state as a whole), but a startling 13% drink more than 20 drinks a day, as opposed to less than 1% in the state as a whole. They also reported high rates of dependence signs such as blackouts or loss of control. Among the homeless and marginally housed, heavy drinking is higher among men than women, and higher among blacks than whites or Hispanics. For homeless and marginally housed men, those with the poorest sleeping arrangements (e.g., slept in public places) have higher rates of heavy drinking. A causal model supports the hypothesis that, for a minority of the homeless, drinking is a contributory cause of their homelessness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Alcohol misuse among college students and other young adults: findings from a general population study in New York State.

The predictors of heavier drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems are examined for young adults aged 18 to 25 years by using a large representative sample. The sample includes both college students and noncollege students. Young adult males have the highest rates of alcohol misuse when compared with all other age groups. Beginning to drink at an early age and growing up with a heavy drinking father are strong predictors of both current heavier drinking and alcohol-related problems. For males, the effect of father's heavy drinking is especially strong. Furthermore, living in a dorm as a college student makes a unique contribution to alcohol misuse.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Quantity-frequency measures of alcohol consumption: beverage-specific vs global questions.

Estimates of alcohol consumption (ounces of absolute alcohol per day, AA) based on beverage-specific and global quantity-frequency (QF) questions were compared in a survey representative of the adult drinking population in New York State. Beverage-specific AA estimates were higher than global (0.72, 95% confidence intervals = 0.68, 0.76) compared to 0.49 (95% confidence intervals = 0.47, 0.51), although estimates were highly correlated (r = 0.75). Discrepancies between beverage specific and global AA estimates increased as the number of beverages and the amount drunk increased. Sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly related to differences between beverage-specific and global AA estimates after adjusting for the amount drunk; however, drinking patterns did influence the differences. It was concluded that beverage-specific QF questions are probably more valid measures of alcohol consumption than global QF questions, but that the global questions provide useful information. Parallel analyses of variant global QF questions employed in the first US Health and Nutrition Examination Survey obtained similar results.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1991

Drinking among subgroups in the adult population of New York State: a classification analysis using CART.

Using data from a representative sample of 5,952 adults in New York State, CART (Classification and Regression Trees) methodology was used to classify abstainers and drinkers according to interactions among 10 sociodemographic characteristics. A CART analysis classifying abstainers versus drinkers selected income at $25,000 for the initial split with high rates of drinking among higher income individuals. Low rates of drinking were shown for low income women with less than a high school education. A second CART analysis was performed for drinkers only, revealing a number of subgroups of heavier drinkers, including non-Jewish, non-Oriental men under 35 years old and never-married or divorced minority women over the age of 24.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Alcohol drinking patterns and blood pressure.

BACKGROUND: Although blood pressure tends to increase with average alcohol consumption, little is known about the effects of drinking patterns on blood pressure. Therefore, the effects of average drinks per day and drinking pattern (defined as the independent and interactive effects of quantity and frequency) on blood pressure were compared. METHODS: Data were obtained from a random sample survey of 1,635 household residents in Erie County, New York. Alcohol-blood pressure relationships were examined using multiple regression analyses that controlled for the potentially confounding influence of 13 additional risk factors for elevated blood pressure. RESULTS: Consistent with prior research, a positive relationship was found between average drinks per day and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Analyses examining the effect of drinking pattern indicated that drinking frequency had a positive effect on both diastolic and systolic blood pressure, whereas drinking quantity did not affect either. Furthermore, there was little evidence that the frequency-by-quantity interaction affected blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Low average alcohol intake and low blood pressure were associated with infrequent drinking, rather than with frequent drinking of small amounts of alcohol. Results suggest that the standard practice of averaging alcohol consumption may obscure important effects of drinking frequency on health.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Prediction of adults' drinking patterns from the drinking of their parents.

While studies have shown relationships between adolescent and parental drinking patterns, it is not known if these parental influences are maintained when the children are adults and further removed from early influences. A representative general population sample of 6,364 adults living in New York State were interviewed regarding their current drinking as well as about their family structure and the drinking patterns of their parents while they were growing up. A logit modeling analysis revealed that natural father's drinking while growing up, natural mother's drinking while growing up, family structure (father present or not) and sex of the respondent were all significant predictors of current heavy drinking of adults even while controlling for all of the other variables in the model. It is concluded that early family influences may have long-term consequences on drinking behaviors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Transferrin and mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase in young adult alcoholics.

Two recently proposed biochemical markers of alcoholism, namely, quantitation of plasma transferrin variant (Tf5.7) and the ratio of plasma mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase (m-AspAT) to total AspAT (t-AspAT), were tested for their ability to detect young adult alcoholics. Another commonly used biochemical test, namely, activity of plasma gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) was included as a comparison. Although mean values of GGT, TF5.7, total transferrin (Tftot), m-AspAT and t-AspAT in alcoholics were significantly higher than those in controls, there were too many overlapping values in each test between alcoholics and controls to render any of these tests suitable as a marker for young adult alcoholics. Depending on cut-off limits, the sensitivity of each test ranged from 0-52% and the specificity ranged from 80-97%. Moreover, the m-AspAT/t-AspAT and Tf5.7/Tftot ratios were not significantly different between alcoholics and controls. A stepwise linear discriminant function analysis of all the variables resulted in a slight increase in classification sensitivity (66%) but a decrease in specificity (77%). The relatively short duration (mean = 5.6 years) of heavy alcohol intake and the time elapsed (mean = 5.8 days) since the alcoholics last consumed alcohol very likely contributed to the low sensitivity. Young adults might also be more resilient with regard to the damaging biochemical effects of ethanol. Abnormal biochemical values might reverse to normal values much more quickly in young adult alcoholics than in those who are older and have more years of alcohol abuse.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Homicide: drinking by the victim.

A comparison was made between homicides in which the victim had either been drinking or had not been drinking. Medical examiner records for 792 homicides in Erie County, New York from 1972 through 1984 were used. A logistic regression found that in a significantly higher proportion of certain types of homicides there was alcohol in the victim's blood: male victims, victims aged 30-49, homicides that occur in the warmer months and in the evening or at night, homicides not related to another crime, stabbings, and homicides that take place in bars and restaurants. Some circumstances associated with a very high likelihood of alcohol in the victim's blood were: men killed at night, men killed by women, black male victims and all killings on Saturday or Sunday nights. These results suggest that a high likelihood of alcohol in victims is associated with circumstances that make drinking more likely (e.g., male victims, homicide at night), but also alcohol is more likely present in homicides that arise spontaneously from personal disputes. It was also found that there is a higher likelihood of alcohol in the victim for homicides that occur during time periods when there are more homicides. It is suggested that in some cases the alcohol may be a causal factor in the homicide.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Alcohol use by violent and property offenders.

Offenders incarcerated for violent and property crimes were compared with respect to their alcohol and drug use, both chronic and immediately before their crime. There were only slight differences between the groups. The proportions of violent offenders who drank before the crime were greater than the proportion of property offenders, but this was not true for offenders with low education. The disinhibition theory of alcohol involvement in violent crime was not supported.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Youthful smoking: patterns and relationships to alcohol and other drug use.

Smoking patterns were examined in a large sample of New York State junior and senior high school students. Smoking was more prevalent among girls than boys. Whites were smoking more than members of minority groups. Marijuana use was the best single predictor of whether a student smoked or not. Heavy drinking was the best predictor of quantity smoked among smokers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Temporal variation in violent death in Erie County, New York, 1973-1983.

A log-linear analysis of monthly, seasonal, and day-of-the-week trends for four types of violent deaths (suicide, homicide, traffic accident, and miscellaneous accident) occurring in Erie County, New York, between 1973 and 1983 was conducted. There were 3,787 violent deaths. There was no seasonal trend noted for any type of death except traffic deaths, which increased during the latter years of the study and which occurred more often in the summer. A general trend for increased deaths occurring on weekends was noted for each type of death except suicide. The authors speculate that this culturally entrained temporal variable may be related to increased alcohol consumption during weekends.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1987

Alcohol use among adolescent minority groups.

Drinking and drug use in a sample of minority students in the state of New York were studied. Minority groups were compared with White groups and with each other on the prevalence of drinking and heavy drinking, distribution of quantity of consumption, relationship between drinking and social problems, and relationship between drinking and drug use. There are high proportions of heavy drinkers and drug users among American Indian adolescents. Black students are relatively low in alcohol and drug use in comparison to Hispanics and Whites who have intermediate levels of heavy drinking and drug use. The drinking by Oriental youths is unique in that males drink heavily and females are light drinkers. Those groups with the highest proportion of drinkers also have the highest proportion of heavy drinkers. The groups with the most drinking also have the highest prevalence of drug use.

Adolescent↗