Intoxicated, heavy drinkers have a tendency to act rashly in response to negative emotions, which can intensify the risk for intimate partner aggression, according to a study by Georgia State University and Purdue University.
Alcohol Effects
Health and social effects of alcohol
Subcategories
Alcohol-Related Mortality Rates Have Doubled
Alcohol-related deaths have increased dramatically in the past two decades, with mortality rates almost doubling since 1999. The highest rates of alcohol-related deaths occurred in the 55 to 64 age group, but the biggest rate increase occurred within the 25 to 34 age group. In the United States and […]
Alcohol's Health Benefits Overstated?
The benefits of light alcohol consumption, as well as the risks associated with not drinking at all, might not be as great as previously thought, according to Penn State researchers who examined the drinking habits of middle-aged adults.
Alcohol Increases Risk of Digestive Cancers
Citizens across the EU are consuming an average of two alcoholic drinks per day, placing drinkers at a 21% increased risk of developing colorectal cancer, in addition to other digestive cancers, a report finds.
Alcohol Increases Risks of Heart Conditions
Alcohol abuse increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, heart attack and congestive heart failure as much as other well-established risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and obesity, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Alcohol Risks Increasing for Older Adults
Alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive substance among older adults, and this group can have unique risks associated with alcohol consumption -- in even lower amounts -- compared to younger persons.
Heavy Alcohol Use May Increase Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Middle-Aged Adults
Heavy alcohol use may increase middle-aged adults' risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to research presented at the American Physiology Summit, the flagship annual meeting of the American Physiological Society. Heavy alcohol use is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and […]
Alcohol Helps Bacteria Harm the Liver
End-stage liver disease or liver cirrhosis is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately half of these cases are related to alcohol consumption. There's no refuting that alcohol itself harms the liver, but new research in mice and humans published February 10 in Cell Host & Microbe reveals that chronic drinking also promotes the growth of gut bacteria that can travel to the liver and exacerbate liver disease.
Relatives of People with Alcohol Use Disorder Experience Similar Cognitive Weaknesses
Many people with a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) struggle with certain cognition issues that often accompany AUD itself, even if they don’t themselves drink dangerously, according to a novel study. The findings suggest that these issues may be markers of vulnerability for the condition. A family history of AUD—having one or more first-degree relatives with the disorder—increases the risk of developing it, owing to genetic and environmental factors.
Alcohol Abuse Can Accelerate Aging, Study Finds
The brains and blood of people with a history of excessive drinking show cellular evidence of premature aging. DNA taken from people with alcohol use disorder showed signs of changes in genetic regions indicative of increased biological age. Accelerated biological aging may help explain why excessive alcohol use has been shown to be a significant risk factor for premature death and neurodegenerative diseases.
Bariatric Surgery Can Lead to Alcohol Abuse
Among patients who underwent bariatric surgery, there was a higher prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the second year after surgery, and specifically after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, compared with the years immediately before and following surgery, according to a study in JAMA.
How Alcohol Interferes With Sleep
Large amounts of alcohol are known to shorten sleep latency, increase slow-wave sleep, and suppress rapid eye movement (REM) during the first half of sleep. During the second half of sleep, REM increases and sleep becomes shallower. A study of the acute effects of alcohol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep has found that alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.
Brain Damage Seen in Young Binge-Drinkers
It's considered a rite of passage among young people – acting out their independence through heavy, episodic drinking. But a new University of Cincinnati study, the first of its kind nationally, is showing how binge drinking among adolescents and young adults could be causing serious damage to a brain that's still under development at this age.
Alcohol's Damaging Effects on the Brain
While alcohol has a wide range of pharmacological effects on the body, the brain is a primary target. However, the molecular mechanisms by which alcohol alters neuronal activity in the brain are poorly understood. Participants in a symposium at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in San Antonio, Texas addressed recent findings concerning the interactions of alcohol with prototype brain proteins thought to underlie alcohol actions in the brain.
Alcohol Greatly Increases Serious Injury Risk
Researchers know that alcohol impairs coordination and the ability to perceive and respond to hazards, and that hangovers impair neurocognitive performance and psychomotor vigilance. This study closely examined alcohol-related injuries admitted to hospital, finding that alcohol greatly increases risk for serious injury.
Routinely Drinking Alcohol May Raise Blood Pressure Even in Adults Without Hypertension
Even in adults without hypertension, blood pressure readings may climb more steeply over the years as the number of daily alcoholic drinks rise, according to an analysis of seven international research studies published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. With the statistical power of seven international research studies, this analysis confirms for the first time there was a continuous increase in blood pressure measures in both participants with low and high alcohol intake. Even low levels of alcohol consumption were associated with detectable increases in blood pressure levels that may lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular events.
Alcohol Can Increase Risk of Atrial Fibrillation
A review of research studies indicate that alcohol consumption can increase the risk for developing atrial fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). Its name comes from the fibrillating (i.e., quivering) of the heart muscles of the atria, instead of a coordinated contraction.
Alcohol Damages Much More Than the Liver
Alcohol does much more harm to the body than just damaging the liver. Drinking also can weaken the immune system, slow healing, impair bone formation, increase the risk of HIV transmission and hinder recovery from burns, trauma, bleeding and surgery.
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.
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.