Alcohol consumption declining, according to results of new studyAugust 06, 2008Overall alcohol use-particularly consumption of beer-is declining in the US, according to a new study published in the August 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Researchers examined 50 years of data and found several changes in alcohol intake but no change in alcohol use disorders. Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while hard liquor use has remained fairly constant. More people now report that they are non-drinkers. People born later in the 20th century drink more moderately than older people. As we age, our individual alcohol consumption goes down. Researchers examined 8,000 records of the Framingham Heart Study, the longest population-based study of American adults ever conducted, to measure alcohol consumption over 50 years. Because the Framingham study recruited subjects that were born before 1900 until 1959, it gives insights into behavior and medical histories through most of the 20th Century. Subjects, both from the original cohort and from the children of the original cohort, have been interviewed every 4 years, from 1948 until 2003. Since each individual was followed directly, a set of histories of lifetime alcohol use could be captured. While heavy alcohol use is associated with numerous bad outcomes, moderate consumption has been linked to improved cardiovascular health and to improved morbidity and mortality in the elderly. This study shows that, on the whole, the American population is moving in a healthier direction. Despite more favorable patterns of drinking, risk of alcohol dependence did not show a decrease. The proportion of people who developed alcohol-related disorders, such as alcoholic cardiomyopathy or alcoholic cirrhosis remained nearly constant across all age groups.
Writing in the article, Yuqing Zhang, DSc, Boston University School of Medicine, and his co-investigators state, "The findings in this study may be considered encouraging in many ways: the average amount of alcohol has decreased in more recently born cohorts, the percentage of the population exhibiting 'moderate' alcohol intake has been increasing steadily, and the percentage reporting 'heavy' drinking has decreased over time-While these data suggest the development of more favorable patterns of alcohol consumption over the latter part of the 20th century, that also show that, at the same time, the cumulative incidence of alcohol use disorders has not shown a decrease, and continuing efforts at preventing them are warranted." Elsevier Health Sciences | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Alcohol Consumption Current Events and Alcohol Consumption News Articles Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Study suggests attending religious services sharply cuts risk of death A study published by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, strongly suggests that regular attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by approximately 20 percent. Report finds extensive use of illicit alcohol The consumption of illicit or noncommercial alcohol is widespread in many countries worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease, according to a new report released today by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP). Bottoms up: Individualists more likely to be problem drinkers What makes residents of certain states or countries more likely to consume more alcohol? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, high levels of individualism lead to more problem drinking. Gene variations alter risk of esophageal cancer Variations in a common gene pathway may affect esophageal cancer risk, a dangerous and rapidly increasing type of cancer, according to research by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Resveratrol prevents fat accumulation in livers of 'alcoholic' mice The accumulation of fat in the liver as a result of chronic alcohol consumption could be prevented by consuming resveratrol, according to a new study with mice. Drinking alcohol associated with smaller brain volume The more alcohol an individual drinks, the smaller his or her total brain volume, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Red wine may lower lung cancer risk Moderate consumption of red wine may decrease the risk of lung cancer in men, according to a report in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention¸ a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. News from Cancer: Disparities in head and neck cancer patients A new analysis finds considerable disparities in survival related to race and socio-economic status among patients with head and neck cancer. Drinking alcohol before 15 years of age is risky for later alcohol problems It may seem like a minor point, but it matters when someone takes their first drink of alcohol relative to later development of alcohol problems. A new study of the relationship between age at first drink (AFD) and the risk of developing alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) during adulthood has found that the risk is greatest when AFD occurs before the age of 15. More Alcohol Consumption Current Events and Alcohol Consumption News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||