The study of alcohol use by children ages 12 and younger has been very limited. This article summarizes information from U.S. national and statewide surveys on the prevalence of alcohol use among children in grades 6 and lower, data on health conditions ...
Because alcohol use typically is initiated during adolescence and young adulthood and may have long-term consequences, the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study annually assesses various measures of alcohol use among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students. ...
Research shows that multiple factors influence college drinking, from an individual’s genetic susceptibility to the positive and negative effects of alcohol, alcohol use during high school, campus norms related to drinking, expectations regarding ...
Although light-to-moderate drinking among women is associated with reduced risks of some cardiovascular problems, strokes, and weakening of bones, such levels of drinking also are associated with increased risks of breast cancer and liver problems, and ...
Alcohol consumption is differentially associated with social and health harms across U.S. ethnic groups. Native Americans, Hispanics, and Blacks are disadvantaged by alcohol-attributed harms compared with Whites and Asians. Ethnicities with higher rates ...
Heavy drinking causes significant morbidity, premature mortality, and other social and economic burdens on society, prompting numerous prevention and treatment efforts to avoid or ameliorate the prevalence of heavy drinking and its consequences. However, ...
Alcohol has a significant impact on health and well-being, from the beneficial aspects of moderate drinking to the detrimental effects of alcoholism. The broad implications of alcohol use on public health have been addressed through a wide range of epidemiological ...
Metabolites, including those generated during ethanol metabolism, can impact disease states by binding to transcription factors and/or modifying chromatin structure, thereby altering gene expression patterns. For example, the activities of enzymes involved ...
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are members of a large class of non–protein-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules that represent a significant, but until recently unappreciated, layer of cellular regulation. Assessment of the generation and function of miRNAs suggests ...
Cancer is one of the most significant diseases associated with chronic alcohol consumption, and chronic drinking is a strong risk factor for cancer, particularly of the upper aerodigestive tract, liver, colorectum, and breast. Several factors contribute ...
Exposure to alcohol has serious consequences for the developing fetus, leading to a range of conditions collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Most importantly, alcohol exposure affects the development of the brain during critical ...
The widening web of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms also encompasses ethanol-induced changes in the gastrointestinal (GI)–hepatic system. In the past few years, increasing evidence has firmly established that alcohol modifies several epigenetic ...
Epigenetic mechanisms play an extensive role in the development of liver cancer (i.e., hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) associated with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) as well as in liver disease associated with other conditions. For example, epigenetic ...
Chronic alcohol exposure causes widespread changes in brain gene expression in humans and animal models. Many of these contribute to cellular adaptations that ultimately lead to behavioral tolerance and alcohol dependence. There is an emerging appreciation ...
Exposure to alcohol significantly alters the developmental trajectory of progenitor cells and fundamentally compromises tissue formation (i.e., histogenesis). Emerging research suggests that ethanol can impair mammalian development by interfering with ...
Circadian rhythms are a prominent and critical feature of cells, tissues, organs, and behavior that help an organism function most efficiently and anticipate things such as food availability. Therefore, it is not surprising that disrupted circadian rhythmicity, ...
Alcohol consumption alters factors that modify gene expression without changing the DNA code (i.e., epigenetic modulators) in many organ systems, including the immune system. Alcohol enhances the risk for developing several serious medical conditions ...
Real-time assessment, known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and real-time intervention (ecological momentary intervention [EMI]) can significantly extend the reach and impact of interventions to help individuals reduce their drinking behavior. ...
Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has afforded several important advances in the field of alcohol research, including testing prominent models of alcohol abuse etiology in “high resolution.” Using high-tech methods for signaling and/or ...
Prevention researchers have found that drinking in different contexts is related to different alcohol problems. Where and with whom people drink affects the types of alcohol-related problems they experience. Consequently, identifying those contexts that ...
To assess alcohol consumption levels in large populations, researchers often rely on self-report measures. However, these approaches are associated with several limitations, particularly underreporting. Use of noninvasive biomonitoring approaches may ...
Alcohol consumption is prevalent among college students and can be associated with serious negative consequences. Several efficacious programs using one-on-one brief intervention techniques have been developed to target high-risk drinking by individual ...