Friday, August 28 2026
By System Admin,
Friday, August 28 2026
Common at parties, tailgates and other social gatherings, the combination of energy drinks and alcohol can increase the risk of alcohol poisoning, injury and impaired judgment. Caffeine in energy drinks acts as a stimulant, while alcohol is a depressant. Together, they can affect how people perceive the effects of alcohol. Students may feel "less drunk" than they actually are, leading them to drink more alcohol than they otherwise would. As a result, alcohol-related harms become more likely.
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Monday, August 24 2026
By System Admin,
Monday, August 24 2026
When "tween" and young adolescents bring or pour drinks for adults, they may perceive that their parents approve of underage drinking, increasing the risk for early initiation of drinking and later harmful alcohol use.Findings from a new study help clarify that this family practice may have unintended negative consequences. Certain well-intentioned parenting practices, including permitting children to taste alcohol, are strongly linked to later teen drinking—though why and how are not well understood. Read more...
Tuesday, August 18 2026
By System Admin,
Tuesday, August 18 2026
Alcohol-related deaths have increased substantially over the last half century, with marked differences emerging by gender, geography, race, and age. The sharpest increases in death rates were among women, residents of the Midwest, White individuals, and people aged 65 and older, according to a study. Deaths among women have risen by 56 percent, a narrowing of the gender gap, particularly in the last 20 years, coinciding with the development of products and marketing targeted to women.
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By System Admin,
Tuesday, August 18 2026
A new treatment designed to improve emotional regulation in people with alcohol use disorder may help them drink less often. In a study of people receiving cognitive behavioral therapy for alcohol use disorder, those who also received emotion regulation treatment had a greater percentage of days when they did not drink. The results, published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, suggest that emotion regulation treatment may be a beneficial supplement to cognitive behavioral therapy for people who report drinking heavily in response to negative emotional experiences.
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Tuesday, July 14 2026
By System Admin,
Tuesday, July 14 2026
Young adults who experienced alcohol-induced blackouts (AIBs) reported more alcohol-related consequences than when they drank similar amounts without blacking out, according to a study. AIBs involve a period of amnesia while the person is conscious and interacting; they may not remember what happened. AIBs are linked to consequences ranging from embarrassment and hangovers to sexual risk and developing alcohol use disorder. Among college students with recent AIBs, one in three drinking days involves this type of blackout—perhaps in part because young adults often do not perceive AIBs negatively.
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Saturday, July 11 2026
By System Admin,
Saturday, July 11 2026
Alcohol-related deaths have increased substantially over the last half century, with marked differences emerging by gender, geography, race, and age. The sharpest increases in death rates were among women, residents of the Midwest, White individuals, and people aged 65 and older, according to a study. Economic conditions and local alcohol policies may contribute to these trends and could play an important role in reversing them. Read more...
Wednesday, July 8 2026
By System Admin,
Wednesday, July 8 2026
Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Chronic alcohol use is known to be a contributing risk factor for Alzheimer’s, but the means by which the neurodegeneration occurs remain unclear. New research focuses on how acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism, reshapes the brain at the molecular level and contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s.
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Sunday, July 5 2026
By System Admin,
Sunday, July 5 2026
Older adults are not only becoming a larger proportion of the U.S. population, they are also using and co-using alcohol and other substances at a growing rate. Almost half (49.2 percent) of the participants reported alcohol use, and nearly 10 percent reported heavy drinking at least once in the previous month. Higher consumption of alcohol and heavy drinking were significantly associated with cannabis/THC use, smoking cigarettes, and vaping nicotine, as well as using pain medication, stimulants, cocaine, and other non-prescription drugs. Exposure to certain drinking situations and contexts – such as friends/family visiting – was positively associated with a greater quantity of alcohol use.
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Thursday, July 2 2026
By System Admin,
Thursday, July 2 2026
Addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol among older adults is rising in the U.S. but often goes undetected. In 2023, an estimated 6.4 million Medicare beneficiaries had a substance-use disorder, according to federal data. At the same time, overdose rates among adults 65 and older increased by about 11 percent from 2022 to 2023, based on CDC estimates. Alcohol remains the most common substance abuse problem, with more than 1 in 10 older adults reporting binge drinking, a rate that has increased significantly since the early 2000s.
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Wednesday, July 1 2026
By System Admin,
Wednesday, July 1 2026
New research has found that adolescent binge drinking can repress neurons in the brain so they operate less normally because the genes required for their neurotransmitter function have been turned off. The adolescent brain is uniquely plastic, which supports learning and adaptation, but also creates a window of heightened vulnerability to harms. During this period, alcohol exposure can alter the developmental trajectory of both neural circuits and neuroimmune signaling, creating a persistent disruption of normal brain maturation.
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Wednesday, June 17 2026
By System Admin,
Wednesday, June 17 2026
A "nudging" strategy in the emergency department (ED) may be a path for prescribing a medication that can blunt cravings for alcohol—and dull its effects—offering an effective treatment for people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who might not otherwise receive it. The jumps in ordering at the nudge hospitals translated to a 12-fold increase in the likelihood of receiving a naltrexone prescription in the Phase 1 period, and a 15-fold increase during Phase 2. "Before our intervention, only a handful of experts prescribed naltrexone, and only one patient every couple months left with a prescription," Ebert explained. "It just wasn't something routinely done in the emergency department. After our intervention, 46 different clinicians prescribed it, with two patients each week, on average, getting a prescription." Read more...
Sunday, June 14 2026
By System Admin,
Sunday, June 14 2026
Social media platforms popular with teens regularly expose teens to alcohol-related content, and often, that content is created by influencers or sources in the alcohol industry. In a study, high school students reported they saw alcohol-related content most commonly on Instagram, followed by TikTok, YouTube, and SnapChat, with up to 40 percent of the alcohol-related content they viewed originating with influencers and up to 50 percent created by the alcohol industry. Teens reported high social media use. Music platforms, Instagram, and TikTok were the most popular, with more than 80 percent of participants reporting an hour or more a day on each. Read more...
Friday, June 12 2026
By System Admin,
Friday, June 12 2026
Even what many Americans consider moderate drinking is linked to an increased risk of death, disability, and chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published at Rutgers University. The new research, called the Alcohol Intake and Health Study -- initially commissioned by the U.S. federal government to inform development of the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines -- found a mortality risk from alcohol of 1 in 25 for people who consumed an average of 14 drinks per week. In contrast, drinking up to 7 drinks per week was associated with only minimally elevated risks for most conditions.
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Friday, May 29 2026
By System Admin,
Friday, May 29 2026
A new study from the University of Chicago Medicine reveals that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure when intoxicated, similar to drinkers who do not have depression. The findings counter the long-held belief that the pleasure people experience when drinking alcohol decreases with addiction and that drinking to intoxication is mainly to reduce negative feelings as a form of self-medication. The research challenges conventional notions about alcohol’s effects in depressed people who drink excessively and could improve treatment approaches by focusing medication and behavioral approaches more on alcohol's pleasure reward pathways and less on stress-responsive systems.
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Wednesday, May 27 2026
By System Admin,
Wednesday, May 27 2026
Teens who were exposed to alcohol in utero are more likely than their peers to engage in risky behaviors—most notably, hazardous drinking and underage sex, a combination that could perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The children born to mothers who reported binge drinking in pregnancy were more likely than others to engage in underage sexual activity before age 16 (34% higher odds) and reported a slightly higher number of risky behaviors overall. Higher counts of risky behaviors are linked to increased illness over the lifetime and earlier death. Read more...
Saturday, May 23 2026
By System Admin,
Saturday, May 23 2026
Disrupted metabolic function in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) may be amplified in the context of obesity, contributing to intensified alcohol cravings. This is according to a preliminary study that supports ongoing investigation of GLP-1 agonists as a potential AUD treatment. AUD and obesity frequently co-occur. Investigators at Yale University compared metabolic responses to stress and alcohol cues in people with AUD with and without obesity and in healthy controls.
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Thursday, May 14 2026
By System Admin,
Thursday, May 14 2026
For people trying to reduce their heavy drinking, the quality of their interpersonal relationships early in their recovery process may contribute to their success. A study published in
Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that those who were successful in achieving remission from alcohol use disorder had reduced negative interactions with their family and social network in the first month after they began their recovery process. The study suggests that training family and friends how to positively engage with people trying to reduce their drinking may improve their chances of success.
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Tuesday, April 28 2026
By System Admin,
Tuesday, April 28 2026
Researchers have shown they can detect cognitive decline related to heavy alcohol use even before clinical dementia symptoms appear. The study’s findings support the idea that alcohol use disorder is a potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults and highlight an opportunity to intervene before cognitive decline escalates. The study adds to the considerable research linking alcohol use disorder to dementia, and specifically examines early cognitive decline, and whether alcohol use disorder is responsible for biological changes resulting in early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Thursday, April 23 2026
By System Admin,
Thursday, April 23 2026
When we talk about binge drinking, it's often in the context of college-aged adults. However, one medical director says that while binge drinking is most common in adults aged 18-25, it is a concern for all ages. In fact, Dr. LaPietra explains, "Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men within a two-hour period." Factors such as height and weight can also have an impact on how alcohol affects you.
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Friday, April 10 2026
By System Admin,
Friday, April 10 2026
People who have three basic psychological needs met are more likely to have a healthy relationship with alcohol, according to new research from the University of Georgia. Across three different studies in the new publication, researchers found a sense of autonomy, competence and connection led participants to drink more responsibly. That meant drinking less, consuming alcohol more slowly and using a designated driver when drinking in public. People who said they weren’t fulfilled were more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking to the point of blacking out or acting foolishly or impulsively.
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