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T C Harford

Publications and source records attributed to T C Harford.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Occupation and alcohol-related causes of death.

The purpose of the present investigation is to determine if various alcohol-related causes of death are associated with similar occupational groups. The California Occupational Mortality Study data set (1979-1981) provided information on primary occupation and deaths from cirrhosis, digestive cancers, injury, suicide and homicide. Age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated along with 95% confidence intervals. Findings indicate that farming/forestry/fishing personnel and handlers/equipment cleaners/helpers/labourers seem to be at risk of dying from alcohol-related causes. Due to the various methodological issues discussed, these findings need to be interpreted with caution.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Parental history of alcoholism and probability of marriage.

Personal interview data for 16,795 U.S. adults 18-39 years of age were analyzed to assess the effect of positive parental history of alcoholism on the probability of ever having been married. The data were collected as part of the 1988 National Health Interview Survey. The effects of parental history were estimated using logistic regression models that adjusted for age, race, gender, and respondent history of alcohol problems. Nonblack adults who lived with one or more alcoholic parents when growing up were 50% more likely ever to have been married than those with no parental history. The effect was of the same magnitude regardless of whether the alcoholic parent was the mother or the father, but was larger if both parents were reported to be alcoholics. Among blacks, positive parental history of alcoholism did not affect the odds of marriage. The greater likelihood of early marriage among children of alcoholics may help explain their excess risk of marital disruption.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The association of drinking levels and drinking attitudes among Japanese in Japan and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii and California.

This study examined cross-cultural differences in drinking attitudes and drinking levels and their correlation among Japanese in Japan and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii or California. In most situations, an increase in drinking levels was associated with more tolerant drinking attitudes in all three groups. Abstainers were less likely to say that getting drunk is sometimes all right, whereas the reverse was true for heavier drinkers. Drinking levels among Japanese, especially among Japanese women, were not highly associated with how much drinking was perceived as acceptable in each situation, whereas among Japanese-Americans, drinking levels were highly associated with drinking attitudes. Although the Japanese had generally tolerant attitudes toward drinking, they indicated higher abstention rates before driving than Japanese-Americans regardless of their drinking levels. This may reflect the impact of public education on drunken driving in Japan.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Dying to be equal: women, alcohol, and cardiovascular disease.

This data note explores the relationship of gender, alcohol consumption and premature death from cardiovascular disease (MCVD). Data on the 8164 deaths attributed to MCVD from the National Mortality Followback Study (NMFS) were analyzed controlling for gender and consumption. Women who are heavy drinkers die young at a rate equal to that of men who drink heavily. In light of this, we recommend that future research and preventive efforts in this area include females as subjects and alcohol as a major risk factor.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Family history, alcohol use and dependence symptoms among young adults in the United States.

Drawing upon data from the National Longitudinal Survey of young adults, this paper examines the effects of family history of alcoholism and current alcohol use by the young adults. A multivariate analysis of the data from the study indicates that there are both main and interaction effects of family history and current alcohol use on dependence symptoms among the young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Alcohol use and dependence among employed men and women in the United States in 1988.

This paper provides estimates of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence among employed men and women in the United States. Data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey indicate that the percentages of drinkers in white-collar occupations are higher than the percentages of drinkers in blue-collar occupations among both men and women; however, the men and women in blue-collar occupations who drink have a higher average daily consumption than drinkers in white-collar occupations. DSM-III-R criteria were used to classify respondents as alcohol-dependent. Consistent with an earlier survey of employed adults in Detroit, the prevalence of alcohol dependence is highest in certain blue-collar occupations (craftsmen, laborers, and service workers among men; machine operators, laborers, and service workers among women). Directions for further research on the occupational and drinking experiences of employed men and women are discussed.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1992

Gender-role attitudes, job competition and alcohol consumption among women and men.

Attempting to account for greater alcohol consumption among women, social scientists have argued that traditional gender roles and gender-role attitudes concerning the division of labor in the family have provided women with a moral or cultural protection against heavier drinking but that the "breakdown" of this protection has allowed for greater alcohol use. This paper assesses the breakdown argument using data from two representative samples: a sample of 12,069 young adults in the United States and a sample of 1,367 employed men and women in metropolitan Detroit. Our analysis indicates that among young women the nontraditional role of employment and nontraditional gender-role attitudes concerning responsibilities for household labor and child care are associated with greater alcohol consumption. However, among the employed, our analysis indicates that it is not nontraditional women and traditional men but rather traditional women and nontraditional men who have greater alcohol use--it is the women and men who believe that they have substantial obligations at home and who have intense competition at the workplace that consume a greater quantity of alcohol.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

DSM-III-R and the proposed DSM-IV alcohol use disorders, United States 1988: a nosological comparison.

The purpose of the present study was to compare DSM-III-R and the proposed DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence in a representative sample of the United States general population. Alcohol abuse and dependence diagnostic categories were contrasted in terms of prevalence and overlap. The prevalence of DSM-III-R diagnoses of alcohol abuse and dependence combined (8.63%) was greater than the corresponding DSM-IV diagnoses (6.00%). Disaggregation of abuse and dependence diagnoses showed that the major discrepancy between the classification systems resided between the abuse categories. Reasons for the discrepancies are discussed in terms of differences in the content of the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV abuse categories, in the relationship that each abuse category shares with its respective dependence category, and the impact of the DSM-III-R duration criterion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Family history as a predictor of alcohol dependence.

The effects of various levels of positive family history of alcoholism on the probability of past year alcohol dependence were investigated using a general population sample of 23,152 drinkers 18 years of age and older. Forty percent reported a positive family history. After adjustment for age, race, gender, and poverty and compared with persons with a negative family history, the odds of alcohol dependence were increased by 45% among persons with alcoholism in second or third degree relatives only, by 86% among those with alcoholism in first degree relatives only, and by 167% among those with alcoholism in first and second or third degree relatives. The effects of family history did not vary among population subgroups as defined by age, race, gender, and poverty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The relationship between low Km aldehyde dehydrogenase phenotype and drinking behavior in Japanese.

The relationship between the low Km aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) phenotype determined by the isoelectric focusing of hair root lysates, facial flushing and alcohol drinking patterns in Japanese (N = 282) was examined. Men who had inactive ALDH2 drank significantly less alcohol than those with active ALDH2. Although the effect was less noticeable, a similar relationship was detected in women. Two types of flushing responses were determined: one due to the inactive ALDH2, the other unrelated to this variant form of the isozyme. A striking difference between these flushing types, in terms of the inhibitory influence over drinking patterns, was noted. Nearly 86% of the subjects who reported always flushing in the face were shown to have inactive ALDH2, whereas infrequent flushing and absence of flushing were associated with active ALDH2. Thus, facial flushing may be used as an indicator of ALDH2 phenotype.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The effect of acculturation on drinking attitudes among Japanese in Japan and Japanese Americans in Hawaii and California.

Data from a joint Japan-U.S. collaborative study were examined to determine the relationship of acculturation to drinking attitudes among Japanese in Japan and Japanese Americans in Hawaii and California. Drinking attitudes (i.e., self-reported acceptable or appropriate levels of drinking) among ethnic groups differed significantly for the nine situations studied: (1) at a bar with friends, (2) at a party at someone else's house, (3) as a parent, spending time with small children, (4) during working hours, (5) visiting in-laws, (6) with friends at home, (7) with friends after work, (8) with people at sports events and (9) before driving a car. Factor analysis was used to determine the differences in drinking attitudes among these ethnic groups. Japanese and Japanese Americans differentiated drinking situations into different categories. The major difference between the two groups was that the Japanese associated spending time with small children with a situation appropriate for drinking, such as being with friends at home, whereas Japanese Americans associated spending time with small children with a situation inappropriate for drinking, such as before driving.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1992

Cirrhosis mortality and occupation.

Cirrhosis, the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, has been associated with abusive alcohol consumption patterns. Since the workplace serves as a major exposure variable for alcohol consumption over a significant portion of the lifecourse, and since heavy drinking has been shown to differ by type of occupation, this study examines the relationship between type of occupation and cirrhosis mortality. The California Occupational Mortality Study data set (1979 to 1981) provided the information on primary occupation and liver cirrhosis mortality. Crude and sex-specific mortality rates were calculated based on information from a 20% sample of the 1980 California census (included in the data set). Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were calculated around all rates to determine if any were significantly different from rates for the entire state. The findings uphold the view that an association exists between occupation and cirrhosis mortality. The highest mortality rates were found among persons with blue-collar type jobs (e.g., construction laborers and machinists) or jobs where alcohol was easily available (e.g., bartenders and waitresses). Future research needs to specify the factors associated with occupation that may promote the chronic heavy drinking that leads to cirrhosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The relationship between three subtypes of the flushing response and DSM-III alcohol abuse in Japanese.

This study examined the relationship between the flushing response and drinking patterns and DSM-III alcohol abuse among Japanese using data collected in the joint U.S.-Japan collaborative study. The flushing response was classified into the following three subtypes: typical flushing (always flushed in the face after drinking), atypical flushing (sometimes) and nonflushing (never). This study of male current drinkers showed that typical flushers drank less alcohol than did atypical and nonflushers, but there was no observed difference between the drinking patterns of atypical flushers and nonflushers. Although the relationship was less pronounced, a similar association was found for female current drinkers. The 12-month prevalence of DSM-III alcohol abuse was estimated to be highest among atypical flushers and lowest among typical flushers, with nonflushers in between for both genders. When daily alcohol consumption and other pertinent sociodemographic variables were controlled, logistic regression analyses revealed that the risk for alcohol abuse by men was approximately 3.0 times higher among atypical flushers and 1.7 times higher among nonflushers than among typical flushers. The corresponding risks for abuse by women were 7.8 (atypical flushers) and 2.8 (nonflushers) times higher. Possible explanations for these differences in drinking patterns and the risk for alcohol abuse among the three flushing subtypes and between genders are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Alcohol-related problems encountered by Japanese, Caucasians, and Japanese-Americans.

Using population-based survey data, personal-problematic and socioproblematic factors were examined among Japanese in Japan, Japanese-Americans in Hawaii, and Japanese-Americans; Caucasians in California were analyzed as a control group. Caucasian males were more likely to exhibit drinking-related social problems, whereas Japanese males showed more personal-problematic symptoms. Japanese-American men, both in Hawaii and California, were least likely among the three ethnic groups to have personal-problematic symptoms and were more likely to have socioproblematic symptoms than Japanese men. These differences might be explained by differences in the perception of social problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

A method for estimating alcohol-related liver cirrhosis mortality in Japan.

In Japan, per capita alcohol consumption increased sharply during the post World War II period followed by an increase in cirrhosis mortality. The prevalence of alcoholic cirrhosis among hospitalized patients also increased, from 11% in 1969 to 18% in 1985. Despite an increase in the percentage of drinkers among young women, over 80% of women in Japan are still abstainers or light drinkers. Thus, female cirrhosis mortality rates can be used as a proxy measure of non-alcohol-related cirrhosis mortality rates to estimate alcohol-related cirrhosis deaths among Japanese men. Employing this method, we conclude that two-thirds of cirrhosis deaths among men between 24 and 85 years of age and half of all cirrhosis deaths were attributable to alcohol. Two factors are probably responsible for the differences in proportional morbidity and proportional mortality of alcohol-related cirrhosis: differences in survival rates between alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhosis patients and detection bias toward post-hepatic cirrhosis. The synergistic effect of alcohol on viral hepatitis may in part explain excess cirrhosis deaths among Japanese men.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Specifying the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive loss: the effects of frequency of consumption and psychological distress.

Previous research has found a relationship between increased quantity of alcohol usually consumed per drinking occasion and decreased sober cognitive performance. It has been suggested that the effects of quantity of alcohol consumed may be conditional upon the frequency of alcohol use and that decreased performance in social drinkers may be a consequence of psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression). An analysis of data from a representative sample of employed men and women in metropolitan Detroit indicates that the relation between quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion and abstraction performance is conditional upon the frequency of alcohol use but that the relationship cannot be accounted for by psychological distress.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Concurrent and simultaneous use of alcohol with cocaine: results of national survey.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of the concurrent and simultaneous use of alcohol and cocaine in the general population and to examine differences in these rates between important sociodemographic subgroups. The results indicated that a sizable proportion of Americans were engaged in both substance use patterns. The population estimate for simultaneous use of both substances (i.e., simultaneously or on the same occasion) was approximately 4 million for the month preceding the interview, rising to approximately 9 million when the past year timeframe was considered. Corresponding figures for the concurrent use of alcohol and cocaine (i.e., use of both substances during the same time period) were approximately 5 million during the past month and 12 million during the past year. The extent of each substance use practice varied as a function of sociodemographic factors. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the need for age-sex-ethnic-specific prevention strategies. The need for future analytic epidemiologic research to determine the precise relationship between dose, frequency and duration of concurrent and simultaneous use and each adverse consequence is emphasized. The need for longitudinal research in the general population is also highlighted.

Adolescent↗