Alcohol Effects

Alcoholic Liver Disease Becoming More Aggressive

Many diagnostic and treatment options have been developed for chronic liver disease during the last 40 years, yet their influence on survival remain unclear. A study of the prognosis for patients hospitalized for liver diseases between 1969 and 2006, and of differences in mortality and complications between patients with alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver diseases, has found that the general prognosis for patients hospitalized with chronic liver diseases has not improved.

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Risky Drinkers Less Likely to Seek Medical Care

Women and men who engage in frequent heavy drinking report significantly worse health-related practices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study in the journal Addiction Research & Theory. For the study, researchers surveyed 7,884 members of the Kaiser Permanente Northwest integrated health plan in Oregon and Washington.

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More Alcohol Outlets Mean More Violence

More alcohol sales sites in a neighborhood equates to more violence, and the highest assault rates are associated with carry-out sites selling alcohol for off-premise consumption, according to new research released by two Indiana University professors.

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Drinking Linked to 232 Million Missed Workdays a Year

Heavy alcohol use is associated with missing work, but the scope of that relationship has not been well understood. Now, based on survey data from more than 110,000 U.S. adults with full-time jobs, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have quantified the extent of the problem. Among U.S. adults working full time, an estimated 9 percent — almost 11 million full-time workers — met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder, a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences in one's social life, work life or health.

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Alcohol Can Cause Immediate Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

A single glass of wine can quickly and significantly raise the drinker's risk for atrial fibrillation, according to new research . The study provides the first evidence that alcohol consumption substantially increases the chance of the heart rhythm condition occurring within a few hours. The findings might run counter to a prevailing perception that alcohol can be "cardioprotective," say the authors, suggesting that reducing or avoiding alcohol might help mitigate harmful effects.

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Even 2 Drinks a Day Increases Cancer Risks

Scientists have found an association between alcohol and a substantially higher risk of several forms of cancer, including breast, colon, and oral cancers. Increased risk was evident even among light to moderate drinkers (up to two drinks a day), who represented 1 in 7 of all new cancers in 2020 and more than 100,000 cases worldwide.

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Covid Side Effects: Increased Drinking, Weight Gain

As growing vaccine demand signals a potential turning point in the global COVID-19 pandemic, the nation's health crisis is far from over. One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking and other negative behavior changes that may be related to an inability to cope with prolonged stress, according to the American Psychological Association's latest Stress in America™ poll.

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Even 'Low-Risk' Drinking Can Be Harmful

A growing body of research continues to reveal that even moderate drinking can negatively affect your health. Consuming alcohol even within recommended weekly low-risk drinking guidelines can result in hospitalization and death, according to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

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Excessive Drinking a Burden to Taxpayers

The total harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption is a staggering $2.05 per drink in the United States, and, of this, the government ends up paying about 80 cents per drink. However, the federal government and states only bring in about 21 cents per drink on average in alcohol taxes, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. This leaves the majority of the cost of alcohol's harms borne by those who don't drink excessively or who don't drink at all.

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Friends and Family of Drinkers Face Significant Harm

Each year, one in five U.S. adults -- an estimated 53 million people -- experience harm because of someone else's drinking, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Similar to how policymakers have addressed the effects of secondhand smoke over the last two decades, society needs to combat the secondhand effects of drinking, the authors state, calling alcohol's harm to others "a significant public health issue."

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