Alcohol Alerts from the NIAAA

Although the extent of alcoholism among the elderly is debated, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems are likely to become increasingly important.

There are two reasons to investigate connections between alcohol and AIDS - alcohol may adversely affect the immune system and may influence high-risk sexual behavior.

Considerable evidence suggests a connection between heavy alcohol consumption and increased risk for cancer.

When health professionals encounter patients who are having cognitive difficulties, such as impaired memory or reasoning ability, alcohol use may be the cause.

Alcohol can impair the functions of the hormone-releasing glands and of the target tissues, thereby causing serious medical consequences.

Although more research is needed, evidence suggests that prevention and treatment efforts may be more effective when based on an understanding of the ethnic context of drinking behaviors and their development.

Genetic and environmental factors may put some minorities at risk for alcoholism or protect other minorities from alcohol problems.

Alcoholics often eat poorly, limiting their supply of essential nutrients and affecting both energy supply and structure maintenance.

Alcohol consumption can induce sleep disorders by disrupting the sequence and duration of sleep states and by altering total sleep time.

Studying the link between alcohol consumption and stress may further our understanding of drinking behavior.

Alcohol-induced liver disease is a major cause of illness and death in the United States, sometimes it is reversible, others not.

Drinking among U.S. workers can threaten public safety, impair job performance, and result in costly medical, social, and other problems.

Extensive research supports the observation that smokers drink and drinkers smoke and the heaviest alcohol consumers are also the heaviest consumers of tobacco.

Tolerance means that after continued drinking, consumption of a constant amount of alcohol produces a lesser effect.

Trauma is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States and alcohol plays a big role in accidents and injuries.

Drinking behavior differs with the age, life role, and marital status of women. A woman's drinking resembles that of her husband, siblings, or close friends.

Through oxidation, alcohol is detoxified and removed from the blood, preventing the alcohol from accumulating and destroying cells and organs.

The alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a cluster of symptoms observed in persons who stop drinking alcohol following continuous and heavy consumption.

Scientists and nonscientists alike have long recognized a two-way association between alcohol consumption and violent or aggressive behavior.

Many medications can interact with alcohol, leading to increased risk of illness, injury, or death.

Alcohol consumption is associated with a wide range of accidents and injuries resulting from impaired performance of complex mental and motor functions.

The term comorbidity refers to the presence of any two or more illnesses in the same person including medical or psychiatric conditions, as well as alcoholism.

Animals are used in alcoholism research for the same reasons that they are used in all medical research.

The goal of assessment is to determine personal characteristics that can influence the treatment of a patient's alcohol problem.

Alcoholic ex-heroin addicts who are in methadone-maintenance treatment can be treated for their alcoholism without first withdrawing them from methadone.

An estimated 6.6 million children under the age of 18 years live in households with at least one alcoholic parent.

Brain damage is a common and potentially severe consequence of long-term, heavy alcohol consumption. Even mild-to-moderate drinking can adversely affect cognitive functioning.

Many students do not grasp an enormous health problem on our college campuses -- alcohol abuse.

Many researchers and clinicians consider craving an important contributor to the development and maintenance of alcoholism.

Diagnosis is the process of identifying and labeling specific conditions such as alcohol abuse or dependence.

Drinking alcohol impairs a wide range of skills necessary for carrying out the basic tasks required to drive safely.

Estimates of the economic costs of alcohol abuse attempt to assess in monetary terms the damage that results from the misuse of alcohol.

The term fetal alcohol syndrome was first used to describe a pattern of abnormalities observed in children born to alcoholic mothers.

The idea that alcoholism runs in families is an ancient one. Science has advanced this idea from the status of folk-observation to systematic investigation.

Moderate drinking may be defined as drinking that does not generally cause problems, either for the drinker or for society.

Research suggests that the processes leading to the development of alcoholism reside largely in the brain leading to developing medications that act on specific brain chemicals.

Matching alcoholic patients to treatments based on their particular characteristics may have the potential to improve alcoholism treatment outcomes.

Prevention measures aim to reduce alcohol abuse and its consequences by regulating alcohol-related behavior and educational interventions.

Public health policy refers to laws, regulations, and other mechanisms by which government seeks to influence individual health-related behavior.

There is evidence that approximately 90 percent of alcoholics are likely to experience at least one relapse over the 4-year period following treatment.

Clinicians have the opportunity to play a key role in detecting alcohol problems and in initiating prevention or treatment efforts.

Physicians in various health care settings often do not recognize and treat alcoholism highlighting the need for accurate procedures to screen for alcoholism.

Although no single study is likely to answer all questions, every medical and behavioral treatment needs to be evaluated.

Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined. Some of the most serious and widespread alcohol–related problems among adolescents are discussed in this alert.

Women appear to be more vulnerable than men to many adverse consequences of alcohol use.

Factors that put youth at risk for drinking and for alcohol-related problems and some of the consequences of their drinking.