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Two perspectives guide examinations of alcohol-related injury; studies of drinking behaviors which characterize the activities in which drinkers participate, and studies of drinking patterns which characterize individuals' likelihoods of intoxication. This paper presents a study of self-reported drinking and driving using both perspectives. A theoretical model of the relationships of drinking patterns and drinking behaviors to drinking and driving is derived. This model is used as the basis for analyses of self-reports of driving after drinking and driving while intoxicated. Using cross-sectional data from a study of alcohol-related injury in the United States, these self-reports were related to measures of respondent socio-demographics, drinking patterns, beverage preferences and routine activities. The results showed: (1) that the drinking pattern measures were significantly related to likelihoods of drinking and driving; (2) these measures were superior to alternate measures of drinking patterns in their ability to explain drinking and driving; (3) the measures of beverage preferences were unrelated to either measure of drinking and driving; and (4) that the utilization of certain venues for drinking (bars and restaurants) was significantly related to both measures of drinking and driving. It is concluded that observed socio-demographic differences in drinking and driving (e.g. related to ethnicity and marital status) are due to related differences in drinking patterns and drinking behaviors.
OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the extent to which drinking in specific locations and heavy drinking mediated the effects of overall alcohol use on driving after drinking (DD) and riding with drinking drivers (RWDD) among young people. Additionally, this study examined the relationships among ethnicity, gender, drinking in specific locations, and DD and RWDD. METHOD: Using random-digit dialing procedures, participants were recruited to take part in a telephone survey in California, United States of America. Participants were 1,534 youth, ages 15-20 years (mean age = 17.6). Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans were over-sampled to allow cross-group comparisons. Along with background characteristics, overall alcohol use, heavy drinking, drinking in specific locations, DD, and RWDD were measured. RESULTS: Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that European Americans, males, older adolescents, those who have a driver license, and those who drive more often were more likely to report drinking alcohol in the past year. Heavy episodic drinking and drinking in cars increased both DD and RWDD. Drinking in restaurants also increased DD. The effects of overall alcohol consumption on DD were entirely mediated through heavy episodic drinking and drinking in restaurants and cars. Alcohol consumption had both direct and indirect effects on RWDD. With the exception of being Latino and frequency of driving, the effects of the background variables on RWDD were all entirely mediated through alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy drinking and drinking in specific locations appeared to be important unique predictors of both DD and RWDD. In light of the relationship between drinking in restaurants and in cars, and DD, prevention programs and policies aimed at underage drinking should focus on developing more effective responsible beverage service programs, increasing compliance with laws limiting alcohol sales to youth, and enforcing graduated driver licensing and zero tolerance laws.
Women drinkers are on the increase, in recent 20 years, according to greater participation of women in public affairs and the change of life style and so on. So, the consciousness or attitude of drinking or alcoholic beverages among women have been changed by the new customs of drinking. In this paper the relationship between women drinking behavior and their consciousness of drinking or life events, was investigated statistically using the data of sending questionnaires concerning about drinking behavior, consciousness and drinking history in Kusatsu city. The subject of investigation was 4,105 women who were aged 30 years and more, and 1,650 answers were available. Then the following findings were obtained; 1) The pattern of consumption of alcoholic beverages changed fairly from 1960, but in recent years, it seems to keep balance and yearly consumption of pure alcohol per adult has leveled off about 8 l. 2) Distribution of PAC (Pure Alcohol Consumption per year) of women exceeding the limit of a liter per year was against the logarithmic normal curve. The median value of PAC of women in Kusatsu was estimated about 0.55 l, and it seemed to be smaller than that of men. QFI (Quantity-Frequency Index) of women was large among those who were full-time workers being in their thirties and forties, and had mother of regular drinker who drank once and more a week. 3) The estimated ratio of excessive drinkers among women by adopting Ledermann's model was larger than the practical ratio. For estimating the women excessive drinkers accurately, it is necessary to use exact P.A.C. of women. 4) The 20 opinions concerning with drinking or alcoholic beverages were grouped into four basic consciousness by using the method of factor analysis. The 1st was 'necessity or values' of drinking, the 2nd was 'method or manner' for taking the pleasure of drinking and of correct drinking, the 3rd was 'regulation' of alcoholic slot machine, minor drinking or drunk and the 4th was 'harmfulness' of alcohol. The 'necessity' promoted drinking and the 'method' also promoted correct drinking but controlled QFI. The 'regulation' was common to all of women and the 'harmfulness' controlled drinking. 5) The life events, for women, such as entrance into a school of higher grade, employment, social activities, divorce, reemployment promoted drinking of women. And retirement, child birth, serious illness controlled drinking of women. Marriage promoted drinking when her husband was regular drinker or when she was infrequent or light drinker before marriage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
This paper addresses the phenomenon of 'solitary drinking', considering whether Anglo, African American and Mexican American male regular drinkers differ in the propensity to drink in solitary contexts and whether such differences may help to explain observed ethnic variation in patterns of heavy drinking. Further, the paper considers whether apparent relationships between solitary drinking and drinking patterns are explained by individual personality characteristics such as social isolation and/or by endorsement of 'escape drinking' motives. Data were analysed from a random community sample of 481 adult male regular drinkers in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Contingency table and logistic regression analyses indicated that initially observed ethnic differences in high quantity and high maximum drinking were largely eliminated by controls for education, escape motives and solitary drinking. Ethnic variation in the role of solitary drinking was suggested as well, with solitary drinking more strongly related to high quantity consumption, in particular, among African Americans than among Mexican Americans. The nature of the observed interactions suggests that fundamental differences between Anglos and African Americans in the roles of solitary drinking and escape drinking motives may underlie seemingly similar frequent, lower quantity drinking patterns in these groups that appear more frequently than among Mexican American males.
BACKGROUND: An association between alcohol consumption and injury is clearly established from volume of drinking, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and consumption before injury. Little is known, however, about how their interaction raises risk of injury and what combination of factors carries the highest risk. This study explores which of 11 specified groups of drinkers (a) are at high risk and (b) contribute most to alcohol-attributable injuries. METHODS: In all, 8,736 patients, of whom 5,077 were injured, admitted to the surgical ward of the emergency department of Lausanne University Hospital between January 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, were screened for alcohol use. Eleven groups were constructed on the basis of usual patterns of intake and preattendance drinking. Odds ratios (ORs) comparing injured and noninjured were derived, and alcohol-attributable fractions of injuries were calculated from ORs and prevalence of exposure groups. RESULTS: Risk of injury increased with volume of drinking, HED, and preattendance drinking. For both sexes, the highest risk was associated with low intake, HED, and 4 (women), 5 (men), or more drinks before injury. At the same level of preattendance drinking, high-volume drinkers were at lower risk than low-volume drinkers. In women, the group of low-risk non-HED drinkers taking fewer than 4 drinks suffered 47.5% of the alcohol-attributable injuries in contrast to only 20.4% for men. Low-volume male drinkers with HED had more alcohol-attributable injuries than that of low-volume female drinkers with HED (46.9% vs 23.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Although all groups of drinkers are at increased risk of alcohol-related injury, those who usually drink little but on occasion heavily are at particular risk. The lower risk of chronic heavy drinkers may be due to higher tolerance of alcohol. Prevention should thus target heavy-drinking occasions. Low-volume drinking women without HED and with only little preattendance drinking experienced a high proportion of injuries; such women would be well advised to drink very little or to take other special precautions in risky circumstances.
OBJECTIVE: Previous studies demonstrated that a non-carbonated blackcurrant juice drink with added calcium produced little erosion of enamel in vitro and in situ by comparison with other low pH fruit drinks. The aim of this study is to evaluate the erosive effects in situ of an experimental formulation carbonated drink with added calcium, compared to a conventional carbonated drink over a 20 day period using a similar design as in previous studies. METHOD: The study was a single centre, single blind, randomised placebo controlled three cell crossover design involving 15 volunteers. The test drinks were an experimental carbonated ready-to-drink (RTD) blackcurrant drink, a conventional carbonated RTD orange drink and water. Two enamel samples were retained in situ, in the midline of the hard palate on an upper removable acrylic appliance. Drinks were 250 ml volumes consumed four times per day during 20 working days. Measurements of enamel loss were made on enamel samples after days 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 by profilometry. RESULTS: The experimental carbonated blackcurrant drink caused significantly less enamel loss than the conventional carbonated orange drink at all time points measured, but was not significantly different from water at days 2, 5 and 20. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that it is possible to modify carbonated soft drinks in a manner similarly shown with non-carbonated soft drinks, to minimise dental erosion.
This study examines relationships between drinking problems and the frequency of drinking in eight types of places within a sample of convicted drinking drivers. Drinking problems were measured by two instruments, the Mortimer-Filkins Questionnaire (MFQ) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) Core Questionnaire. Data were collected from convicted drinking drivers who were ordered by the court to attend the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP). Both the MFQ and the AUDIT were found to be more strongly related to the frequency of drinking in moving automobiles than to the frequency of drinking in any other type of place. This suggests that drinking drivers with severe drinking problems are more likely to drink in moving automobiles than are those with less severe problems. The strong linkage between severe alcohol problems and drinking in automobiles has important implications with respect to highway safety.
This article presents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2001 Research Society on Alcoholism Meeting in Montreal, Canada. The cochairs were Paul J. Gruenewald and Marcia Russell. The focus of the symposium was on mathematical, methodological, and statistical approaches to the assessment of drinking patterns from short (daily and monthly) to very long periods (the life course) of time. The research presented in the symposium argues that (1) model-based approaches to analyzing drinking patterns can provide comprehensive bases for assessing drinking risks, (2) data acquisition technologies that track daily drinking over long periods of time can illuminate unique features of drinking associated with abuse and dependence, and (3) retrospective data can be used to assess life-course trajectories of drinking associated with chronic problem outcomes. Each of the presentations points toward an integrated approach to understanding acute and chronic risks related to alcohol use. The presentations were (1) Mathematical models of current drinking, by Paul J. Gruenewald and Fred Johnson; (2) Mathematical models of drinking problems, by John Light and Rob Lipton; (3) Patterns of drinking ascertained from daily data aggregated across 24 months, by John Searles; and (4) Cognitive lifetime drinking histories and natural histories of drinking, by Marcia Russell, Paul J. Gruenewald, Fred Johnson, Maurizio Trevisan, Jo Freudenheim, Paola Muti, Ann Marie Carosella, and Thomas H. Nochajski.
This study explored the association between alienating job conditions and problem drinking within the context of occupational status and workplace drinking subculture. From December 1994 to March 1995, a questionnaire survey was implemented in the manufactory sector in southern Taiwan. Within the questionnaire, any perceived self-estrangement, powerlessness and social isolation that the individual experienced in his work were measured as the alienating job conditions, and any negative physical, psychological and social consequences the individual experienced during the previous month were considered as affecting problem drinking. Of the 1117 subjects, 668 (61.8%) reported imbibing one or more drinks during the preceding month; the average daily alcohol consumption being 0.2+/-0.9 drinks. In addition, 188 (16.8%) subjects reported having experienced drinking-related problems in the preceding month. Workers with low occupational status were more likely to become problem drinkers when they felt comparatively self-estranged in their work. Further, those with a family history including any habitual drinker or those under more encouraging workplace drinking subculture were more likely to have drinking-related problems. For the prevention of problem-related drinking behavior, the workplace should be considered as the focus of our future intervention and management program.
BACKGROUND: The existence of a U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality complicates the calculation and interpretation of mortality attributable to alcohol consumption. METHODS: We used the relationships between all-cause mortality and alcohol consumption from four British cohort studies. For each study we defined a 'sensible drinking level' asthe level with lowest observed mortality. We estimated the fractions of deaths that were attributable to (1) any drinking (compared with not drinking), (2) drinking more than the 'sensible level', and (3) drinking less than the 'sensible level'. RESULTS: Data from the Doctors' study suggest that on balance 22.3 per cent of deaths are prevented by alcohol consumption, yet the fractions of deaths attributable to drinking more than 8-14 units per week and less than 8-14 units per week are nearly equal (6.5 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively). In a sensitivity analysis we show that it is possible for alcohol consumption to prevent deaths overall yet for more deaths to be attributable to drinking above a sensible level than are attributable to drinking below the sensible level. CONCLUSIONS: The balance of deaths attributable to or prevented by alcohol consumption provides no information about the deaths attributable to drinking above or below sensible levels. Using all-cause data in this way is likely to exaggerate the protective effect of alcohol consumption, so our results are only illustrative.
AIMS: To quantify mortality attributable to any alcohol consumption, and mortality attributable to consumption above different levels. DESIGN: We related all-cause mortality to alcohol consumption using cause-specific mortality models from a systematic review and using the distribution of alcohol consumption and causes of death by age and sex in England and Wales in 1997. We estimated the deaths and person-years of life lost to age 65 that were attributable: to any drinking; to drinking above the nadir (the level of alcohol consumption carrying the lowest risk); and to drinking more than the British Royal Colleges' recommended limits of 21 units/week in men and 14 units/week in women. FINDINGS: Ischaemic heart disease deaths prevented by alcohol consumption (11 276 in men, 4050 in women) roughly balanced other deaths attributable to alcohol consumption (9246 in men, 4216 in women). Overall, 0.8% of all deaths in men were prevented by alcohol consumption (95% confidence interval, 0.2% to 1.3%), while 0.1% of all deaths in women were attributable to alcohol consumption (95% confidence interval, - 0.3% to 0.4%); 2.1% (1.9-2.3%) of all deaths in men and 0.8% (0.6-1.0%) of all deaths in women were attributable to drinking more than the recommended limits, while 2.8% and 1.2% of deaths, respectively, were attributable to drinking above the nadir. Of all person-years of life lost to age 65, 10.3% in men and 5.6% in women were attributable to any drinking; 8.5% and 4.0% were attributable to drinking above the recommended limits; and 12.6% and 6.0% were attributable to drinking above the nadir. CONCLUSIONS: Although overall mortality risks and benefits of alcohol consumption appear roughly equal, drinking above recommended limits remains responsible for many deaths and a large loss of person-years of life.
Although the benefits and risks associated with moderate drinking have gained increasing attention in recent years from both researchers and the general public, no universal definition of moderate drinking exists. Most currently used definitions are based on a certain number of drinks consumed in a specific time period. Defining a "drink," however, also is difficult because alcoholic beverages can differ substantially in their alcohol content, even within the same beverage category (e.g., beer, wine, or distilled spirits). Because international differences in drink definitions also exist, comparing studies from different countries is difficult. The development of a universal definition of moderate drinking is hampered further by variations in the way alcohol consumption levels and drinking patterns are being assessed (i.e., the survey methods and assessment modes used). Despite these problems, definitions of moderate drinking and drinking guidelines have been developed in the United States and other countries.
BACKGROUND: Empirically based estimates of the mean alcohol content of beer, wine and spirits drinks from a national sample of US drinkers are not currently available. METHODS: A sample of 310 drinkers from the 2000 National Alcohol Survey were re-contacted to participate in a telephone survey with specific questions about the drinks they consume. Subjects were instructed to prepare their usual drink of each beverage at home and to measure each alcoholic beverage and other ingredients with a provided beaker. Information on the brand or type of each beverage was used to specify the percentage of alcohol. RESULTS: The weighted mean alcohol content of respondents' drinks was 0.67 ounces overall, 0.56 ounces for beer, 0.66 ounces for wine and 0.89 ounces for spirits. Spirits and wine drink contents were particularly variable with many high-alcohol drinks observed. CONCLUSIONS: While the 0.6-ounce of alcohol drink standard appears to be a reasonable single standard, it cannot capture the substantial variation evident in this sample and it underestimates average wine and spirits ethanol content. Direct measurement or beverage-specific mean ethanol content estimates would improve the precision of survey alcohol assessment.
The differences between abstainers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers were examined in American Indians living in Los Angeles, California. Equal numbers of these three groups (total N = 155) were selected from four tribal groups: Siouan-speaking, Navaho, Five Civilized Tribes (of eastern Oklahoma origin) and indigenous California tribes. The relative predictive powers of sociostructural, cultural and psychological variables in accounting for current drinking levels were then assessed. The results indicated that, much as for non-Indian populations, heavy drinkers were more likely to have had heavy-drinking models in the family of origin, to be men and to score high on psychophysiological stress indices. Socioeconomic status and traditionalism were found to be weaker predictors of drinking level. Differences in drinking styles over individuals' lifetimes and between tribes were also studied. Ethnographic observations, case vignettes and statistical summaries of the sample by tribe and by drinking level showed that tribal origins, age and socioeconomic status influenced drinking style and attitudes toward alcohol, even if they did not predict the current drinking level of the subjects.
Heavy drinking is associated with significant health problems and increased risk for injury and death. Although several studies have investigated alcohol use among active duty and civilian populations, little is known about the alcohol use patterns of reserve personnel. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of binge drinking, driving after drinking, and riding in a vehicle with a driver who had consumed alcohol among 4,836 guardsmen and reservists who were taking part in basic military training (mean age = 21.3 years; 29.4% female). Forty-six percent reported one or more binge drinking episodes in the month before basic military training. Four percent drove after consuming five or more drinks, while 8.9% rode as a passenger with a driver who had been drinking heavily. Several demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates of risky drinking patterns were identified. Findings have potentially important implications for the health, safety, and military readiness of reserve personnel.
Two drinking motives scales, Negative Personal (NP) motives and Positive Social (PS) motives, derived from Mulford and Miller's Definitions of Alcohol Scales, and a Negative Family Models (NFM) scales designed to reflect family modeling of drinking-related problems were evaluated for internal consistency and association with college students' scores on a drinking-related Social Complications (SOCCOMP) scale. In both initial (n = 553) and cross-validation (n = 293) samples, all four scales demonstrated high internal consistency. Multiple regressions of NP, PS, and NFM scales, together with measures of quantity and frequency of drinking on SOCCOMP for both samples, yielded highly significant multiple R's, confirming the additive association of these measures with problem drinking outcomes. An unanticipated finding of positive associations between PS drinking motive and SOCCOMP is reported.
BACKGROUND: Specific neurophysiological profiles, such as reduced P300 amplitude or altered spectral power in the EEG, have been associated with a risk for alcoholism in several clinical populations. In certain rodent models, high versus low alcohol consumption is associated with similar neurophysiological differences. For example, alcohol-preferring (P) rats have increased spectral power and decreased P300 amplitudes compared with alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats. In the present study, the neurophysiological profiles of high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) and low-alcohol-drinking (LAD) rats were assessed (1) to determine if their electrophysiological profiles are similar to P and NP rats and (2) to examine the relationship of these neurophysiological indices to ethanol drinking. METHODS: Ethanol-naive HAD and LAD rats were implanted with cortical and amygdalar recording electrodes. Baseline EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs) then were assessed. Subsequently, all rats were trained to self-administer ethanol by using a sucrose-substitution procedure. RESULTS: Baseline EEG and ERP (i.e., pre-ethanol exposure) were assessed based on line (HAD versus LAD) and actual ethanol consumption (high drinkers versus low drinkers). At baseline, ethanol-naive HAD rats displayed significantly greater power in the cortical EEG and decreased amygdala N1 ERP amplitude compared with ethanol-naive LAD rats. Similar EEG and ERP profiles have been observed when P and NP rats are compared. No differences in P300 between lines were observed, but high-drinking rats, independent of line, had significantly decreased P300 amplitude in the amygdala compared with low-drinking rats. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest there are some similarities in EEG and ERP profiles of P and HAD rats compared with NP and LAD rats. Furthermore, the data suggest that decreased P300 amplitude in the amygdala is associated with increased limited access ethanol drinking.