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Introduction

Abundant cross-sectional data indicate that alcohol use and related problems are accompanied by disruptions to sleep and circadian rhythms.¹ Alcohol's negative impacts on sleep are well established, especially in adults, and a smaller body of literature also reports alcohol's disruption of circadian rhythms.^2-4 Growing evidence supports sleep and circadian factors as influencing...

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...

Introduction

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is linked to miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, sudden infant death syndrome, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).¹ Although PAE is the sole necessary cause of FASD, the etiology of this leading preventable cause of disability is multifaceted and complex, including lifestyle, maternal, sociodemographic, social, gestational, and genetic...

Introduction

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is a necessary cause of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a group of alcohol-related conditions characterized by neurodevelopmental problems. Although PAE is associated with many adverse physical, neurodevelopmental, and social outcomes, the most commonly studied are neurodevelopmental—primarily behavioral and cognitive—outcomes. Associations...

Introduction

The establishment of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in 1971 was bracketed by three seminal papers that laid the groundwork for the field of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) research. In 1968, Lemoine et al.¹ described children with birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). This French...

Introduction

A large proportion of the population consume alcoholic beverages at some time in their lives. For most people, alcohol consumption is low to moderate and is not associated with harmful physiological, psychological, or social outcomes. However, for a substantial number of individuals, alcohol consumption increases over time; leads to the development of tolerance and alcohol-related...

Over the past century, differences in alcohol use and related harms between males and females in the United States have diminished considerably. In general, males still consume more alcohol and experience and cause more alcohol-related injuries and deaths than females do, but the gaps are narrowing. Among adolescents and emerging adults, gaps in drinking have narrowed primarily because alcohol use...

Although research on alcohol-related disparities among women is a highly understudied area, evidence shows that racial/ethnic minority women, sexual minority women, and women of low socioeconomic status (based on education, income, or residence in disadvantaged neighborhoods) are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems. These problems include alcohol use disorder, particularly after...

1Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas

Women with alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience more barriers to AUD treatment and are less likely to access treatment than men with AUD. A literature review identified several barriers to women seeking help: low perception of a need for treatment; guilt and shame; co-occurring disorders; employment, economic, and health insurance disparities; childcare responsibilities; and fear of child...