For many an individual, practice makes perfect. When that practice involves a bottle of alcohol, the individual does not get better with time. A recent Medical News Today article highlighted that aging will lower the body’s tolerance for alcohol, leading to problems for the individual who has preferred alcoholic beverages too much for too long.

This is especially true for older individuals also on medication, dealing with health conditions or those who lose control over the amount of alcohol ingested. According to the director of the NIH Senior Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, older adults can experience slurred speech and lack of coordination more quickly than when they were younger.

A recent report from this organization explains just how much alcohol an older person can consume without putting themselves at risk. According to the organization, more than 70 percent of seniors search for health and medical information when they go online, making this a prime destination for information that warns against excessively consuming alcohol.

According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly 40 percent of Americans over the age of 65 consume alcohol, yet the majority of these individuals do not have a problem with drinking. Among those who do have a problem with their alcohol consumption, they are more likely to be male.

As the body ages, the ability to metabolize alcohol slows in comparison with a younger individual. In addition, the alcohol stays in the body of the older individual much longer than the younger. The body of the older drinker will have a higher percentage of alcohol in the blood (when equal amounts are consumed for equal weight) due to the lower amount of water in the elderly body.
 

There is a burden of disease on all the citizens of the world as we pay for diseases through taxes and increased costs in the health care system. According to a recent Science Daily release, the burden that is attributable to alcohol is 3.2 percent around the world.

In terms of alcohol consumption, Portugal claims the eighth position in the world. A recent study found that alcohol consumption in Portugal represents a heavy economic burden for the country’s health system.

"As a gastroenterologist, someone who takes cares of patients with liver diseases, I am very aware that alcohol-related liver cirrhosis is a disease with a very high morbidity and mortality," said Helena Cortez-Pinto, associate professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine and corresponding author for the study in the Science Daily.

In the process of this study, Cortez-Pinto and colleagues analyzed 2005 demographic and health statistics using the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) which sums the effects alcohol-related diseases (ARDs) can have on premature mortality.

According to Cortez-Pinto, a significant percentage of deaths – 3.8 percent – in Portugal were somehow caused by alcohol consumption. There is a tremendous burden of disease, resulting in 38,780 years of life lost for death or disability due to alcohol.

“The main source was liver disease at 31.5 percent, followed by traffic accidents at 28.2 percent, and several types of cancer and cardiovascular disease at 19.2 percent,” said Cortez-Pinto. “In addition, this collectively represented a total cost of €191.0 million ($239 million USD) in direct costs, representing 0.13 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 1.25 percent of total national health expenditures."

She also noted that this research identified males as being significantly more engaged in heavy drinking activities, while such activities were inversely correlated with the amount of education and strongly correlated with cigarette smoking.

When some people drink alcohol, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in the brain, which leads to feelings of euphoria and can contribute to alcohol cravings and dependency. But alcohol doesn’t affect everyone in the same way–some people can drink occasionally and not become dependent, whereas others can become almost immediately hooked.

In an effort to find out why alcohol affects people differently, researchers  from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that a genetic variant of a receptor in the brain’s reward circuitry could determine whether dopamine is released in the brain following alcohol intake. The study appeared online in Molecular Psychiatry.

“By advancing our understanding of the neurobiology that underlies the addictive properties of alcohol, this finding helps us understand why alcohol affects people in very different ways. This kind of information also aids the development of personalized medications for alcohol problems," said NIAAA Acting Director Dr. Kenneth R. Warren.

Receptors for brain molecules known as opioid peptides help initiate the neurochemical reactions that underlie the positive effects produced by alcohol, and activation of the mu-subtype of opioid receptor following alcohol consumption triggers the release of dopamine from the forebrain.

"But there is much variation in alcohol-induced responses that are thought to be related to dopamine. Previous studies by our group and others suggest that variants of opioid genes may contribute to the observed variation, possibly through effects on alcohol-induced dopamine release," said Dr. Markus Heilig, noting that people who carry the mu-opioid receptor variant designated as 118G report increased euphoria following alcohol consumption.

Heilig’s group reported that a similar mu-opioid receptor variant in monkeys heightened the stimulating effects of alcohol and increased their alcohol consumption.

First author Dr. Vijay A. Ramchandani and colleagues explored whether the 118G mu-opioid receptor variant influences dopamine release from a forebrain region called the ventral striatum in response to alcohol.

Using human positron emission tomography (PET), an imaging technique that allowed the researchers to analyze dopamine activity in the brain, the researchers compared dopamine release in two groups of people that had been given alcohol.

The groups consisted of those who carried a copy of the gene for the 118G mu-opioid receptor variant, and those who carried only genes for the more common 118A variant.

The researchers found that only people with the 118G variant had a dopamine response to alcohol, and that no such response happened in subjects with the 118A receptor variant.

"Taken together, our data strongly support a causal role of the 118G variant of the mu-opioid receptor to confer a more vigorous dopamine response to alcohol in the ventral striatum. The findings add further support to the notion that individuals who possess this receptor variant may experience enhanced pleasurable effects from alcohol that could increase their risk for developing alcohol abuse and dependence. It may also explain why these individuals, once addicted, benefit more from treatment with blockers of endogenous opioids," said Ramchandani.

Russian citizens have a low life expectancy in comparison with citizens of other countries and according to a leading Russian institute study, the heavy consumption of cheap, strong alcoholic beverages contributes to this.

A recent news report notes the average Russian drinks between 15 ad 18 liters of alcohol every year. While this volume is less than citizens of some European countries, drinking in Russia is dangerously skewed towards vodka.

"Hazardous consumption of strong spirits is the main cause of high mortality in Russia," the Moscow-based New Economic School said in a statement announcing the release of its study.

"In terms of the structure of consumption, strong beverages make up the main part and that is the difference from other countries," Denisova, a researcher at the New Economic School, told a news conference.

Denisova went on to highlight that drinking strong alcohol actually reduces life expectancy by nine to 10 years on average. According to official government statistics from 2008, Russian men have an average life expectancy of just 61.8 years.

In a news conference, experts urged authorities to raise the price of vodka in an effort to encourage Russians to drink less of this particular type of alcohol.

"In the short term it would be rational to replace vodka consumption with that of wine and beer," said Yevgeny Gontmakher, an expert at the Institute for Contemporary Development, a think tank that advises President Dmitry Medvedev.

This isn’t the first time Medvedev has sought to rein in rampant alcoholism, but previous anti-alcohol attempts have proved unpopular among the Russian population. Given the popularity of vodka among its citizens, this latest initiative may have little impact.
 

Parents span the spectrum when it comes to how they feel about teen drinking. Some prefer that their teen take no drinks at all, while others believe that one or two experimentations are a normal part of adolescence and do not warrant concern.

Recent research looked at how alcohol’s effects during an initial experience contribute to drinking patterns for adolescents. Chung and Martin (2009) recently looked at the subjective response to both the stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol. They then evaluated them as predictors of adolescents’ severity of drinking behaviors before treatment and over a one year follow-up.

Prior research has focused mainly on the sedative effects of alcohol and how they impact early drinking experiences. This study sought to evaluate not only sedation but also stimulation and how those experiences impacted the adolescents’ choices.

The researchers examined the responses of 169 adolescents who were recruited from addiction treatment. The adolescents indicated the number of drinks needed to obtain stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol for early and heavy drinking periods.

The adolescents’ number of drinks required to experience sedative and stimulant effects were examined both at baseline (before treatment) and at a one year follow-up evaluation. The researchers not only looked at the stimulant and sedative effects, but also the degree to which these effects were experienced at the baseline and the follow-up.

The results of the study indicate that females reported a greater degree of sedative effect compared with males in their early drinking experiences. There was no difference between the genders, however, with the stimulant effect experienced.

Both early sedative and stimulant effects predicted the number of drinks needed to experience a level of intoxication. The effects of both also predicted the maximum number of drinks per day before seeking treatment. Only early sedative effects established a prediction for one-year follow-up outcomes.

The study’s findings suggest that both early stimulant and sedative effects are important predictors for future drinking behaviors for adolescent alcohol treatment. How adolescents interpret their early drinking experiences greatly impacts their choices for alcohol consumption.

Future research might examine the drinking behaviors of adolescents that have had some alcohol exposure, but have not required treatment, to determine how stimulant and sedative effects impact the drinking behaviors of those who have not required treatment. It is possible that adolescents that have not required treatment have a different level of sedative or stimulant effects from alcohol.
 

New research pinpoints genetic pathways and genes that are associated with levels of alcohol consumption but not with alcohol dependence. This means that your genetic makeup may predispose you to drink more, but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism.

Led by Boris Tabakoff, Laura Saba, and Paula Hoffman from the University of Colorado, Denver, the research team used rats to identify the genetic pathways affecting alcohol consumption behavior.

Science Daily reports that the rats’ drinking behavior was found to be linked to the pleasure and reward pathways in the brain and also linked to some of the same genetic systems that control satiety and appetite for food. Next, they directly compared genes involved in these alcohol-associated pathways in rats with the human versions of these genes in two male study groups from Montreal and Sydney to identify common genetic factors linked to alcohol use across species.

A novel result of these studies was that genes identified as contributors to drinking behavior in the tested populations were not the same as genes found to predispose to alcohol dependence.

According to Tabakoff, "We know that high levels of alcohol consumption can increase the risk of becoming alcohol dependent in those who have a genetic makeup that predisposes to dependence. This is a case of interaction between genes and environment. Indeed, in our study we found that, higher alcohol consumption in humans was positively correlated with alcohol dependence.”

“However, because different sets of genes seem to influence the level of alcohol consumption, as opposed to propensity for alcohol dependence, we are confronted with great variation in humans. Individuals with a set of genes that predisposes them to drink moderate amounts of alcohol may still have the genetic predisposition to lose control over their drinking behavior, and perhaps become alcohol dependent. Conversely, individuals with a genetic predisposition to drink high amounts of alcohol may not have the genes that predispose them to become dependent," Tabakoff continued.

"The phenotype we investigated in this paper is non-dependent alcohol intake, and the genes that influence this phenotype,” the authors concluded.

In any given year, people with alcohol dependence (AD) commit more than 20 percent of suicides in the general population. About 80 to 90 percent of AD suicides are by men, mostly white. A new look at the relationship between alcohol and suicide has found that both attempted and complete suicides occur at greater rates in rural communities with greater bar densities.

"Our study is unique in that it is spatial, longitudinal, and examines the relationship between suicide and features of the environment such as alcohol outlets, particularly bars, that might not at first glance appear related to suicide," explained Fred W. Johnson, associate research scientist at the Prevention Research Center and corresponding author for the study.

"The question we sought to answer was: ‘Is increased alcohol-outlet density associated with increased rates of completed suicide and of suicide attempts?’"

Johnson and his colleagues examined data—including population characteristics such as age, and place characteristics such as number of alcohol outlets—from 581 zip-code areas in California from 1995 to 2000. They also obtained numbers of hospitalizations for injuries caused by suicide attempts.

"When using aggregate data in a study like ours, one must take great care interpreting the results," said Johnson. "Because it is difficult or perhaps impossible to obtain data from patrons who first drink at a bar and later take their own lives, the best one can do is refer to the results of aggregate studies like this one. Although one cannot make the strong statement that more bars cause more suicides, our findings are at least consistent with what we would expect if patronizing bars or other alcohol outlets were in fact causally related to suicide."

The results showed that completed suicides were more common in less populous zip-code areas, such as rural communities, and in zip-code areas with larger proportions of older, lower-income whites, but less common in zip code areas with larger proportions of blacks and Hispanics. Suicide attempts were also more common in rural zip codes, but those who attempted suicide were younger, and included blacks and Hispanics as well as whites.

"This suggests that the suicide rate is higher in rural areas," said Johnson. "The absolute count of suicides may be higher in urban areas because of their much greater population compared to rural areas, but the rate of suicides, the number of suicides per population, is greater in rural areas."

These results could be due to some contextual effect that affects both drinkers and non-drinkers, said Dennis M. Gorman, interim director of the Health Science Center at Texas A&M University. "For example, rural places with lots of bars might be depressing places to live in due to isolation, lack of social ties, etc.," he said.

"This ‘depressing’ context would affect all who live there, both drinkers and non-drinkers. The authors seem to suggest such a contextual protective effect when explaining the negative correlation between restaurants and suicides; that [restaurants] are located in areas in which suicides typically do not occur. In this case, it is not the restaurant per se that has a protective effect, but the context or area in which these are located that matters,” Gorman said.

"Other factors include population loss as youth desert rural towns to find jobs and opportunity in urban areas," Johnson said. "The average age of farmers is now rising toward 60, an age when suicide rates increase as medical problems multiply and social isolation increases. Some small towns cannot attract industry and jobs with tax and other incentives, meanwhile property values plummet. More frequent possession of firearms in rural areas is a major factor in rural suicides, with 75 percent of rural completed suicides nationally and 57 percent of rural completed suicides in California involving firearms."

Both Johnson and Gorman said these findings highlight a growing problem in rural America. "Most alcohol problems are not caused by the alcohol dependent, but by ordinary people who drink too much on a given occasion, leading to motor vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents," said Johnson.

"All of these problems are related to alcohol outlets, as are more sinister problems such as homicide, assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and child neglect. This study suggests that suicide may be one of the more severe problems related to alcohol outlets, and further suggests that one way to reduce suicides and other problems related to alcohol outlets is to reduce the number of outlets, particularly bars."

"One might also advise against moving into areas that have a high density of bars and off-premise alcohol outlets," said Gorman. "There are a number of social problems that seem to cluster in places with high alcohol-outlet density, excluding restaurants, whether this is as a result of alcohol consumption or a result of problem-prone individuals being attracted into such areas."

"It is unfortunate that the rural-suicide problem, along with other rural problems, are unlikely to get the attention they deserve because ours is such a predominantly urban society and there are so many pressing urban problems affecting great numbers of people and that the media can highlight given its proximity to these urban problems," said Johnson.

"This is ironic, given a recent New York Times article that called for abandoning corporate farms and returning to independent farms like the one the author grew up on in Oregon. This would be healthier for all of us and might reduce the rural suicide rate to what it was early in the last century, when it was lower than the urban rate, and when rural America, rather than desolate and lonely, was thriving and vibrant, perhaps as idyllic as it was in fable.”

 According to figures from the Scottish government, Glasgow has the highest record of alcohol-related deaths in all of Britain. The number of drinking deaths in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area was 267% higher in 2008 than the national average of 13 per 100,000.

The BBC reports that most Scottish parliament constituencies—64 of the 73—also had more drinking-related deaths than the UK average. The Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale constituency had the lowest deaths in Scotland, at a third of the UK average.

The figures also showed that the Glasgow Shettleston constituency had the worst drinking-related death rate in the UK—574% higher than the UK average. In Glasgow Maryhill, the rate was more than four times the UK average at 420%, while the rate in Greenock and Inverclyde was 371%–almost four times higher.

SNP MSP for Glasgow, Anne McLaughlin, described the figures as "shocking" and said they illustrated the "scale of the challenge" faced in tackling alcohol abuse. "With the death rate from alcohol nearly six times higher in Shettleston than in the UK as a whole and for six Glasgow constituencies to be among the 10 highest death rates is a disturbing reality check for all politicians, professionals and the drinks industry," McLaughlin said.

"The scale of Glasgow’s death toll from alcohol is shocking. These deaths take a huge personal toll on families in the city as well as our communities and public services,” she added.

Joe Fitzpatrick, SNP MSP for Dundee West, said: "These figures expose for all to see the dramatic impact alcohol has on health in Scotland. There can be no doubt that we must take action on alcohol now before more lives are lost."

One of the hardest things for a young person to deal with is seeing one or both parents drunk. Whether this occurs at home or in the presence of others doesn’t lessen the feelings of confusion, shame, fear and anger that you might feel – and understandably so. It is a frightening experience to witness your parents – who are supposed to be your role models, all-knowing, all-loving protectors – act in ways that are childish, ridiculous and even dangerous. All this due to the effects of too much alcoholic consumption. What can you do when these situations occur? What should you do if your parents constantly drink too much?

Find A Trusted Adult To Talk To

You don’t need to be scared or confused. And you shouldn’t have to. That’s not what growing up is all about. Sure, it’s kind of overwhelming seeing your parents in a state of intoxication, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t make them drink, despite the fact that when adults are drunk, they may say all kinds of hurtful things.

Maybe you have an aunt or uncle or grandparent that you can confide it. It might also be your pastor or a trusted friend of the family. Talk with that person and let them know what the situation is with your parent or parents. You need an adult on your side that can intervene if necessary, as well as help with guidance or other types of support should it become necessary.

Never Confront Your Parents When They Are Drinking

Since alcohollism is a complex disease, often with unexpected emotional outbursts and physical aggression on the part of the person who is dependent on alcohol, never try to “stand up” to your parents about their drinking. This may cause them to do or say things they’d never dream of if they were sober. It may even result in physical harm to you, your other parent or your siblings. If the situation gets out of hand, try to remain calm, don’t raise your voice, and remove yourself from the room as quickly as you can without causing a scene. Go to a neighbor’s house or that of a friend, and call your trusted adult.

Of course, if it is an emergency, diall 911 to get police help to deal with the situation. If you have brothers and sisters at home during the time of the incident, gather them and take them with you to get them out of possible harm’s way.

Keep A List Of Phone Numbers To Call

It shouldn’t be part of your daily life that you have to have a list of phone numbers to call in case there’s trouble, but when you have an alcoholic mother or father who has not sought help to deal with his or her drinking, that’s what you need to do – to protect yourself and any siblings you have at home.

Even if there isn’t direct danger to you, your parent may fall and become injured and unable to speak or move. You may need to get emergency medical help fast. Adults who drink too much and smoke may cause a fire if they fall asleep while smoking. In this situation, gather your brothers and sisters and make your way out of the house as fast as you can, calling 911 from a neighbor’s house.

How To Deal With Anger And Rejection

Your drinking parent isn’t capable of thinking and acting rationally as long as he or she is drunk. You can’t reason with them, try to convince them of anything, surely not change their mind about whatever it is that they believe is true at the time. Words they may say during this time can really sting, maybe even make you cry. But you need to know that they do still love you, underneath the effects of the alcohol. Remind yourself that they have a disease, and they aren’t being themselves when they’re drunk. If you have to, say this out loud to yourself every day: “I am a good person. I am not the cause of my parent’s drinking.” Repeat as often as you need to during the day, since it is critical that you recognize that their drinking is a problem that they must deal with.

If the drinking situation continues for a long period of time, months or years, another very important step for you to take is to get support from others who are in your same situation. One group that offers support for teens of alcoholics is called Alateen, an organization affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. You can call them at (888) 425-2666 (4AL-ANON) or find a meeting by going to their meeting locator website at http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/meetings/meeting.html.

Tell Your Parents You Love Them

While you may feel hurt and rejected, it’s important that you share with your parent – when they are sober and not drinking or still drunk – that you love them. You may want to also say that you wish they wouldn’t drink, or that you would like them to get help to stop drinking, but never try to preach this to them. They won’t accept it and the situation could escalate into an argument – and more drinking on the part of your parent. An alcoholic has to want to quit, ultimately, because no one else can stop the drinking except the alcoholic.

Intervention May Help

A trusted adult may recommend something called an intervention, which is done by professionals with the assistance of friends and family members. But this is something that you cannot do yourself. You may wish to discuss whether your trusted adult thinks an intervention would work to help your parent who drinks too much get help for their problem. The purpose of the intervention is to have friends and family, moderated by and controlled by the interventionist, discuss with the alcoholic how their drinking negatively affects everyone. The goal is that at the end of the intervention, the alcoholic agrees to go into treatment in order to get off drinking and learn how to stay away from alcohol permanently.

Remember: You Are Not Your Parents

Often teens and younger children of drinking parents worry that they will also become alcoholics. This doesn’t have to be so. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that because your parent drinks that you will too. But you do need to know that the dangers are there, due to the easy accessibility of alcohol, the type of lifestyle you see day in and day out, and normal teen issues of rebellion, independence and experimentation. Keep focused on your school activities, sports, hobbies and recreational pursuits. Plan for your future and map out your dreams – so that your life will be one of fulfillment, not one dragged down into an endless pursuit of alcohol.

In time, perhaps your parents will be able to realize what harm drinking has done to them and to you, and seek help to deal with their problem. In the meantime, do what you can to live as normal a life as possible, be loving, but be firm in your resolve. Drinking never solves anything. Your first-hand experience with your parents’ drinking shows you that.
One final reminder: You need friends that you can talk to, whatever time of day or night that is. Never believe that you have to “go it alone,” or that no one else understands what you’re going through. Find that one individual, or several, with whom you can speak freely and with the knowledge that they will keep it private, and let them help you. Just by talking with them may help you feel better. At least, you’ll know that you always have someone there for you.

Binge drinking is often discussed as a problem for college students or even young adults. It has become a focus of concern for college administrators and leaders in college-based communities as the activity continues to grow among the college sect. A new study highlights however, the young are not the only ones hitting the bottle hard.

According to the LA Times, a new study finds that among men and women 50 to 63 years old, nearly one in four men and one in ten women is considered a binge drinker. What this means is at some point in the past 30 days, a man has downed five alcoholic drinks and a women has consumed four alcoholic drinks in a single two-hour sitting.

This study also found binge drinkers are more likely to use tobacco or illicit drugs than those who do not drink. Among women, binge drinking was more common among those with a job and those using prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. For men, binge drinking was common if they were unmarried and had higher incomes.

Dan Blazer, a Duke University psychiatrist and one of the authors of the study, highlights the important role a physician plays in this process as they should be asking their patients more pointed and specific questions about alcohol use. He believes this is imperative as binge drinking tends to fly under the radar of standard alcohol-disorder screens.

Among those studied in this recent survey, they are less likely to be risky drinkers than young adults. Within the younger sect, binge drinking occurred at a rate of 41.7 percent for college students versus 37.1 percent for those not attending college.

For the older population, they engage in binge drinking more than the generation ahead of them does. For those over 65, 14 percent of men and three percent of women were found to be binge drinkers. Those in the 50 to 64 age range were binge drinkers 23 percent of the time for men and 9 percent of the time for women.