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Sleep and Alcohol Use in Women

Sleep disturbance is common among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Insomnia not only is a pathway toward alcohol consumption but also is related to increased risk of relapse, psychosocial impairment, decreased quality of life, and suicidal ideation in individuals with AUD. Few studies examining sleep disturbance and alcohol use have explored how this relationship differs between men...

Alcohol and Skeletal Muscle in Health and Disease

Introduction

Alcohol misuse is the most common form of substance misuse and is associated with liver, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases as well as with infections and cancers.1 Although an estimated 20% to 25% of people who drink heavily develop alcohol-related liver disease,2 40% to 60% of people with alcohol misuse have alcohol-related myopathy.3 Evidence that alcohol use leads to skeletal...

Chronic Diseases and Conditions Related to Alcohol Use

Alcohol has been a part of human culture for all of recorded history, with almost all societies in which alcohol is consumed experiencing net health and social problems (McGovern 2009; Tramacere et al. 2012b, c). With the industrialization of alcohol production and the globalization of its marketing and promotion, alcohol consumption and its related harms have increased worldwide (see Alcohol...

Alcohol and Cannabis Use and the Developing Brain

Introduction

Adolescence is marked by significant social, emotional, cognitive, and physical changes, as individuals transition from childhood to adulthood. Although the exact definition of adolescence tends to vary, recent findings regarding adolescent development and growth include individuals between the ages of 10 and 24.1 Consistent with this defined age range, the human brain continues to...

Identifying Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Children Affected by It: A Review of Biomarkers and Screening Tools

Introduction

Although the awareness of the negative impact of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) was already alluded to in ancient writings1 and the impact of ethanol embryopathy in animal models was studied as early as 1910,2 the conceptualization of a syndrome associated with PAE was not recognized within modern medicine until the mid-20th century.3,4 The syndrome or disorder was not uniformly...

Neuroplasticity in Human Alcoholism: Studies of Extended Abstinence with Potential Treatment Implications

A person with alcoholism engages in risky or dangerous drinking despite experiencing serious negative physical and social consequences. Such persistence in pursuing damaging behaviors suggests that the short-term “appetitive” results of drinking (such as intoxication and losing one’s inhibitions) have greater control over the alcoholic’s behavior than do the negative consequences. From a...

Effects of Alcohol on Tumor Growth, Metastasis, Immune Response, and Host Survival

Alcohol use and abuse have been implicated as etiological factors in the genesis of an increasing number of cancer types in both men and women. In 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed both beverage alcohol (i.e., ethanol) and its major metabolite, acetaldehyde, as tumor-inducing substances (i.e., carcinogens) in humans. The most recent worldwide statistic from 2002...

Focus On: Ethnicity and the Social and Health Harms From Drinking

Research has shown differential social and health effects from alcohol use across U.S. ethnic groups, including Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans. The relationship of ethnicity to alcohol-related social and health harms partially is attributed to the different rates and patterns of drinking across ethnicities. Some ethnic groups have higher rates of alcohol consumption...