Problem drinkers with friends who drink and who live in poor neighborhoods are more likely to relapse after treatment The number of people in your social network who drink increases the risk of relapse following treatment and this risk is even greater if you live in a disadvantaged neighborhood, a new study from the Alcohol Research Group, a project of the Public Health institute, found. Study participants were recruited from abstinence-based outpatient programs and participated in follow-up … [Read more...]
Recent Findings
Infrequent Drinkers Not Immune from Injury
Even one intoxication event can increase the risk of injury, a new study from ARG Senior Scientist and lead author Cheryl J. Cherpitel and colleagues found. Injury risk peaked at one hour of a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 or higher and at one day with five or more drinks and remained at about the same level for more frequent heavy drinkers. Many counties use a BAC of 0.05 or more to determine drinking driving offenses and Utah will become the first US state to set this limit in … [Read more...]
Young Adults’ Heavy Drinking Rates Change
According to a study from ARG Research Associate, Edwina Williams, MPH, and colleagues, when comparing heavy drinking trajectories between two cohorts, trajectories for Hispanics and Whites of both sexes have changed over time. However, Hispanic and White women in the younger cohort saw the greatest increase in heavy drinking compared to other groups. Data from the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to model heavy drinking frequency from ages 17-31. It … [Read more...]
Sharp Increase in U.S. Marijuana Use
A new study from ARG scientists shows a sharp increase in marijuana use in the U.S. since 2005. Marijuana use among women has almost doubled, from 5.5% in 1984 to 10.6% in 2015. Men’s use declined from the 1980s to 2000 but has since increased to 14.7%, matching earlier rates. However, the research suggests that these increases in use were not specifically associated with medicinal or recreational marijuana legalization. “Results are consistent with previous studies that did not show … [Read more...]
Poorer People Get Medication Less Often
People with alcohol use disorders (AUD) who live in poorer neighborhoods in Sweden were less likely to pick up prescriptions to help treat their disease than those living in areas that are more affluent, a new study from ARG found. The study was published online in the journal Addiction. Several AUD medications can play an effective role in addressing this condition. Researchers also found decreased rates of prescription pick-up among individuals with AUD who had lower incomes and less … [Read more...]
Harms to Children from Other’s Drinking
According to a new national study, 7.4 percent of surveyed respondents reported that children in their care experienced harm as a result of someone else’s drinking. By comparison, previous studies in the U.S. have found general child maltreatment rates to be approximately 1 to 2 percent. The results were published online in the Journal of Pediatrics. Respondent caregivers who experienced alcohol’s harm from a spouse or partner, or if they lived with a heavy drinker, were almost four times … [Read more...]
New Findings on Alternative Support Groups
A new study from ARG Senior Scientist Sarah E. Zemore and colleagues found that people in recovery who attended alternative support groups experienced more cohesion and greater satisfaction when compared with members of traditional 12-step programs. Alternative programs included Women for Sobriety, LifeRing, and SMART Recovery. Study team members included ARG scientists Lee Kaskutas and Amy Mericle, and research associate Jordana Hemberg. Results also indicated that people who attended … [Read more...]
Cannabis’s Effect on Post Treatment Sobriety
People who used cannabis while undergoing treatment for an alcohol use disorder (AUD) had significantly fewer days of alcohol abstinence at the end of treatment compared with non-cannabis users, according to a new study from ARG biostatistician Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman. Study team members included ARG research associate Deidre Patterson, and Jane Metrik and Robert M. Swift of Brown University. Findings showed that one day of cannabis use reduced the number of abstinence days by four to … [Read more...]
Cancer Survivors Drink More After Diagnosis
Cancer survivors were more likely to report heavy drinking and more frequent heavy drinking occasions compared to others at the same ages with similar drinking histories, according to a new study from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute. Heavy drinking was defined as having five or more drinks at any one time. When racial and ethnic group-specific effects were evaluated, this increased heavy drinking was found to occur among women and Whites, while no increase … [Read more...]
Poverty’s Effect on Suicide Rates
County-level suicide rates in the U.S. had a strong positive relationship with county poverty rates, while no relationships were found between county measures of unemployment or foreclosures when poverty rates were controlled, according to a new study from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, in collaboration with University of California, Los Angeles; Oregon Health and Science University; Prevention Research Center; and the Centre for Addiction and Mental … [Read more...]
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