Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs最新文献

Objective: To identify which topics for alcohol warnings most motivate people to reduce their drinking and best inform them of alcohol's harms.

Methods: A nationally representative sample US adults (n=1,036) aged ≥21 years who drink alcohol completed an online survey in September-October 2024. Participants viewed 10 messages (one control message and nine warning messages) in random order. The nine warning messages were the current US warning plus eight new warning topics (e.g., colorectal cancer, dementia). Participants rated each message on the extent to which it encouraged them to drink less alcohol (perceived message effectiveness, 1-5 scale, primary outcome), the extent to which it reminded them of the harms of alcohol consumption (1-5 scale), and whether they learned something new.

Results: Compared to control, all nine warning topics were perceived as more effective (range of predicted means: 1.93-2.66 for warnings vs. 1.35 for control, ps<.001), better reminded participants of alcohol's harms (range of predicted means: 2.33-3.15 for warnings vs. 1.40 for control, ps<.001), and were more likely to help participants learn something new (range of predicted probabilities: 18%-54% for warnings vs. 14% for control, ps<.05). All new warning topics except for drinking guidelines were perceived as more effective than the current US warning (ps<.001). Among new warning topics, cancer, dementia, liver disease, and hypertension showed the most promise.

Conclusions: New alcohol warnings are a promising strategy for informing people and encouraging them to drink less, especially warnings focused on cancer, dementia, liver disease, or hypertension.

Objective: Risk perceptions for alcohol-impaired driving (AID) are reliably associated with AID behavior. Extant research relies on samples comprised predominantly of White individuals, despite racial inequities in alcohol-related harms. This study is one of the first to compare AID risk cognitions in Black and White young adults. We assessed AID cognitions following a moderate dose of alcohol and examined their associations with AID behavior.

Method: Participants (N=137, M age=24.57, 67% female, 43% Black) received a moderate dose of alcohol (target BrAC = .08%). Subjective intoxication and perceived danger of driving were assessed five times following alcohol consumption. Perceived safe driving limit and AID behavior were assessed at baseline, and AID behavior was assessed at 6-month follow-up. Multilevel models tested differences between groups in subjective intoxication and perceived danger, while generalized estimating equations tested risk perceptions as predictors of AID behavior both cross-sectionally and prospectively.

Results: Black participants reported lower perceived driving danger than White participants (b = -0.27; p < .05), but no group differences were observed for subjective intoxication or perceived safe limit. Higher subjective intoxication in the lab was prospectively associated with less AID for Black participants (b = -0.43; p < .001). Perceived safe limit was associated with AID, but this association did not differ for Black and White young adults.

Conclusions: Results suggest commonalities and differences in AID risk for Black and White young adults. Future AID research among individuals with minoritized identities is needed to explore how experiences of discrimination influence risk perceptions and AID decision making.

Background: Historically, cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) have been more prevalent among males. However, emerging evidence suggests cannabis use may be increasing faster among females in younger age groups. This study characterized changes in female versus male differences in cannabis use and CUD across age groups and time.

Methods: Annual data from the 2014-2023 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were analyzed by age groups (12-17 [adolescents], 18-25 years, and 26 years or older) for past-month cannabis use, past-year daily/near-daily cannabis use (300 or more days) and past-year CUD. Prevalence differences (PDs) in percentage points between females and males were evaluated using generalized linear models.

Results: From 2014 to 2023, the prevalence of cannabis use (past-month and daily/near daily) and CUD increased among adults, with shifts in PDs across age groups. In 2022, adolescent females surpassed males in past-month cannabis use (PD = 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0, 3.6). By 2023, both daily/near daily use and CUD prevalence were higher among adolescent females (e.g., CUD PD = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.4). Among adults aged 18-25, all outcomes remained lower among females, but PDs narrowed over the study period. In adults aged 26 years or older, females consistently had lower prevalence across all outcomes.

Conclusion: Results showed reversals in female versus male differences among adolescents and narrowing gaps among younger adults. Tailored interventions considering sex and age may prevent and reduce CUD. Further research is needed to understand reasons behind these shifts.

Objective: An inability to correctly perceive chemosensory stimuli can lead to a poor quality of life. Such defects can be concomitant with excess alcohol consumption, but a large-scale cohort study linking these effects is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the impact of chronic alcohol consumption on chemosensory function by analyzing data from the 2013-2014 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), involving 395 participants categorized by alcohol intake behavior: 219 no-intake, 136 light-intake, and 40 risky-intake groups.

Method: Chemosensory function was assessed using a self-reported Chemosensory Questionnaire along with objective tests for taste (quinine solution) and smell (appetitive and hazardous odors). Adjusted regression analyses were conducted, controlling for age, gender, smoking status, and multiple pairwise comparisons. Weighted regression analyses were also performed.

Results: Risky drinkers had significantly lower odds of identifying quinine (bitter taste) compared with light drinkers (odds ratio [OR] = 0.37, p-adjusted = .04). Risky drinkers also had higher odds of identifying appetitive odors such as strawberry (OR = 5.44, p-adjusted = .03) but lower odds for detecting hazardous odors such as natural gas (OR = 0.11, p-adjusted = .001) compared with light drinkers. In addition, light drinkers identified the leather scent more effectively than nondrinkers (OR = 2.54, p = .02).

Conclusions: Chronic alcohol consumption, particularly at risky levels, is associated with altered chemosensory function. These findings emphasize the importance of assessing chemosensory symptoms in individuals with alcohol-related behaviors.

Objective: Prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure continue to have an impact on a significant portion of the U.S. population every year. Differences in neighborhood environment may be a contributing factor. The current study examines whether prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure differ by neighborhood environment.

Method: We used neighborhood environment data linked to a U.S.-based, nationally representative cohort of adolescents (N = 8,731; 47.2% female; age: M = 118.6 months, SD = 7.4 months).

Results: Lower neighborhood deprivation, less air pollution, higher lead risk, and higher perceived neighborhood safety were associated with prenatal alcohol exposure, whereas higher neighborhood deprivation and lower perceived neighborhood safety were associated with prenatal tobacco exposure.

Conclusions: Neighborhood environments differ between prenatal alcohol-exposed children and unexposed children, as well as between prenatal tobacco-exposed children and unexposed children. Future research should consider the cumulative and interactive effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco and the neighborhood environment.

Objective: Despite an abundance of public discourse about the opioid crisis in the media, there is little research characterizing opioid-related content on TikTok, a popular video-based social media platform. This study sought to examine how opioids are portrayed on TikTok.

Method: This study used mixed methods to analyze top opioid-related posts marked with the hashtag "#opioids" collected in May 2023. "Holistic coding" was used to topically categorize multimedia content in posts and to quantify the frequency of mentioning opioid-related content areas (e.g., overdose, pain, fentanyl). Template analysis methods were then used to develop themes.

Results: A total of 115 posts were analyzed. The most frequently used opioid-related topic codes include prescription opioids (58.3% of posts), pain (47.0%), overdose (35.7%), and fentanyl (34.8%). Posts were most commonly about challenges to accessing prescription opioids for pain management (37.4%), opioid policy (36.5%), and negative consequences of using opioids (32.2%). Qualitative analysis yielded themes about the potential dangers associated with using opioids, treatment and recovery from opioid use disorder, and barriers to obtaining prescription opioids for pain management.

Conclusions: This study revealed polarizing opinions within opioid-related content on TikTok. The two main stances, dangers of nonmedical opioid use and advocacy for the availability of prescription opioids for pain management, represent nationwide tensions between the opioid and chronic pain crises. The vast audience TikTok garners presents an opportunity for disseminating opioid education, harm-reduction strategies, and treatment options for opioid use disorder that were largely absent among the posts analyzed.

Objective: Substance use patterns vary considerably in the general population, yet little is known about patterns before and during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to describe single substance and polysubstance use (PSU) before and during pregnancy among recent births in the United States and compare exposure patterns.

Method: We used data from the Pregnancy and Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) postpartum survey for 2016-2018 to estimate the prevalence and identify patterns of substance use by participants 1 to 3 months before and during pregnancy. Data on use of cigarettes, cannabis, opioids, amphetamines, heroin, and cocaine were available for seven states. We used latent class analysis to identify patterns of substance use and tested whether participants with those patterns differed by age, income, race/ethnicity, and pre-pregnancy alcohol use. Analyses were weighted using PRAMS' state-level weights.

Results: We studied 15,429 participants representing 384,918 live, singleton births. Approximately half (51.3%) were 20-29 years old, 42.3% were above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, and 73.3% were non-Hispanic White. We identified seven latent classes of maternal substance use: minimal users (70.7%), pre-pregnancy cigarette users (10.5%), persistent cigarette users (6.8%), pre-pregnancy cannabis users (5.5%), broad PSU (3.6%), opioid-only users (1.9%), and persistent cigarette/opioid co-users (1.0%). Participants in these groups differed significantly by age, income, race/ethnicity, and pre-pregnancy alcohol use (p < .001).

Conclusions: This novel empirical classification of single substance and PSU could help to further our understanding of the impact of PSU on perinatal health and to design interventions for maternal substance use.

Objective: A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is a known risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Although higher total body water (TBW) is associated with lower blood alcohol concentrations and reduced responses following alcohol consumption, the relationship between morphometric measures such as body mass index (BMI) and LR is less clear. This study aimed to examine the relationship between BMI and LR to alcohol and the contribution of TBW to this relationship.

Method: Participants (n = 1,086) enrolled in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Natural History Protocol were assessed for LR to alcohol using the Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) Questionnaire. BMI was estimated using height and weight, and TBW was based on height, weight, age, and sex. Participants were categorized based on BMI into three groups: normal weight (18.5-25.0 kg/m²; n = 430), overweight (25.0-30.0 kg/m²; n = 403), and obese (≥30.0 kg/m²; n = 253). Associations between the BMI group and SRE scores for the most recent 3-month period (SRE-Recent) and the effect of TBW were analyzed using analysis of variance. Linear regression analysis was conducted to estimate the proportion of variation in SRE-Recent, as explained by BMI and TBW.

Results: BMI category was associated with LR, with the normal weight group showing higher responses (lower SRE-Recent scores) to alcohol than the overweight or obese groups. After controlling for TBW, the relationship became nonsignificant. Linear regression models confirmed these findings.

Conclusions: Higher BMI is associated with lower LR to alcohol. However, TBW seems to account for this relationship, suggesting that concentrations achieved following alcohol consumption may be the primary determinant of BMI-related differences in LR. Future work should replicate these findings and examine these relationships throughout the life span and in individuals with AUD.