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PubMed1982

A vagally mediated histaminergic component of food-related drinking in the rat.

Histamine elicited drinking in a dose-related manner typically within 5 min after subcutaneous injection in male albino rats. Threshold for increased drinking was 1.25 mg/kg, and 2.5 mg/kg elicited half of the maximal drinking response that followed 20 mg/kg. Histamine was not differentially potent for drinking in the day or night phase of the diurnal cycle. Bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, with the hepatic branch left intact, severely attenuated drinking in response to systemic histamine: Vagotomized rats drank later and less than did normal rats after doses of histamine between 1.25 and 40 mg/kg. This attenuation was attributed to the destruction of vagal afferent fibers because histamine-elicited drinking was not affected by blockade of vagal efferents with the peripheral anticholinergic atropine methyl nitrate. Drugs antagonistic to peripheral H2 histamine receptors specifically inhibited drinking in response to histamine: Intraperitoneal cimetidine or metiamide delayed and decreased drinking after sc histamine and temporarily decreased drinking after hypovolemia produced by sc polyethylene glycol, but these H2 antagonists failed to inhibit drinking after water deprivation, cellular dehydration, or isoproterenol. Finally, cimetidine or metiamide inhibited drinking in temporal association with a meal of liquid or solid food without decreasing food intake. These results constitute the first evidence for a peripheral histaminergic determinant of food-related drinking in the rat.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1995

The risk of harm to oneself from drinking, Canada 1989.

In a national sample of 11,634 Canadians aged 15 years and above, risk curves for harm to six life-areas from one's own drinking and for assault by another drinker rose steadily with the respondent's volume of alcohol consumption. While drinking five or more drinks on an occasion at least once a month substantially raised the risk at a given volume of drinking, the risk rose with volume even among those not regularly drinking five or more drinks. These relationships remained in logistic regressions which controlled for gender, age and educational level. Younger respondents, those without higher education and men reported more harm for a given level of their own drinking although differences by gender disappeared above one-third of one drink per day. Three sets of guidelines for low-risk drinking--two from Canada, and one generally used in Britain--were compared in terms of the proportions of respondents reporting harm from their own drinking among those who had kept within the guideline in the previous 7 days' drinking. More restrictiveness in the guidelines was associated with substantial reductions in reported drinking-related harm.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Gender differences in alcohol consumption and adverse drinking consequences: cross-cultural patterns.

AIMS: To examine the consistency and/or variability of gender differences in drinking behavior cross-culturally. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Women's and men's responses in 16 general population surveys from 10 countries, analyzed by members of the International Research Group on Gender and Alcohol. MEASUREMENTS: Comparable measures of drinking, versus abstention, typical drinking frequencies and quantities, heavy episodic drinking, intoxication, morning drinking, and alcohol-related family and occupational problems. FINDINGS: Women and men differed little in the probability of currently drinking versus abstaining, but men consistently exceeded women in typical drinking frequencies and quantities and in rates of heavy drinking episodes and adverse drinking consequences, while women were consistently more likely than men to be life-time abstainers. In older age groups, both men and women drank smaller quantities of alcohol and were more likely to stop drinking altogether, but drinking frequencies did not change consistently with age. CONCLUSIONS: A theoretical synthesis proposes that gender roles may amplify biological differences in reactions to alcohol, and that gender differences in drinking behavior may be modified by macrosocial factors that modify gender role contrasts.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of alcohol drinking in a population of young social drinkers: a comparison of questionnaire and diary measures.

Studies of alcohol use often depend on self-reported alcohol intake measured by quantity/frequency questionnaires. Previous research has shown that alcohol consumption may be underestimated by this type of retrospective questionnaire. The primary aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of an Alcohol Use Questionnaire (AUQ) with a 4-week diary account. A further aim was to explore patterns of drinking in young social drinkers, with particular attention to binge drinking, which has been suggested as a factor in increasing the risk of alcohol dependency. University students completed the AUQ in the laboratory. They were then asked to keep a record of their alcohol, nicotine and caffeine consumption over a 4-week period (diary). The questionnaire and the diaries were compared on factors of alcohol intake (units per week) and patterns of drinking behaviour (speed of drinking, number of times being drunk and percentage of times getting drunk when drinking). The two measures (AUQ and diary) were highly correlated on alcohol consumption and the other questions relating to drinking behaviour. However, differences were found between the two measures on alcohol intake, speed of drinking (drinks per hour) and number of times being drunk. Alcohol consumption was underestimated by approximately 12% on the questionnaire, and, when the accuracy of estimation of drinking habits was examined, it was found that high drinkers tended to underestimate their drinking behaviour, whereas lower drinkers tended to overestimate. The results suggest that the AUQ can be used with a reasonable degree of confidence, bearing in mind the tendency for high drinkers to underestimate consumption and drinking behaviour. Relationships between 'binge scores', beverage specificity and alcohol consumption support the idea that the criteria for binge drinkers should be based on patterns of drinking rather than alcohol consumption.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Abstaining for foetal health: the fiction that even light drinking is dangerous.

There is a strong ideological and political movement in the USA to convince pregnant women not to drink any alcohol. An examination of the research literature on the results of drinking during pregnancy does not provide any evidence that light drinking is harmful to the foetus. The chief defects in the research that make conclusions about the effects of 'moderate' or 'light' drinking invalid are the ways in which drinking patterns are categorized: a) usually the categories used are 'average per day', the different effects of binging and light drinking being thus confused; b) often the heaviest drinking category is described as 'two or more drinks a day', sometimes even 'one or more'. Obviously, one cannot tell whether any instances of foetal damage occurring in that group came from women who drank only two drinks each day, which would be light drinking, or from those who drank ten drinks each day since 'ten drinks a day' is part of the category 'two or more'.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2006

Alcohol drinking pattern and subjective health in a population-based study.

AIMS: Some patterns of alcohol consumption (e.g. binge drinking, drinking outside of meals) have been associated with detrimental effects on health outcomes. Subjective health provides a global assessment of health status and is a strong predictor of total mortality; however, little is known about its relationship with alcohol drinking pattern. The association between several drinking patterns (i.e. drinking intensity and frequency, frequency of intoxication, drinking outside of meals, and beverage type) and subjective health was examined in a random sample of 3586 women and men. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: Subjective health was assessed using the physical and mental health component summaries of the Short Form-36 health survey questionnaire. Alcohol consumption refers to the 30 days before the interview. Analysis of covariance compared gender-specific mean scores across alcohol drinking patterns. FINDINGS: Overall, non-current drinkers reported poorer physical and mental health than life-time abstainers and current drinkers, while no consistent differences were found between life-time abstainers and current drinkers. In female current drinkers, daily drinking, beer and mixed beverage consumption were associated with better mental health. In male current drinkers, moderate alcohol consumption (2-2.9 drinks per day), wine and mixed beverage consumption were associated with better physical health. Intoxication and liquor consumption were associated with poorer mental health in women and poorer physical health in men. No consistent associations were found for drinking outside meals. CONCLUSIONS: Aspects of drinking pattern may affect subjective health differentially in women and men. Overall, intoxication and liquor drinking are associated with poorer self-perceived health status than regular, moderate consumption of other alcoholic beverages.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The effect of drinking intensity and frequency on serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels in outpatient alcoholics.

Whereas heavy alcohol consumption is known to elevate serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels, the contribution of drinking pattern to these effects is not completely understood. We present data on 423 men and 146 women evaluated 1 year after treatment in a large-scale alcoholism treatment study (Project MATCH). Relationships between drinking frequency (number of days drinking), intensity (drinks per drinking day), and blood levels of CDT and GGT were analyzed by using response surface regression models and thin-plate spline-smoothing techniques. Both models indicated differences between CDT- and GGT-drinking pattern relationships in men and, also, a difference between men and women in CDT drinking-pattern relationships. For men, CDT levels appeared to respond primarily to frequency of drinking, whereas GGT was influenced primarily by drinking intensity. For women, both CDT and GGT were influenced more by drinks per drinking day (intensity) than by number of days drinking (frequency). The data confirm both the independent nature of these biological markers of alcohol consumption and gender differences in alcohol-induced CDT response reported previously.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The epidemiology of drinking among women of child-bearing age.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of drinking, binge drinking (4 or more drinks), and alcohol abuse and dependence and to identify predictors of heavier drinking among women of child-bearing age (18-44 years). METHODS: Subjects are part of a national multistage random sample from the 2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). RESULTS: Binge drinking, abuse, and dependence are higher in younger (<30 years) pregnant and nonpregnant women. Among pregnant women, binge drinking is highest among Whites; alcohol abuse and dependence rates are relatively low and similar in all racial/ethnic groups. Among nonpregnant women, Whites and mixed race women have the highest rates of binge drinking. Alcohol abuse and dependence are highest among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, followed by Native American/Alaska Native women. Women who are White, younger (21-29 years), single, or cohabiting and with a higher income (> 40,000 US dollars) are at a higher risk for heavier drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Drinking and heavier drinking remain at high levels among women of child-bearing age. Prevention efforts must be comprehensive and should target pregnant women who are drinking and those who could become pregnant and are drinking at high-risk levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Perception of sleep in recovering alcohol-dependent patients with insomnia: relationship with future drinking.

BACKGROUND: Subjective and objective measures of poor sleep in alcoholic insomniacs predict relapse to drinking. Nonalcoholic insomniacs underestimate their total sleep time (TST) and overestimate their sleep onset latency (SOL) and wake time after sleep onset (WASO) compared with polysomnography (PSG). This study evaluated 3 hypotheses: (1) subjective SOL would predict frequency of future drinking; (2) participants would overestimate SOL and WASO and underestimate TST; and (3) higher amounts of over- and underestimates of sleep at baseline would predict worse drinking outcomes prospectively. METHODS: Participants (N=18), mean age 44.6 years (+/-13.2), underwent an adaptation night and then 2 nights of PSG 3 weeks apart. They also provided morning estimates of SOL, WASO, TST, and sleep efficiency (SE). Following the baseline PSG, participants were followed over 12 weeks. A 2-way ANOVA (night x method of measuring sleep) compared results and regression analyses predicted drinking. Drinking outcomes were defined as number of days drinking (DD) and number of heavy-drinking days (HDD) during 2 consecutive 6-week follow-up periods. RESULTS: Most participants (72%) overestimated SOL by a mean of 21.3 (+/-36) minutes compared with PSG [F(1, 14)=7.1, p<0.03]. Unexpectedly, 89% underestimated WASO by a mean difference of 48.7 (+/-49) minutes [F(1, 14)=15.6, p<0.01]. Drinking during the first 6-week study period was predicted by both subjective estimates of WASO and their accuracy, whereas drinking during the second 6-week period was predicted by both subjective estimations of sleep and rapid eye movement sleep latency. CONCLUSION: Greater subjective accuracy of wakefulness at night provided by the patient predicted drinking during the study. Unlike nonalcoholic insomniacs, this alcoholic sample significantly underestimated WASO compared with PSG values. The predictive ability of sleep parameters depended on the selected measure of drinking outcomes and when outcomes were measured. Subjective sleep measures were better predictors of future drinking than corresponding PSG measures.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Progression of alcohol consumption across the drinking career in alcoholics and social drinkers.

OBJECTIVE: To document and compare the changes in alcohol intake over the drinking career in alcoholic (n = 273) and social (n = 152) drinkers and to relate the changes to age and to the prevalence of morning drinking. METHOD: Lifetime alcohol intake was assessed in face-to-face interviews by asking subjects to report drinking patterns during different "phases" of their drinking careers, beginning with the onset of regular drinking and continuing up to the present. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption began at higher quantities and higher frequencies in alcoholics (prealcoholics) and rapidly escalated within a few years to values well out of the range of moderation. The alcohol intake of social drinkers at the beginning phase was only about 70% that of alcoholics. In contrast to alcoholics, the alcohol intake of social drinkers remained relatively constant across subsequent drinking phases at about three to four drinks per drinking occasion, with only a slight increase in the frequency of drinking over sequential drinking phases. The relationship of total alcohol consumption to age in alcoholics was described best by a curvilinear function, with alcohol consumption peaking near age 40. CONCLUSIONS: Gender differences in consumption were decreased with adjustment for body water content. The higher initial alcohol intakes in alcoholics may reflect a lower sensitivity to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, or, alternatively, a greater ability of alcoholics to develop tolerance. The high prevalence of morning drinking in alcoholics compared to social drinkers reinforces the usefulness of morning drinking as a diagnostic tool, particularly for female alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Workplace drinking climate, stress, and problem indicators: assessing the influence of teamwork (group cohesion).

OBJECTIVE: While job-related alcohol use may be associated with problems for drinkers, less is known about the effects of employee drinking on co-workers. We hypothesized that either exposure to co-worker drinking or the presence of a drinking climate would positively correlate with reports of stress and other problems. Following previous research, we also predicted that work group cohesion (or team orientation) would buffer against such problems. METHOD: Two random samples of municipal employees (Ns = 909 and 1,068) completed anonymous surveys. These assessed individual drinking, co-worker drinking, task-oriented group cohesion, the direct reports of negative consequences due to co-worker substance use, and five problem indicators: job stress, job withdrawal, health problems, and performance (work accidents and absences). RESULTS: In each sample, drinking climate correlated with stress and withdrawal more so than did reports of individual drinking. Drinking climate and individual job stress were negatively associated with cohesion. ANCOVA results indicated that drinking climate combined with low cohesion resulted in increased vulnerability for all five problems. Moreover, cohesion appeared to attenuate the negative impact of exposure to drinking norms. CONCLUSIONS: As many as 40% of employees report at least one negative consequence associated with co-worker substance use (alcohol and drugs). Because teamwork may buffer negative effects of drinking climate on co-workers, workplace prevention efforts might be enhanced through a focus on the social environment. These efforts would include team-building and discussions of the impact of co-worker drinking on employee productivity.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Alcohol availability and workplace drinking: mixed method analyses.

OBJECTIVE: This article investigates the relationship between subjective social and physical availability of alcohol at work and work-related drinking. METHOD: We integrated survey and ethnographic methods to determine if and why physical and social availability of alcohol predicted work-related drinking in a manufacturing plant with approximately 6,000 employees. Survey data were obtained from in-home interviews with 984 randomly selected workers. Respondents were asked about their overall and work-related drinking, their perceptions of the ease of obtaining or consuming alcohol in the plant, the work-related drinking of others and their approval/disapproval of work-related drinking by co-workers. Ethnographic data were obtained from 3 years of periodic onsite observations and semistructured interviews with key informants to investigate factors underlying alcohol availability and drinking at work. RESULTS: Structural equations modeling of the survey data revealed that subjective social availability of alcohol at work, and particularly perceived drinking by friends and co-workers, was the strongest predictor of work-related drinking. Typical frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption and heavy drinking were predictive also. Subjective physical availability of alcohol was not significantly related to drinking at or before work. Findings from the ethnographic analyses explained survey findings and described characteristics of the work culture that served to encourage and support alcohol availability and drinking. CONCLUSIONS: These results are the first to show significant relationships between alcohol availability and drinking at work, to explain dynamics of that relationship and to demonstrate the potential risks of using only quantitative or only qualitative findings as the basis for prevention.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2000

Social control and workplace drinking norms: a comparison of two organizational cultures.

OBJECTIVE: This article reports on an investigation of the relationship of social control mechanisms at work to drinking practices of 10,000 salaried and hourly employees working in the same U.S. industry, with the same union, but in two different work environments. One work environment reflected an organizational culture that is traditional to U.S. management; the other was based on a nontraditional Japanese transplant model. METHOD: The research team used a combination of methods including in-home surveys (N = 1,723; 1,378 men) and ethnography (110 semistructured interviews and 200 hours of direct observation inside the plants). Respondents were asked about general and work-related drinking, perceptions of drinking norms, strengths or weaknesses of alcohol-related policies and procedures for policy enforcement. RESULTS: Although overall consumption rates in both populations were similar, significant differences between the two samples existed regarding work-related drinking. The Traditional (i.e., U.S.) model was associated with more permissive norms regarding drinking before or during work shifts (including breaks) and higher workplace drinking rates than the Transplant (i.e., Japanese) model. Analyses revealed that alcohol policies, and the extent to which policies are actually enforced, predicted drinking norms and alcohol availability at work. Drinking norms, in turn, predicted work-related drinking and accounted for differences in alcohol consumption between the two worksites. Analyses of ethnographic data provided descriptive understandings of aspects of the two organizational cultures that disabled mechanisms for social control of drinking in one setting and enabled those mechanisms in the other. CONCLUSIONS: These understandings of how social control mechanisms predict work-related drinking practices provide guidelines for alcohol problem prevention in a specific kind of occupational environment. However, our identification of aspects of social control that successfully regulate workplace drinking is applicable to other kinds of occupational settings as well.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Short-term course of drinking in an untreated sample of at-risk drinkers.

OBJECTIVE: We know little about the short-term course of drinking, particularly the stability or instability of at-risk drinking in untreated drinkers. Because few at-risk drinkers obtain help for their drinking, it is important to understand the short-term fluctuations between at-risk drinking and full-fledged alcohol use disorders, as well as remission of at-risk drinking. METHOD: We used four waves of data (each 6 months apart) from a probability community sample of 733 at-risk drinkers in six states in the southern United States to determine variation in abstinence, drinking patterns and alcohol use disorders over a 2-year period. For this analysis, we excluded those who reported receiving services for drinking during the 2-year study period (retrospectively at baseline), leaving a sample size of 664 (444 male); 479 (306 male) completed all four interviews. RESULTS: Although the majority (88%) of the sample was nonabstinent throughout the study, we found significant decreases in average number of drinks per drinking day and recent (past 6 months) alcohol disorders, and an increase in 6-month abstinence. Almost 30% of those with no recent alcohol disorder at baseline (n = 280) later met diagnostic criteria in at least one interview. Of those with a recent alcohol disorder at baseline (n = 199), one third met criteria in at least two subsequent interviews. CONCLUSIONS: There is some evidence for short-term progression from at-risk drinking to alcohol disorder. However, there is stronger evidence for declining problems and a fluctuation in and out of recovery and relapse, which may reflect an effort to maintain controlled drinking. Understanding this short-term course is important for primary and secondary prevention efforts and for screening of at-risk drinking in primary care and in the workplace.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Identifying patterns of adolescent drinking: a tri-ethnic study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to identify common patterns of adolescent drinking in a tri-ethnic sample and to identify which patterns may be the most problematic in each ethnic group. METHOD: Students (N = 1,874, 60% female) in 9th through 12th grade (653 African Americans, 722 European Americans and 499 Mexican Americans), recruited from six high schools in a large metropolitan school district in the Southwest, completed questionnaires on their drinking practices, self-esteem and involvement in antisocial behaviors. RESULTS: Cluster analyses performed on 950 students identified eight common adolescent drinking patterns: Light, Parent, Family Occasion, Date, Moderate-Friend, Party, Outdoor and Heavy Multiple-Context drinkers. As predicted, Light, Parent and Family Occasion drinkers showed the highest levels of self-esteem and the lowest levels of drinking consequences, drinking reasons and antisocial behavior. Heavy Multiple-Context drinkers showed low self-esteem and high levels of antisocial behavior, drinking reasons and drinking consequences. Party and Date drinkers generally fell between these two groups on the drinking and adjustment variables, with the exception that Date drinkers were as likely to engage in antisocial behaviors as were drinkers in the Heavy Multiple-Context group. Among all of the drinking groups, Outdoor drinkers showed the highest levels of self-esteem, high levels of antisocial behavior and moderate levels of drinking reasons and consequences. Follow-up analyses showed that the differences between the groups on adjustment and consequences were not simply a function of the frequency and quantity of consumption. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, taken together, help identify patterns of normative, problem and at-risk drinking, which should be useful in the assessment of adolescent drinking and in future research on the consequences of adolescent alcohol use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Personal goals as predictors of college student drinking motives, alcohol use and related problems.

OBJECTIVE: Although there has been extensive research examining drinking motives, relatively little of that research has focused on those factors that might underlie drinking motives. The present study examines whether nonalcohol-related motives (personal goals) can predict drinking motives, self-reported drinking and alcohol-related problems in a college student sample. METHOD: For an experiment on "attitudes and drinking," 290 volunteer undergraduate students (169 women and 121 men) completed measures of daily goal functioning (Personal Projects Analysis), drinking motives (Drinking Motives Questionnaire), frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed and alcohol-related problems (Drinkers Inventory of Consequences). RESULTS: Using path analysis, it was found that nonalcohol-related goals serve as significant distal predictors of alcohol-related problems, with their effects almost entirely mediated by drinking motives and/or drinking level. Perceptions of life goals involving goal self-efficacy, meaningfulness and social support appear to be significant protective factors, and goal-related distress is a significant risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends previous research by focusing on a more idiographic, personally meaningful manifestation of motivation through the evaluation of nonalcohol-related personal goals. The daily pursuits of college students were shown to be predictive of drinking and drinking-related problems, especially as mediated through drinking motives. The findings suggest that several goal mechanisms could be considered for their potential role in improving interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Gender comparison of alcohol exposure on drinking occasions.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the influence of gender, age, drinking style and other selected demographic variables on the rate of alcohol beverage consumption on drinking days. The data were used to predict possible differences in ethanol exposure levels (peak blood alcohol concentration [BAC]) among the subgroups examined. METHOD: A representative sample (N = 2,627) of the U.S. adult population was surveyed using computer-assisted telephone interviewing to assess alcohol use (past 12 months) in quantity, frequency and type of beverage, as well as the time (minutes) usually required to consume the typical quantity of alcohol on drinking days. RESULTS: Of the 1,833 current drinkers (1,028 men, 805 women), women reported consuming a mean of 2.2 standard drinks (1 drink = 12 g ethanol) on typical drinking occasions (days); men reported consuming a mean of 3.2. The duration of the drinking episode was similar for women (122 minutes) and men (126 minutes). The hourly rate of drink consumption was thus lower for women (approximately 1.1 drinks/hour) than for men (approximately 1.6 drinks/hour). For both men and women, there was an age-related increase in the frequency of drinking but a decrease with age in predicted peak BACs and in the alcohol intake per drinking episode. Peak BACs achieved during typical drinking episodes were estimated to be quite similar for men (0.037) and for women (0.036) when prediction equations were based on equal rates of alcohol elimination in both genders. The estimated peak BACs were lower in women than in men when the prediction equation assumed a higher rate of ethanol elimination in women. CONCLUSIONS: Information on the rate of alcohol beverage consumption on drinking days facilitates prediction of BACs typically experienced in men and women of different demographic group memberships. The exposure values obtained will depend upon as yet unsettled norms for ethanol elimination rates in men and women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Heavy and nonheavy drinking occasions, all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and hospitalizations: a follow-up study in a population with a low consumption level.

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.

Adult↗