Alcohol Consumption, Drinking Patterns, and Cognitive Performance in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis

Emotional and cognitive influences on alcohol consumption in middle-aged and elderly Tanzanians: a population-based study

Alcohol consumption in Tanzania exceeds the global average. While sociodemographic difference in alcohol consumption in Tanzania have been studied, the relationship between psycho-cognitive phenomena and alcohol consumption has garnered little attention. Our study examines how depressive symptoms and cognitive performance affect alcohol consumption, considering sociodemographic variations. We interviewed 2299 Tanzanian adults, with an average age of 53 years, to assess their alcohol consumption, depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, and sociodemographic characteristics using a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model. The logistic portion of our model revealed that the likelihood alcohol consumption increased by 8.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6%, 13.1%, p < 0.001) as depressive symptom severity increased. Conversely, the count portion of the model indicated that with each one-unit increase in the severity of depressive symptoms, the estimated number of drinks decreased by 2.3% (95% CI [0.4%, 4.0%], p = .016). Additionally, the number of drinks consumed decreased by 4.7% (95% CI [1.2%, 8.1%], p = .010) for each increased cognitive score. Men exhibited higher alcohol consumption than women, and Christians tended to consume more than Muslims. These findings suggest that middle-aged and elderly adults in Tanzania tend to consume alcohol when they feel depressed but moderate their drinking habits by leveraging their cognitive abilities.

Alcohol milestones and internalizing, externalizing, and executive function: longitudinal and polygenic score associations

BACKGROUND

Although the link between alcohol involvement and behavioral phenotypes (e.g. impulsivity, negative affect, executive function [EF]) is well-established, the directionality of these associations, specificity to stages of alcohol involvement, and extent of shared genetic liability remain unclear. We estimate longitudinal associations between transitions among alcohol milestones, behavioral phenotypes, and indices of genetic risk.

METHODS

Data came from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (n = 3681; ages 11-36). Alcohol transitions (first: drink, intoxication, alcohol use disorder [AUD] symptom, AUD diagnosis), internalizing, and externalizing phenotypes came from the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism. EF was measured with the Tower of London and Visual Span Tasks. Polygenic scores (PGS) were computed for alcohol-related and behavioral phenotypes. Cox models estimated associations among PGS, behavior, and alcohol milestones.

RESULTS

Externalizing phenotypes (e.g. conduct disorder symptoms) were associated with future initiation and drinking problems (hazard ratio (HR)⩾1.16). Internalizing (e.g. social anxiety) was associated with hazards for progression from first drink to severe AUD (HR⩾1.55). Initiation and AUD were associated with increased hazards for later depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (HR⩾1.38), and initiation was associated with increased hazards for future conduct symptoms (HR = 1.60). EF was not associated with alcohol transitions. Drinks per week PGS was linked with increased hazards for alcohol transitions (HR⩾1.06). Problematic alcohol use PGS increased hazards for suicidal ideation (HR = 1.20).

CONCLUSIONS

Behavioral markers of addiction vulnerability precede and follow alcohol transitions, highlighting dynamic, bidirectional relationships between behavior and emerging addiction.

Mobile Data Collection of Cognitive-Behavioral Tasks in Substance Use Disorders: Where Are We Now?

INTRODUCTION

Over the last decades, our understanding of the cognitive, motivational, and neural processes involved in addictive behavior has increased enormously. A plethora of laboratory-based and cross-sectional studies has linked cognitive-behavioral measures to between-subject differences in drinking behavior. However, such laboratory-based studies inevitably suffer from small sample sizes and the inability to link temporal fluctuations in task measures to fluctuations in real-life substance use. To overcome these problems, several existing behavioral tasks have been transferred to smartphones to allow studying cognition in the field.

METHOD

In this narrative review, we first summarize studies that used existing behavioral tasks in the laboratory and self-reports of substance use with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in the field. Next, we review studies on psychometric properties of smartphone-based behavioral tasks. Finally, we review studies that used both smartphone-based tasks and self-reports with EMA in the field.

RESULTS

Overall, studies were scarce and heterogenous both in tasks and in study outcomes. Nevertheless, existing findings are promising and point toward several methodological recommendations: concerning psychometrics, studies show that - although more systematic studies are necessary - task validity and reliability can be improved, for example, by analyzing several measurement sessions at once rather than analyzing sessions separately. Studies that use tasks in the field, moreover, show that power can be improved by choosing sampling schemes that combine time-based with event-based sampling, rather than relying on time-based sampling alone. Increasing sampling frequency can further increase power. However, as this also increases the burden to participants, more research is necessary to determine the ideal sampling frequency for each task.

CONCLUSION

Although more research is necessary to systematically study both the psychometrics of smartphone-based tasks and the frequency at which task measures fluctuate, existing studies are promising and reveal important methodological recommendations useful for researchers interested in implementing behavioral tasks in EMA studies.

Applying the exposome concept to working life health

Exposures at work have a major impact on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Current risk reduction policies and strategies are informed by existing scientific evidence, which is limited due to the challenges of studying the complex relationship between exposure at work and outside work and health. We define the working life exposome as all occupational and related nonoccupational exposures. The latter includes nonoccupational exposures that may be directly or indirectly influenced by or interact with the working life of the individual in their relation to health. The Exposome Project for Health and Occupational Research aims to advance knowledge on the complex working life exposures in relation to disease beyond the single high exposure–single health outcome paradigm, mapping and relating interrelated exposures to inherent biological pathways, key body functions, and health. This will be achieved by combining (1) large-scale harmonization and pooling of existing European cohorts systematically looking at multiple exposures and diseases, with (2) the collection of new high-resolution external and internal exposure data. Methods and tools to characterize the working life exposome will be developed and applied, including sensors, wearables, a harmonized job exposure matrix (EuroJEM), noninvasive biomonitoring, omics, data mining, and (bio)statistics. The toolbox of developed methods and knowledge will be made available to policy makers, occupational health practitioners, and scientists. Advanced knowledge on working life exposures in relation to NCDs will serve as a basis for evidence-based and cost-effective preventive policies and actions. The toolbox will also enable future scientists to further expand the working life exposome knowledge base.

The Role of Cyclooxygenase 2 in the Cognitive Impairment Induced by Alcohol or Stress in Rats

Background:

Cognitive impairment is an unpleasant and progressive mental disorder characterized by learning and memory disabilities. Stress and alcohol are two known environmental factors that increase cognitive impairment. This study was designed to evaluate the relative role of cyclooxygenase 2 in alcohol or stress-induced cognitive impairment.

Materials and Methods:

Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into groups with six rats in each. The groups included sham, control, alcohol (15% ethanol in drinking water), and restraint stress (restraint 6 h per day). Three separated groups received celecoxib at a dose of 20 mg/kg in addition to those listed above. The treatments continued daily for 28 days. The object recognition task (ORT) and Morris water maze (MWM) are used to evaluate the learning and memory.

Results:

Alcohol or restrain stress significantly increased the time and distance needed to find the hidden platform in MWM. Furthermore, they decreased the recognition index in ORT compared to the control group. Administration of celecoxib significantly decreased the required time and traveled distance to reach the platform in alcohol-treated animals but not in the stress-exposed rats. Celecoxib also significantly increased the recognition index both in alcohol- or restraint stress-exposed animals.

Conclusion:

We found that either alcohol or restraint stress impairs memory in rats. In MWM, celecoxib improved the alcohol-induced memory impairment but could not show a reduction in memory deterioration due to restraint stress. In ORT, celecoxib reversed memory impairment due to both alcohol and restraint stress.

Alcohol and Cannabis Use and the Developing Brain

PURPOSE

Alcohol and cannabis are the most commonly used substances during adolescence and are typically initiated during this sensitive neurodevelopmental period. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent literature focused on understanding how these substances affect the developing brain.

SEARCH METHODS

Articles included in this review were identified by entering 30 search terms focused on substance use, adolescence, and neurodevelopment into MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, ProQuest Central, and Web of Science. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they longitudinally examined the effect of adolescent alcohol and/or cannabis use on structural or functional outcomes in 50 or more participants.

SEARCH RESULTS

More than 700 articles were captured by the search, and 43 longitudinal studies met inclusion criteria, including 18 studies focused on alcohol use, 13 on cannabis use, and 12 on alcohol and cannabis co-use.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Existing studies suggest heavy alcohol and cannabis use during adolescence are related to small to moderate disruptions in brain structure and function, as well as neurocognitive impairment. The effects of alcohol use include widespread decreases in gray matter volume and cortical thickness across time; slowed white matter growth and poorer integrity; disrupted network efficiency; and poorer impulse and attentional control, learning, memory, visuospatial processing, and psychomotor speed. The severity of some effects is dependent on dose. Heavy to very heavy cannabis use is associated with decreased subcortical volume and increased frontoparietal cortical thickness, disrupted functional development, and decreased executive functioning and IQ compared to non-using controls. Overall, co-use findings suggest more pronounced effects related to alcohol use than to cannabis use. Several limitations exist in the literature. Sample sizes are relatively small and demographically homogenous, with significant heterogeneity in substance use patterns and methodologies across studies. More research is needed to clarify how substance dosing and interactions between substances, as well as sociodemographic and environmental factors, affect outcomes. Larger longitudinal studies, already underway, will help clarify the relationship between brain development and substance use.