Factors Associated with Alcohol Use and its Consequences

Risk of alcohol use disorders in patients with insomnia: A population-based retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to explore the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in patients with insomnia.

METHODS

This was a population-based retrospective cohort study based on data from 2000 to 2013. Data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were employed for this study. A total of 8076 patients with insomnia were identified as the study group. The control group comprised 16,152 age- and sex-matched patients. We conducted a Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to estimate the effects of insomnia on the risk of AUDs.

RESULTS

The overall incidence of AUDs was 753.71 per 100,000 person-years for patients with insomnia, which was significantly higher than the incidence for those in the control group (377.73 per 100,000 person-years). Overall, patients with insomnia had a higher risk of AUDs than did those in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.42-2.10). We also observed a significantly higher risk of AUDs in patients with both insomnia and depression (adjusted HR = 5.85; 95% CI = 3.13-8.88) than in those without these conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of AUDs in patients with insomnia was found to be significantly higher than that in individuals in the control group; the risk was particularly pronounced among those with insomnia and depression. These conditions thus exhibited a joint effect on AUDs risk.

Alcohol trajectories among biracial black subgroups: Testing the intermediate substance use hypothesis

OBJECTIVE

This study tests the intermediate biracial substance use hypothesis, which suggests that the prevalence of substance use among biracial individuals fall intermediate to their corresponding mononoracial counterparts. Using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health (Add Health) data, we examine alcohol-use trajectories of a de-aggregated sample of biracial Black youth and compare them with the trajectories of the corresponding monoracial counterparts.

METHOD

The sample consists of 9421 adolescents and young adults who self-identified as 1 of 4 monoracial groups (i.e., Black, White, Hispanic, American Indian) or 1 of 3 biracial Black groups (i.e., Black-American Indian, Black-Hispanic, and Black-White). Study hypotheses are tested using latent growth curve modeling for first use, number of drinks, and binge drinking.

RESULTS

We found partial support for the intermediate substance use hypothesis, with the alcohol use rates of biracial Blacks more closely resembling the non-Black corresponding group than the monoracial Black group. Black-American Indians face particularly high risk of problematic drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate the need for additional research clarifying the onset and maintenance of alcohol use and misuse among biracial individuals and subgroups.