Background: The restrictive lockdown measures that were introduced as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed constraints that affected university students’ drinking habits and mental health. Methods: The current...Background: The restrictive lockdown measures that were introduced as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed constraints that affected university students’ drinking habits and mental health. Methods: The current study evaluated the rate of binge drinking among university students as they returned to normal life post-lockdown and whether binge drinking affected their mental health and quality of life. A cross-sectional study included 1382 university students (18 - 24 years) of one private Southwestern university in Brazil. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief were used. Data were collected after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period (from October 2021 to May 2022). Results: 52.6% of the students reported binge drinking, and 35.6% reported symptoms of depression. Binge drinkers were 1.41 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms when compared with non-binge drinkers, and binge drinking was a risk factor for lower quality of life in all three domains (physical, psychological and environmental). Conclusion: Our study highlights an increased prevalence of binge drinking in university students after the pandemic lockdown. The rise in binge drinking rates was linked to depressive symptoms and worsening of quality of life.展开更多
We develop a two-stage （four component） model for youths with serious drinking prob- lems and their treatment. The youths with alcohol problems are split into two classes, namely those who admit to having a problem ...We develop a two-stage （four component） model for youths with serious drinking prob- lems and their treatment. The youths with alcohol problems are split into two classes, namely those who admit to having a problem and those who do not. It is shown that the model possesses two steady states, one where people have no alcohol problems and one where there is an endemic state involving those with an alcohol problem. The stability of these states is analyzed and a threshold established such that each state will be stable depending on whether the incidence rate is above or below the threshold. The model is analyzed in the context of actual data.展开更多
Daily average intake of alcohol during pregnancy has consistently been associated with short term adverse outcomes such as miscarriage, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, a large variety of malformatio...Daily average intake of alcohol during pregnancy has consistently been associated with short term adverse outcomes such as miscarriage, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, a large variety of malformations, as well as long term adverse outcomes such as foetal alcohol syndrome, mental retardation and general impairment of cognitive functions including intelligence, attention, learning abilities as well as social and behavioural functions. Weekly average consumption and alcohol binge drinking （usually defined as ≥ 5 drinks on a single occasion） independently of high daily average intake has not been consistently associated with short and long term adverse outcomes. Health authorities in most countries recommend that pregnant women completely abstain from alcohol. Even so, many health professionals including doctors, midwives and nurses do not provide information to pregnant women in accordance with the offcial recommendations, although a large proportion of women of child bearing age and pregnant women drink alcohol, especially before recognition of pregnancy. The discrepancy between guidelines and the information practice of health personnel is likely to continue to exist because guidelines of abstinence are not clearly evidence-based and not in line with current focus on autonomy and informed choice for patients, and because guidelines do not consider the everyday clinical communication situation.展开更多
Background & Objective: Chronic excessive alcohol consumption causes white matter degeneration with myelin loss and impaired neuronal conductivity. Subsequent rarefaction of myelin accounts for the sustained defic...Background & Objective: Chronic excessive alcohol consumption causes white matter degeneration with myelin loss and impaired neuronal conductivity. Subsequent rarefaction of myelin accounts for the sustained deficits in cognition, learning, and memory. Correspondingly, chronic heavy or repeated binge alcohol exposures in humans and experimental models alter myelin lipid composition leading to build-up of ceramides which can be neurotoxic and broadly inhibitory to brain functions. Methods: This study examined the effects of chronic + binge alcohol exposures (8 weeks) and intervention with myriocin, a ceramide inhibitor, on neurobehavioral functions (Open Field, Novel Object Recognition, and Morris Water Maze tests) and frontal lobe white matter myelin lipid biochemical pathology in an adult Long-Evans rat model. Results: The ethanol-exposed group had significant deficits in executive functions with increased indices of anxiety and impairments in spatial learning acquisition. Myriocin partially remediated these effects of ethanol while not impacting behavior in the control group. Ethanol-fed rats had significantly smaller brains with broadly reduced expression of sulfatides and reduced expression of two of the three sphingomyelins detected in frontal white matter. Myriocin partially resolved these effects corresponding with improvements in neurobehavioral function. Conclusion: Therapeutic strategies that support cerebral white matter myelin expression of sulfatide and sphingomyelin may help remediate cognitive-behavioral dysfunction following chronic heavy alcohol consumption in humans.展开更多
文摘Background: The restrictive lockdown measures that were introduced as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed constraints that affected university students’ drinking habits and mental health. Methods: The current study evaluated the rate of binge drinking among university students as they returned to normal life post-lockdown and whether binge drinking affected their mental health and quality of life. A cross-sectional study included 1382 university students (18 - 24 years) of one private Southwestern university in Brazil. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief were used. Data were collected after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period (from October 2021 to May 2022). Results: 52.6% of the students reported binge drinking, and 35.6% reported symptoms of depression. Binge drinkers were 1.41 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms when compared with non-binge drinkers, and binge drinking was a risk factor for lower quality of life in all three domains (physical, psychological and environmental). Conclusion: Our study highlights an increased prevalence of binge drinking in university students after the pandemic lockdown. The rise in binge drinking rates was linked to depressive symptoms and worsening of quality of life.
文摘We develop a two-stage （four component） model for youths with serious drinking prob- lems and their treatment. The youths with alcohol problems are split into two classes, namely those who admit to having a problem and those who do not. It is shown that the model possesses two steady states, one where people have no alcohol problems and one where there is an endemic state involving those with an alcohol problem. The stability of these states is analyzed and a threshold established such that each state will be stable depending on whether the incidence rate is above or below the threshold. The model is analyzed in the context of actual data.
文摘Daily average intake of alcohol during pregnancy has consistently been associated with short term adverse outcomes such as miscarriage, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, a large variety of malformations, as well as long term adverse outcomes such as foetal alcohol syndrome, mental retardation and general impairment of cognitive functions including intelligence, attention, learning abilities as well as social and behavioural functions. Weekly average consumption and alcohol binge drinking （usually defined as ≥ 5 drinks on a single occasion） independently of high daily average intake has not been consistently associated with short and long term adverse outcomes. Health authorities in most countries recommend that pregnant women completely abstain from alcohol. Even so, many health professionals including doctors, midwives and nurses do not provide information to pregnant women in accordance with the offcial recommendations, although a large proportion of women of child bearing age and pregnant women drink alcohol, especially before recognition of pregnancy. The discrepancy between guidelines and the information practice of health personnel is likely to continue to exist because guidelines of abstinence are not clearly evidence-based and not in line with current focus on autonomy and informed choice for patients, and because guidelines do not consider the everyday clinical communication situation.
文摘Background & Objective: Chronic excessive alcohol consumption causes white matter degeneration with myelin loss and impaired neuronal conductivity. Subsequent rarefaction of myelin accounts for the sustained deficits in cognition, learning, and memory. Correspondingly, chronic heavy or repeated binge alcohol exposures in humans and experimental models alter myelin lipid composition leading to build-up of ceramides which can be neurotoxic and broadly inhibitory to brain functions. Methods: This study examined the effects of chronic + binge alcohol exposures (8 weeks) and intervention with myriocin, a ceramide inhibitor, on neurobehavioral functions (Open Field, Novel Object Recognition, and Morris Water Maze tests) and frontal lobe white matter myelin lipid biochemical pathology in an adult Long-Evans rat model. Results: The ethanol-exposed group had significant deficits in executive functions with increased indices of anxiety and impairments in spatial learning acquisition. Myriocin partially remediated these effects of ethanol while not impacting behavior in the control group. Ethanol-fed rats had significantly smaller brains with broadly reduced expression of sulfatides and reduced expression of two of the three sphingomyelins detected in frontal white matter. Myriocin partially resolved these effects corresponding with improvements in neurobehavioral function. Conclusion: Therapeutic strategies that support cerebral white matter myelin expression of sulfatide and sphingomyelin may help remediate cognitive-behavioral dysfunction following chronic heavy alcohol consumption in humans.
