Using smartwatch sensors to detect, measure, intervene, and prevent alcohol use in the moment

Prevention, intervention, and treatment measures have historically been used to address alcohol use and abuse. New research has explored the use of a smartwatch application to bridge the gap between prevention and intervention, tracking a person’s drinking habits and providing real-time personalized prompts while they are drinking to potentially help them moderate their consumption. These results will be shared at the 47th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Retrospective Study Based on Electronic Health Records Finds Popular Diabetes and Weight-Loss Drugs Associated with Reduction in Incidence and Recurrence of Alcohol-Use Disorder by at Least Half

A new study by researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reveals that the popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are linked to reduced incidence and recurrence of alcohol abuse or dependence.

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 to be presented this week at the American Physiology Summit in Long Beach, California. The Summit is the flagship annual meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS).

Education and peer support cut binge-drinking by National Guard members in half, study shows

A new study shows promise for reducing risky drinking among Army National Guard members over the long term, potentially improving their health and readiness to serve. The number of days each month that Guard members said they had been binge-drinking dropped by up to half over the course of a year of either online only education or online and peer-based support.

Trials of Alcohol Use Disorder Treatments Routinely Exclude Sex, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity from Consideration in Outcomes

The manifestation of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and its social, health, and psychological implications depend in part on patient demographics. Yet researchers routinely exclude those demographics from analyses of non-medicinal AUD treatment trials, a review of studies has found. Consequently, little is known about how sex, gender, race, and ethnicity influence the effectiveness of those treatments, or which treatments are indicated — or not — for specific patients and communities. This is despite the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act in 1993 requiring that NIH-funded studies include diversity of sex/gender and race/ethnicity in their participant samples and analysis. Problematic alcohol use, which has high prevalence and low treatment rates, is a leading contributor to preventable death and disease. Non-pharmacological treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), contingency management, twelve-step programs, and more. Inequalitie

How Adolescents Used Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Among adolescents ages 10 to 14 in the U.S, the overall rate of drug use remained relatively stable in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one change was a decreased use of alcohol, but an increased use of nicotine and misuse of prescription drugs.

Preventive interventions can improve mental health outcomes in children, teens and young adults

Offering interventions to young people in the general community can prevent the emergence of certain mental health disorders, according to the first comprehensive systematic review to address this question. The results appear in the May/June issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry, which is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Increase in pleasurable effects of alcohol over time can predict alcohol use disorder

A new study out of the University of Chicago Medicine following young adult drinkers for 10 years has found that individuals who reported the highest sensitivity to alcohol’s pleasurable and rewarding effects at the start of the trial were more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder (AUD) over the course of the study.

Stay-at-home orders tied to an increase in harmful alcohol consumption, study finds

Binge drinkers increased their alcohol consumption by nearly 20% during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, according to new research by public health experts at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Their study, published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, is one of the first to analyze the association of stress caused by the pandemic and dangerous alcohol consumption.

Concussions are associated with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional health consequences for student athletes

Concussions can have a compounding effect on children, leading to long-term cognitive, behavioral, and emotional health consequences, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), who published their findings in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics at UIC receives $8M from NIH

The University of Illinois at Chicago received $8.2 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to continue the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics and its research on how alcohol affects genes through epigenetics — chemical changes to DNA, RNA or proteins that alter the expression of genes without directly modifying them.