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Drinking heavily while younger puts you at risk for muscle loss and frailty later in life, new research suggests.

These findings are another reason to cut back on the booze, according to the research team from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom.

“Losing muscle as we age leads to problems with weakness and frailty in later life,” said professor

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • May 25, 2023
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  • Teens who use electronic cigarettes are significantly more likely than non-vapers to binge-drink and use cannabis, new research finds.

    Surveys of teens ages 13 to 18 revealed that vapers were 20 times more likely to use marijuana than teens who used no nicotine products. And those who vaped in the previous month were six times more likely to have had multiple binge-drinking episodes ...

    Exercise might help people who are battling addiction stay on the straight and narrow, a new research review finds.

    Investigators who analyzed 43 studies from around the world found a link between physical activity and reduced substance use among people in treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.

    The idea for the study review “came to me when I was working as a kinesiologist in ...

    Breakthrough research shows genetic markers for substance abuse and could lead to more effective ways to prevent and treat drug and alcohol use disorders.

    These findings could help people who face addiction to varied substances, including those who have more than one addiction at a time.

    The findings al...

    Genetic analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair has provided new clues into the cause of the great composer's death in 1827 — as well as evidence of a family scandal.

    The analysis revealed that Beethoven suffered from a hepatitis B infection that could have contributed to his death from liver disease.

    Researchers found DNA evidence of hepatitis B virus in a lock of hair taken from...

    Even modest drinking can speed up the loss of brain cells and formation of the plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, research in mice shows.

    These plaques are an accumulation of toxic proteins.

    “These findings suggest alcohol might accelerate the pathological cascade of Alzheimer's disease in its early stages,” said study co-author

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • February 22, 2023
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  • Actor Michael J. Fox details his experiences with Parkinson's disease, including turning to alcohol and pills in an attempt to cope, in a new documentary.

    Fox, 61, has had the degenerative brain disorder since 1991, but didn't disclose it publicly until 1998.

    The star — best known for the “Back to the Future” movies — said he was an alcoholic in the early days and also too...

    For teens who are obese, weight-loss surgery can be life-changing — but not always in a good way.

    A new study finds a troubling downside to weight-loss surgery among 13- to 19-year-olds: They're at increased risk of alcohol use disorders. And their risk stays higher for up to eight years after their surgery.

    “We have to be honest about both the risks and benefits of these proced...

    Having a “dry January,” or giving up alcohol for the first month of the year, is a trend.

    And it's not a bad idea, according to a drug and alcohol rehab counselor with Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

    Not consuming alcohol can have many health benefits, said Alan Berki, ...

    Quitting alcohol can help reduce complications of liver cirrhosis, even in patients who have advanced disease. It can also help them live longer, new research shows.

    "Our results clearly show that all patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis who maintain sustained abstinence from alcohol not only suffer complications of liver cirrhosis significantly less frequently, but also live co...

    Before you toast the holiday season with too much alcohol, here's a sobering thought.

    Folks who get injured severely enough while intoxicated to require hospital treatment are five times more likely to die in the coming year, according to new research published in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs<...

    Alcohol increases the risk of cancer, but some Americans think it does the opposite, a new study shows.

    Researchers set out to understand people's awareness of the links between alcohol and cancer, finding that many would benefit from further education on the issue.

    “All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase cancer risk,” said senior study author

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • December 2, 2022
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  • Could unfettered access to marijuana fuel a rise in drinking rates?

    Yes, report researchers who found alcohol consumption increased at times and in places where marijuana was made legal for certain groups.

    The increase in drinking was mostly driven by young adults and men, according to University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health policy scientists.

    "Recreational cannabis l...

    Deaths caused by alcohol skyrocketed in the United States between 2019 and 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, according to a just-published government report.

    The alcohol-induced death rate jumped 26% during that period, claiming more than 49,000 lives, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported...

    For anyone who thinks alcoholism isn't a deadly disease, a new government report shows alcohol abuse caused nearly 13% of deaths in American adults under 65 between 2015 and 2019.

    The statistics were even more grim among younger U.S. adults: In people aged 20 to 49, alcohol abuse was the cause of 20% of deaths.

    "States and communities can prevent these premature deaths using eviden...

    Jon Kostas, a lifelong resident of New York City, started bar-hopping at age 13. At the height of his alcoholism, he was consuming as many as 30 drinks a night.

    Desperate for a way out, Kostas, 32, turned to a new therapy: psilocybin -- the psychedelic compound found in so-cal...

    A new study of U.S. military veterans reveals they are more comfortable getting help for physical ills than for mental health issues.

    "The majority of participants indicated they would be willing to seek treatment for both physical and mental health problems. However, they reported significantly greater willingness to seek treatment for physical than mental health conditions," said princi...

    Pills, patches, gums, nasal sprays and lozenges used to help smokers kick the habit can also help heavy drinkers cut back on alcohol, a new study suggests.

    The finding follows several months spent working with 400 smokers with HIV who were also heavy drinkers.

    Researchers...

    Having friends in childhood may help keep you clean and sober as a young adult, new research suggests.

    Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) interviewed more than 300 college students who participated in assessments that focused on childhood loneliness, stress levels and drinking behaviors. The results determined there was a link between feelings of loneliness in their pre-adole...

    Drinking by yourself may have lifelong consequences, especially if the habit begins early in life, a new study suggests.

    Researchers found that drinking alone during adolescence and young adulthood greatly increases risk for alcohol use disorder later on and the risk for women is especially worrisome.

    Alcohol abuse causes more than 3 million deaths a year worldwide.

    "Most youn...

    Doctor burnout and suicide are a growing concern, a new study finds.

    "We often overlook the physical health of our health care workers, but poor health can lead to difficulty performing tasks at work, which then leads to job stress and mental health issues," said corresponding author Dr. Kristen Kim, a resident in psychiatry at UC San Diego Health.

    About 1 in 15 doctors experience s...

    Americans may have a collective drinking problem, made worse by the obesity epidemic, new research suggests. The new study found that deaths from alcoholic cirrhosis have more than tripled in 20 years.

    In 1999, alcoholic cirrhosis -- an advanced form of alcohol-related...

    Many may consider an episode of binge drinking -- defined as 5 or more drinks on one occasion --- as just being harmless fun. But a new study suggests that even moderate drinkers who indulge in binge drinking can suffer lasting consequences.

    Researchers found that among people who typically drank at moderate levels, those who sometimes binged were at increased risk of alcohol-related prob...

    Folks who struggle with depression and substance use disorders often tend to be smokers, but a new study finds that smoking rates among these vulnerable Americans have fallen significantly.

    "This study shows us that at a population-level,...

    Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to identify alcoholics at risk of relapsing after treatment, researchers say.

    Patients often return to heavy drinking during and after treatment, and may require multiple tries before they can achieve long-term abstinence from

  • By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
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  • April 19, 2022
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  • As Americans stepped up their drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic, liver disease and transplants surged.

    Between March 2020 and January 2021, the number of U.S. patients with alcohol-associated liver disease who received a new liver or were wait-listed for a transplant was 50% higher than pre-pandemic projections, researchers say.

  • By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
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  • April 16, 2022
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  • Problem drinking led to more than 232 million missed work days a year in the United States before the pandemic, and the situation likely became worse with more people working at home, a new study suggests.

    "Alcohol use disorder is a major problem in the United ...

    U.S. National Guard soldiers are at heightened risk for problem drinking after military deployment, but less likely to receive help with their alcohol struggles than active-duty service members, a new study finds.

    Exposure to combat during deployment was the strongest risk factor for problem drinking among the reservists in the study, according to the report published online March 8 in th...

    There is no amount of alcohol that is good for your brain.

    So claims a new study that found even light to moderate drinking can age the brain faster than normal.

    Previous research has shown that heavy drinkers have changes in brain structure and size that are associated with thinking and <...

    Young people with autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher risk of dying early from a range of causes, a new research review suggests.

    Researchers found that before middle-age, people with autism face higher-than-average rates of death from both "natural" causes, like heart disease, and "unnatural" ones, including accidents and suicide.

    Meanwhile, unna...

    The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a big jump in hospitalizations for life-threatening alcoholic hepatitis at a Detroit health system, new research shows.

    Alcoholic hepatitis is a liver disease caused by heavy drinking, and these findings add to mounting evidence that many Americans t...

    Among U.S. drivers who use both alcohol and pot, over 40% say they've driven under the influence, a new study finds.

    "Alcohol and cannabis are two of the most common substances involved in impaired driving and motor vehicle crashes in the U.S.," said study author Priscila Dib Gonçalves. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York Ci...

    The hazards of drunken driving are well known, and a new research review shows that adding pot to the mix only makes matters worse.

    The analysis of 57 past studies found that the combination of alcohol and marijua...

    Binge drinking on Super Bowl Sunday or other special occasions could put you at risk for a dangerous heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation (a-fib), even if you've never had it, researchers warn in a new study.

    "Worldwide, alcohol is the most popularly consumed drug, and it now is clear that alcohol consumption is an important risk factor for atrial fibrillation," said senior au...

    Here's a lesson many may have already learned over the past weekend: Don't count on ginseng, probiotics or any other so-called hangover cures.

    No evidence suggests hangover cures work, according to British scientists who studied nearly two dozen trials of these cure products. Their review was published Dec. 31 in the journal Addiction.

    "Our study has found that evidence on ...

    Party people should think twice before relying on a fly-by-night remedy to cure the hangover they suffer from a New Year's Eve bender, warns an ER doc based in the Big Apple.

    "There are a plethora of hangover products on the market that tout the ability to reduce the chances of or prevent a hangover altogether after a night of heavy drinking. But, in truth, the only proven way to prevent ...

    It's clear that COVID-19 has killed many hundreds of thousands of people in the United States. Less clear is its impact on other health issues, which will be felt in the years to come.

    Liver disease is projected to be one of those, with 8,000 additional deaths from

    Americans may be dropping some of the stigma they once had toward depression, but attitudes toward other mental health conditions still seem stuck in the past, a new study shows.

    The research, based on interviews with U.S. adults conducted over 22 years, found a mixed bag when it came to menta...

    When someone says "I need a drink," it's usually because they've had a rough day. Now, new research suggests that stress is more likely to trigger heavy drinking in women than in men.

    "Some people can intend to have one or two alcoholic beverages and stop drinking, but other people just keep going," said study leader Julie Patock-Peckham. She's head of the Social Addictions Impulse Lab at...

    If you think you're fine to drive after drinking, there's a good chance you're wrong, new research shows.

    The study found that despite being over the legal driving limit, half of the participants believed they were safe to drive.

    The study included 90 volunteers, average age 24, in Germany who drank either wine or beer until they reached a maximum breath alcohol concentration (BrAC)...

    A widely available drug used to treat alcoholism has potential as a COVID-19 treatment, researchers say.

    The investigators found that people taking disulfiram (Antabuse) for alcoholism had a lower risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and were less likely to die from COVID-19 if infected than those not taking the drug.

  • Robert Preidt
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  • November 23, 2021
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  • Don't drive drunk. That's simple and obvious advice. And it appears ridesharing services are making it easier for people to take it.

    In a new study that looked at Chicago data, more rideshare trips meant fewer alcohol-involved crashes.

    "This study was designed to look specifically at drunk driver crashing," said study author Christopher Morrison.

    "When there are more rideshare...

    More older folks are winding up on liver transplant waiting lists than ever before, as obesity and alcoholism supersede hepatitis C as the main cause of liver failure in the United States.

    The percentage of liver transplant candidates aged 65 or older rose from 9% in the early 2000s to 23% by 2020, researchers found. Most seniors' liver failure is due to fatty liver disease, in which exce...

    As if suffering through a childhood trauma weren't enough, new research suggests it might raise the risk of poor mental and physical health later in life.

    Researchers analyzed nearly 2,900 responses to the 2019 New Zealand Family Violence Survey and found that about 45% of respondents said they had no adverse childhood events, a majority experienced at least one, and one-third reported mo...

    Demand for liver transplants among heavy drinking Americans surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows.

    It found that the number of people with alcoholic hepatitis who received a new liver (32,320) or were put on a liver transplant waiting list (51,488) between March 2020 and January 2021 was 50% higher than what was expected based on pre-pandemic patterns, CNN report...

    Use of stimulants among college students was once thought to be a problem among high achievers seeking energy and focus to study.

    Not so, according to new research that links misuse of these so-called "study drugs" to binge drinking and marijuana use. The stereotype of students bumming a prescription medication like Adderall or Ritalin to study is off the mark, it suggests.

    "Stimula...

    Drug and alcohol abuse increase the risk of breakthrough COVID-19 infection as well as severe illness and death among fully vaccinated people, a new study shows.

    "First and foremost, vaccination is highly effective for people with substance use disorders, and the overall risk of COVID-19 among vaccinated people with substance use disorders is very low," study co-author Dr. Nora Volkow, di...

    For those who smoke or drink, it's only a small step to marijuana, researchers report.

    "Legal consumption of alcohol and tobacco may directly increase the level of illicit drug use. However, the relationships are complex," said researcher Dr. Zoe Reed. She is a senior research associate in the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

    The...

    Even when genetics and personality are working against you, having a strong network of supportive friends and family may help lower alcoholism risk, researchers say.

    "Genes play an important role in alcohol use," stressed Jinni Su, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University in Tempe, and lead author of a new study.

    But "genes are not our destiny," she added.

    Fully half of all young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also battle alcohol or drug abuse.

    And folks with ADHD who have a history of depression or anxiety are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse problems, a new study showed.

    "People with ADHD may be self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to keep their depression under control, and of course, th...