Drinking hurts more than just the drinker, new study finds Poor mental health linked to financial problems and assaults caused by other drinkers A new cross-sectional study found a strong association between poor quality of life and greater distress for people who experienced financial problems due to someone else’s drinking or had been assaulted by a spouse, partner, or family member. “It was important for us to try to identify harms, such as mental health problems, caused by problem … [Read more...]
Press Release
Alcohol Treatment & Social Status
Undergoing alcohol treatment does little to improve social status Despite some improvement in the first year, a new study found no significant improvement in a person’s social status during the seven years after completing alcohol treatment. Social status in the years after completing treatment was worse for those who had ongoing alcohol problems or who also had drug or psychiatric problems. Social status was based on unemployment, incarceration, homelessness, and living in an impoverished … [Read more...]
Cultural Shifts in Women’s Drinking
New study finds cultural shifts in how much women drink and the reasons why some don’t A new 10-year study found changes in the amount women drank and why some abstained from drinking that varied across racial/ethnic groups and by age. Between 2000 and 2010, abstinence among White and Black women over age 40 decreased, while at-risk drinking among White women of the same age increased. The study defined at-risk drinking as consuming more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks … [Read more...]
Substance Use, Mental Health, Immune Function
New study looks at the relationship between immune function and mental health among people in treatment When assessing the relationship between immune function and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, most researchers exclude people with alcohol and drug use disorders because of the complexity they introduce into the analyses. However, for Priscilla Martinez, study lead and Scientist with the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, not including people … [Read more...]
Viable Alternatives to 12-Step Programs
More Paths to Successful Sobriety than Just Alcoholics Anonymous, Says New Study Alternative Mutual Help Groups are Viable Options to Traditional 12-step Groups People with an alcohol use disorder who participated in alternative mutual help groups had abstinence outcomes equivalent to those who participated in traditional 12-step groups at the same level, a new study from Senior Scientist and Center Associate Director Sarah E. Zemore and colleagues. This is the first longitudinal, … [Read more...]
Drinking and Diabetes Risk
Low rates of drinking may protect overweight women from developing diabetes while heavy drinking increases risk for all women Women who were overweight and abstained from lifetime drinking were three times more likely to develop diabetes compared with normal weight women who consumed seven or less alcohol drinks per week (low-volume), a new study from Senior Scientist and lead author, William C. Kerr and colleagues, found. No evidence of reduced risk was found for normal weight or obese women … [Read more...]
Social Networks, Poverty, & Relapse Risk
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...]
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...]
