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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

News Release

Combined prenatal smoking and drinking greatly increases SIDS risk
For Release

Children born to mothers who both drank and smoked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy have a 12-fold increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) compared to those unexposed or only exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. SIDS is the sudden, unexplained, death of an infant...

RFA on Health Services with An Emphasis on Health Disparities
Laura Kwako, Ph.D. Purpose The Division of Treatment and Recovery Research (DTRR) seeks to expand the Division’s portfolio to advance five main areas in health services research listed below in the research goals/statement of work section. Background Alcohol consumption in the United States falls along a wide spectrum of drinking patterns, ranging from occasional and moderate to chronic heavy drinking...
A Better Way to Talk About Problems with Alcohol Misuse
Did you know that language commonly used to describe alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder (AUD) can influence treatment outcomes in people suffering from alcohol problems? Yes, that can often be the case. In fact, the stigma perpetuated by such language can decrease a person’s motivation to seek help for an alcohol problem
References
References 1 Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Table 2.43B. 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2016. 2 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Unpublished data from the 2012–2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III (NESARC-III), a nationwide survey of 36,309 U.S...
Appendix A. Elements of Model Research Intervention Programs

April 23-24, 1998 • Ramada Inn • Bethesda, Maryland As the Working Group meeting drew to a close, NIAAA asked the members to sketch the rudiments of four potential models for intervening with risk drinking during pregnancy. Three were to be based on the target groups specified in the IOM report–universal, selective, and indicated. The fourth model was to cut...

Event

Webinar - Interagency Work Group on Drinking and Drug Use in Women and Girls
Friday, October 1, 2021, 11:00 am EDT to Friday, October 1, 2021, 12:00 pm EDT
Webinar Title: “Reductions in Drinking as Measured by WHO Risk Drinking Levels and Associations with Health and Functioning: Consistency in Population Studies and Clinical Trials” Speakers: Deborah S. Hasin, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute Katie Witkiewitz, PhD. Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA), University of New Mexico Date: Friday, October 1...

News Release

Frequency of Light-to-Moderate Drinking Reduces Heart Disease Risk in Men
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A 12-year study of 38,077 male health professionals found that men who drank alcohol three or more days per week had a reduced risk of heart attack compared with men who drank less frequently. Men who drank less than one drink a day had similar risk reduction to those who drank three. Many epidemiologic studies have reported that moderate drinking-for...

News Release

Parents' Escape Drinking Evokes Children's Negative Response to Alcohol Smell
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Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia report in today's Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research that children between the ages of 3 and 6 years are likely to dislike the smell of beer if their parents report drinking to escape feelings of unhappiness. The findings extend earlier knowledge that young children acquire sensory learning about alcohol and suggest...

News Release

Age of Drinking Onset Predicts Future Alcohol Abuse and Dependence
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The younger the age of drinking onset, the greater the chance that an individual at some point in life will develop a clinically defined alcohol disorder, according to a new report released today by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Young people who began drinking before age 15 were four times more likely to develop...

Moderate Drinking During Pregnancy Alters Gene Expression in the Placenta

Many children adversely affected by maternal drinking during pregnancy cannot be identified early in life using current diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). In the current study, conducted with pregnant rats, researchers examined whether ethanol-induced alterations in placental gene expression may be useful as diagnostic indicators of maternal drinking during pregnancy and as a prognostic indicators of risk...

NIAAA Spectrum: Brain Scans Reveal Heavy Drinking Damages White Matter
Researchers led by Catherine Fortier at Harvard Medical School found that chronic alcohol misuse damaged white matter in areas of the brain that are important for self-control and recovery from alcoholism. The findings appeared in the December 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research . Using high-resolution diffusion magnetic resonance brain scans, the researchers compared a group of 20...

News Release

Study defines brain and behavioral effects of teen binge drinking
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NIH-funded findings also point to possible treatments for harmful effects of adolescent alcohol exposure Adolescent binge drinking can disrupt gene regulation and brain development in ways that promote anxiety and excessive drinking behaviors that can persist into adulthood, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of...

News Release

NIH-support studies show online course helps reduce harmful college drinking
For Release

An online alcohol prevention course can help reduce harmful drinking among college freshmen, but the benefits in the fall don’t last through the spring, according to a study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Led by Mallie J. Paschall, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Pacific Institute for Research...

Announcement

SAMHSA: Join the Conversation about the Dangers of Underage Drinking

#WeTalked As part of its “ Talk. They Hear You .” campaign ( https://www.samhsa.gov/underage-drinking), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is encouraging parents, caregivers, and other adult role models to have ongoing conversations with kids about the dangers of underage drinking, and then share their experiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #WeTalked. The #WeTalked...

Speakers in Working Group on Prevention of Risk Drinking in Pregnancy

Speakers Grace Chang, M.D., M.P.H. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital 221 Longwood Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (617) 732-6775 (617) 738-8730 FAX E-mail: gchang@bics.harvard.edu Michael F. Fleming, M.D., M.P.H. Department of Family Medicine University of Wisconsin 777 South Mills Street Madison, Wisconsin 53715 (608) 263-9953 (608) 263-5813 FAX E-mail: mfleming@fammed.wisc.edu Janet Hankin, Ph.D. Department of Sociology...

Agenda on Working Group on Prevention of Risk Drinking in Pregnancy

April 23-24, 1998 • Ramada Inn • Bethesda, Maryland Agenda Working Group on Prevention of Risk Drinking in Pregnancy Thursday, April 23, 1998 - Embassy II & III Time Session 8:00 a.m. Registration - Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. Welcome and Charge to the Working Group Chair: Mary Dufour, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director, NIAAA Enoch Gordis, M.D., Director, NIAAA Joyce Rudick...

Ibudilast reduces alcohol drinking in multiple animal models of alcohol dependence

Results from a recent NIAAA study suggest that the medication ibudilast may be viable as a potential treatment for alcohol dependence. Ibudilast, an anti-inflammatory medication that acts as a non-selective phosphodiesterase inhibitor, reduces alcohol drinking and relapse in alcohol-preferring P rats, high-alcohol drinking HAD1 rats, and in mice made dependent on alcohol through cycles of alcohol vapor exposure. Neuroinflammatory signaling...

Study Examines Public Health Effects of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age

Alcohol consumption and its harms are common among young people, including those who are below the legal drinking age of 21. Some people argue that the current age-21 drinking limit in the United States is “not working,” and propose that the drinking age be lowered to 18. Researchers recently conducted economic analyses to estimate the effects of the minimum legal...

Scientists Shed New Light on Binge Drinking Pathway in Rat Brain

Episodes of heavy alcohol consumption leading to intoxication are associated with many health and safety problems, including unintentional injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence and alcohol poisoning. Previous studies have shown that brain molecules called GABAA receptors appear to play a role in excessive drinking. In a new study, researchers used an established rat model of binge drinking to investigate how...

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