Category: From Newswise – Addiction

Newswise — Flinders University researchers say that cohesive and collaborative action from preventive health communicators and organisations is needed to inform young people about the devastating harms of vaping.

“Despite awareness of the potential harms, recreational vaping is increasing among younger people with our South Australian participants seeing vaping as ‘cleaner’ and less harmful than cigarettes,” says Flinders University’s Dr Joshua Trigg.

“We know that nicotine vapes are highly addictive and expose people to harmful chemicals, respiratory irritants, and toxic substances.  In order to discourage young people from picking up a vape, we need to understand what messaging they will best respond to,” says Dr Trigg.

Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are lithium battery-powered devices that heat liquids containing solvents, nicotine, flavourings and other chemicals, volatile compounds, and ultrafine particles into an aerosol that are inhaled into the lungs.

Flinders University researchers investigated the impact of different vaping prevention public health media campaigns among young South Australians aged 16–26 years to help determine what will work best in vaping risk messaging.

Participants of the study were shown example materials from three vaping prevention campaigns and resource  sets: ‘The Real Cost, ‘Do you know what you’re vaping’ and ‘Unveil what you inhale’ to assess whether they were easily understood, appropriate, relevant, credible and effective.

“We know that health communication campaigns are an established tool for emphasising the dangers associated with vaping.  By studying the impact of these campaigns more closely, we can improve future messaging to reduce and deter the use of vapes by young people,” he says.

Those who do vape and those who don’t, reacted in different ways to the campaigns. Those who didn’t already vape responded better to explicit messaging and shock tactics about the health risks associated with vaping.  Whereas those who already vaped responded better to information challenging the notion that vapes are healthier than smoking cigarettes.

“We found that young people are likely to engage more with campaigns that consider the real life experiences, social contexts, and negative consequences associated with vaping.  These experiences drew more interest and were more thought provoking to young South Australians,” Dr Trigg says.

“Bright visual design elements that represented health and wellbeing drew the attention of both groups of young people, with participants reiterating the benefits of using online and media resources to deliver preventative media campaigns. Campaigns now tend to adopt a ‘mobile first’ design approach, to target their audiences where they consume media” he says.

“In future, it is important that vaping prevention messaging considers those who already vape and those who do not, and clearly address the potential dangers and side-effects of inhaling a combination of chemicals.  Young people need to understand that nicotine vaping is not a risk-free alternative to smoking cigarettes,” he adds.

The research – “Vaping harms awareness messaging: exploring young South Australians’ responses to vaping prevention campaign materials”, by Joshua Trigg, Ola Ela, Jacqueline Bowden, Ashlea Bartram, Clinton Cenko, and Billie Bonevski – has been published in the journal Health Promotional International. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad145

Newswise — New findings published in the journal Nature Neuroscience have shed light on a mysterious pathway between the reward center of the brain that is key to how we form habits, known as the basal ganglia, and another anatomically distinct region where nearly three-quarters of the brain’s neurons reside and assist in motor learning, known as the cerebellum.

Researchers say the connection between the two regions potentially changes our fundamental view of how the brain processes voluntary movements and conditioned learning, and may lend fresh insight into the neural mechanisms underlying addiction and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.

“We are exploring a direct communication between two major components of our brain’s movement system, which is absent from neuroscience textbooks. These systems are traditionally thought to function independently,” said Farzan Nadim, chair of NJIT’s Department of Biological Sciences, whose research in collaboration with the Khodakhah lab at Albert Einstein College of Medicine is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“This pathway is physiologically functional and potentially affects our behaviors every day.”

While both subcortical structures have long been known for their separate roles in coordinating movement through the cerebral cortex, they are also critical to both conditioned and error-correction learning.

The basal ganglia, a group of midbrain nuclei which Nadim describes as the “brain’s go-no-go system” for determining whether we initiate or suppress movement, is also involved in reward-based learning of behavior triggered by the release of dopamine.

“It’s the learning system that promotes motivated behavior, like studying for a good grade. It’s also hijacked in cases of addiction,” said Nadim, co-author of the study. “On the other hand, every behavior that we learn — whether it’s to hit a baseball or play violin — this motor learning is happening in your cerebellum at the back of the brain. It’s your brain’s optimization machine.”

However, the team’s latest research suggests the cerebellum could be involved in both.

In their study, Nadim and collaborators say they have reported the first direct evidence that the two systems are intertwined — showing the cerebellum modulates basal ganglia dopamine levels that influence movement initiation, vigor of movement and reward processing.

“This connection starts at the cerebellum and goes to neurons in the midbrain that provide dopamine to the basal ganglia, called the substantia nigra pars compacta. …. We have brain recordings showing this signal is strong enough to activate the release of dopamine within the basal ganglia,” explained Nadim. “This circuit may be playing a role in linking the cerebellum to motor and nonmotor dysfunctions.”

The team is seeking to identify exactly where cerebellar projections to the dopamine system originate at the nuclei level, a key step in learning whether the function of this pathway can be manipulated, Nadim said.

However, the team’s findings so far could have research implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, which is associated with the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra.

“This pathway seems very important to our vigor of movement and speed of cognitive processes. Parkinson’s patients not only suffer from suppression of movement, but apathy in some cases,” said Nadim. “The cerebellum’s location at the back of the brain makes it a much easier target for novel therapeutic techniques, such as non-invasive transmagnetic or direct-current stimulation.

“Since we’ve shown the cerebellum is directly exciting dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, we might now use mouse models for Parkinson’s to explore such techniques to see if that jumpstarts activity of these neurons and relieves symptoms of the disease.”

Newswise — As young people increasingly have access and exposure to online gambling, only one in four parents say they have talked to their teen about some aspect of virtual betting, a national poll suggests.

But over half of parents aren’t aware of their state’s legal age for online gambling and one in six admit they probably wouldn’t know if their child was betting online, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

“Teens and young adults may have a difficult time going into a casino unnoticed but they have easy access to a variety of betting and gambling options,” said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.

“This expanded accessibility has increased exposure to the risks of underage betting, but there is little regulation or conversation around this problem.”

Online gambling more accessible than ever

Since a landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, over half of states have legalized some type of online gambling. Although most states restrict online sport and casino betting to 21 years or older, there are loopholes and concerns that adolescents and teens may bypass security measures.  

Online sports betting is similar to fantasy football leagues and college basketball tournament pools that are popular with sports fans, including high schoolers and even younger kids, Clark says.

“Many online gambling options will seem familiar to teens,” Clark said. “They feel like games kids have been playing on their phones, including features like bonus points and rewards. That familiarity may make it harder for teens to appreciate the difference between playing for fun and playing for money.”

Yet, just two percent of parents polled believe that their teen has used an online betting platform, while more than half of parents felt they would definitely know if their teen has been betting online.

“Parents may be underestimating their teen’s interest and savviness,” Clark said. “Online betting can be difficult to detect because a teen can easily log in on their smartphone or other personal device, delete the search history, hide the app or use it discretely.”

Additionally, two-thirds of parents reported their teen has a bank account or debit or credit card in their own name that could be used to register for online betting platforms. This makes it even more possible, Clark notes, for teens to participate in online betting without their parents’ knowledge.

Kids commonly exposed to online gambling

A third of parents say that they or another adult in their household participate in online, in-person, or social betting, finds the nationally representative poll that’s based on responses from 923 parents with at least one child ages 14-18.  

Another 63% say they have seen or heard ads for online sports or casino betting in the past year. Young people who engage in fantasy sports or gaming apps intended for adults, may also be exposed to gambling advertisements.

Such ads often feature entertainers and sports figures that are popular with teens and young adults, Clark says, along with enticing bonuses, online social casino games and graphics encouraging continued use.

“Teens may be especially susceptible to these ads, which are often marketed to convey feelings of excitement, endless possibilities, and social credit,” Clark said.   

Many parents worried about gambling risks

Two-thirds of parents think the legal age for online betting should be 21 years, while 22% say it should be between 18-20 years and 11% feel it shouldn’t be legal at any age.

Many parents also expressed concerns about youth risks, including going into debt or developing a gambling addiction as a result of online betting.  And the quarter of parents who have talked with their teen about some aspect of online betting commonly discussed these risks.

Some parents also support certain strategies they see as effective in minimizing the risks of online betting for youth or young adults, such as restricting betting after a certain amount is lost, offering a “parent view” option to monitor online betting accounts, verifying legal age with photo ID to open an online betting account, limiting the amount that can be bet within a certain timeframe and paying treatment costs for youth or young adults who develop gambling addictions.

Clark encourages parents to address the topic with teens to help them understand the strategies used by gambling sites to lure people into betting more frequently and in larger amounts.

“The ubiquity of gambling ads may offer parents an opportunity to initiate open, productive conversations with their teen about the risks of gambling and its prevalence in their social circles,” Clark said.

“Whether or not the child is actually using betting platforms, ongoing discussions may help them navigate the social pressures and media presence of gambling platforms.”

Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio – Today, The Ohio State University and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a new research initiative to identify the root causes of the ongoing epidemic of persistent emotional distress, suicide, and drug overdose in the state of Ohio. Led by clinicians and researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine, in collaboration with several Ohio universities, the SOAR Study will investigate the role of biological, psychological, and social factors that underlie this epidemic.

“Ohio must be the model in helping our citizens overcome or adapt to mental health challenges so that they improve mental and physical health, complete an education, attain a good-paying job, support a family, and contribute to our communities,” said Governor DeWine. “We envision that the SOAR Study will jump-start future efforts to learn more about what Ohioans can do to better manage adversity and develop resilience.”

“I want to thank Governor DeWine and the State of Ohio for this major investment in behavioral health. This is a milestone research endeavor and the investment demonstrates Ohio’s strong commitment to mobilizing expertise across the state to improve life for some of our most vulnerable residents,” said Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. “As a public, land-grant university, Ohio State will always have a duty to seek new ways to better meet the mental health needs of Ohioans. Innovative collaborations like this between the university and the state are among the reasons I chose to come to lead a place like Ohio State.” 

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) is funding the statewide research project with an initial $20 million grant. Like other areas of the country, Ohio has seen a rise in mental illness, suicide, and deaths related to drug overdose over the past decade, and the COVID pandemic exacerbated these problems. This research investment demonstrates Ohio’s commitment to improving mental health.

SOAR will study Ohioans in their local communities, using an integrated “bring science to the people” approach. It will create a statewide medical research and development ecosystem to drive continued advances in mental health and substance use prevention science and treatment interventions.

 “This study is another example of how, under Governor DeWine’s leadership, Ohio is positioning itself as a national leader in mental health research and innovation,” said LeeAnne Cornyn, director of OhioMHAS. “The causes of these diseases remain largely a mystery to clinical experts and the public. The SOAR Study has the potential to help future generations better understand risk factors, effective mitigation strategies, and techniques to build resiliency — in short, the study has the potential to curb disease and save lives.”

 The SOAR Study has two parallel but connected projects:

•  Focusing on breadth, the SOAR Wellness Discovery Survey will engage as many as 15,000 people across all 88 Ohio counties. Researchers want to uncover how strengths and skills may be related to overcoming adversity. Those strengths will inform researchers about which factors to focus on to develop new treatments. This portion is underway with more than 300,000 postcards mailed out to residents statewide.

•  Focusing on depth, the SOAR Brain Health Study will comprehensively study as many as 3,600 Ohioans in family groups to examine the biological, psychological, and social factors that help explain that relationship, such as who does well with adversity, who does not, and why. Those discoveries will help researchers develop personalized treatments.

“This important SOAR Study builds on our long-standing academic health mission, and we are proud to champion this vital research to help all Ohioans,” said John J. Warner, MD, chief executive officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State. “Mental health care is health care, and this study will help us inform prevention and treatment strategies to advance patient-centered care and influence the way we train our future care providers.”

The SOAR Study will engage a multidisciplinary team of experts from Bowling Green State University, Central State University, Kent State University, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Case Western/University Hospital-Cleveland, Ohio University, University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Toledo, and Wright State University.

“SOAR is our effort to do for addiction, mental illness and mental health, what the Framingham Heart Study researchers did for heart disease and heart health,” said SOAR haStudy principal investigator K. Luan Phan, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ohio State.

Launched in 1948, the multigenerational heart study has enrolled more than 15,000 study participants over 75 years, resulting in major life-saving advancements about heart disease risk factors.

“Our approach with the SOAR Study will allow us to identify the factors that can be modified to reduce risk and build resilience,” Phan said. “We won’t be able to ‘bend the curve’ on the growing number of deaths of despair such as those from addiction and suicide until we go upstream to better understand their etiology. SOAR is the first-in the nation statewide, multi-generational comprehensive study that will offer a new roadmap for developing better treatments and cures that will improve and save lives.”

Editor’s note: The SOAR Study slides shared during the press conference are available here: SOAR_Slides for JAN 19 2024.pptx

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If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Six questionnaires answered by over 1,200 people

Newswise — The researchers headed by Dr. Phillip Ozimek from the Faculty of Psychology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, recruited 1,230 people for their online survey. In order to participate, respondents had to use at least one social media channel at least once a week. On average, the participants stated that they spent just over two hours a day on social media.

The research team used six different questionnaires to determine the extent to which the participants had a materialistic attitude and tended to compare themselves with others, whether they used social media more actively or passively, whether they were addicted to social media, how stressed and how satisfied they were with their lives. 

Downward spiral set in motion

“The data showed that a stronger materialistic approach goes hand in hand with a tendency to compare oneself with others,” points out Phillip Ozimek. This comparison is very easy to make on social media, primarily through passive use, i.e. by looking at the content posted by other users. Materialism and passive use were also linked to addictive use of social media. “By this we mean, for example, that users are constantly thinking about the respective channels and fear that they are missing out on something if they are not online,” explains Phillip Ozimek. This in turn leads to symptoms of poorer mental health, i.e. stress. The final link in the chain is reduced life satisfaction. “Social media is one of six stepping stones to unhappiness,” concludes Phillip Ozimek.

Social media attracts and breeds materialists

“Overall, the study provides further evidence that the use of social media is associated with risks, especially for people with a highly materialistic mindset,” says the psychologist. This is particularly worrying, because social media can trigger and increase materialistic values, for example through (influencer) marketing. At the same time, the platforms attract materialists anyway, as they are a perfect way to satisfy many materialistic needs.

“It’s definitely a good idea to be aware of the amount of time you spend on social media and to reduce it,” recommends Phillip Ozimek. He advises against giving up Social Media completely. “If you did, you’re likely to overcompensate.” The research team also suggests recording materialism and social media use in patients undergoing treatment for mental health disorders. “While these factors are often irrelevant, they can be a starting point for additional interventions that patients can try out at home.”

Tianeptine – a new, unregulated “dietary supplement” often found at convenience stores marketed as energy shots – is concerning health officials as the substance can mimic an opioid, is potentially addictive and can be fatal in rare instances. Daniel Lasoff, MD, emergency medicine physician with UC San Diego Health is available to discuss tianeptine and what consumers should know before purchasing it.

Biography :

Daniel Lasoff, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who treats patients of all ages, including those with life-threatening or critical conditions, at UC San Diego Health Emergency Departments in Hillcrest and La Jolla.

As an assistant professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Lasoff trains medical students, residents and fellows in the Department of Emergency Medicine, where he serves as medical director of the medical toxicology fellowship program. His research interests include drugs of abuse and resuscitation.

Newswise — A University of Granada (UGR) research team has shown for the first time that we are not “addicted” to mobile phones, but to the social interaction that these electronic devices provide. The study, published in the scientific journal Psicothema, is the first experimental scientific evidence of this theory, which was developed in 2018 by Professor Samuel P.L. Veissière, a researcher at McGill University in Montreal (Canada).

To conduct the experiment, the UGR scientists worked with a sample of 86 subjects who were divided into two groups. “In one of the groups (the social expectation group), we instructed each participant to send a message via WhatsApp to their most active contacts explaining that they were going to participate in an exciting task in a virtual reality universe (the same message in all cases),” explains Jorge López Puga, a researcher at the UGR’s Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment and lead author of the study.

The other group (control group) was not asked to send this “exciting” message to their contacts. “Next, we asked both groups of people to switch off their notifications and leave their mobile phones face down on the table while they engaged in an unusual activity immersed in a virtual reality environment. When the interaction with the virtual reality task was over, we left the participants idle and unable to use their phones. After this period of doing nothing, we allowed all participants to return to using WhatsApp,” the researcher notes.

Electrodermal activity

Throughout the process, the UGR scientists measured the electrodermal activity of the skin, a parameter taken as an indicator of the activity of our autonomic nervous system, i.e. a kind of physiological measure of anxiety.

“We observed that the social expectation group was more tense throughout the experiment. We also found that this group became more anxious when they were asked to stop using their mobile phones. Moreover, when they were allowed to use their phones again, this group experienced a much higher level of emotional arousal,” says López Puga.

The results show that mobile phones are not the cause of psychological problems, but rather that how and why the devices are used can better explain certain psychological problems.

Environmental epidemiologists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Labs, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, report on the findings of a new study of air pollution exposures collected using personal wristband monitors worn by pregnant individuals in New York City matched with data from a questionnaire. Factors predictive of exposures to air pollution include income, time spent outdoors, maternal age, country of birth, transportation type, and season.

The researchers examined an unprecedented number of 61 air pollution compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and compared them to 75 questionnaire variables, making the study the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. PAHs are created by combustion and can be found in sources like automotive exhaust and tobacco smoke; exposure to these compounds has been linked to various adverse health effects, including those related to fetal growth and neurodevelopment. The study’s findings appear online in the Journal of Exposure Science And Environmental Epidemiology(link is external and opens in a new window).

Participants, 177 of whom were included in the final analysis, wore silicone wristbands for 48 hours during the third trimester of pregnancy to measure exposure to PAHs. They completed a questionnaire during the third trimester of their pregnancy, answering questions related to demographic and employment information, as well as their potential exposure sources, such as cooking, smoking, and transportation.

Julie Herbstman, PhD, director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and senior author of the study, commented, “This study represents a significant advancement in our understanding of personal PAH exposure. By uncovering the variables that play a crucial role in exposure levels, we are better equipped to develop interventions aimed at reducing health risks.”

Previous studies have been restricted to a limited number of compounds or specific exposure scenarios (e.g. toll station workers or cooks). Compared to these studies, the new study demonstrated substantially improved predictability due to the use of a larger dataset, as well as the use of a regression tree analysis, which accounted for each PAH compound as well as combined exposure to all PAHs. This approach helps researchers to identify those variables that are most important and/or predictive of exposure to a compound in the context of all other variables.

Sarah McLarnan, MPH, a PhD candidate at Columbia Mailman and the study’s first author, adds, “This study underscored the utility of silicone wristbands in evaluating PAH exposures and associated health outcomes. By combining questionnaire data with a 48-hour wristband deployment, we were able to refine measurements of exposure sources in terms of time and space, enabling more accurate source characterization.”

The study uncovered complex interactions between demographics and behaviors that shape exposure to individual compounds in different ways. Insights it gleaned require further study to understand the pathways by which various factors are linked to PAH exposures. As one example, the researchers are interested to know how maternal age and income are associated with behaviors or residential characteristics that are protective from some exposure sources but were shown to have opposite effect for some of the individual compounds.

The authors note that the wristbands are unable to detect all exposures to PAHs, particularly exposures via food. And because the wristbands were worn only for 48 hours, the exposures might not fully reflect an individual’s average exposure over the course of pregnancy.

We all can reduce our exposure to PAHs by avoiding tobacco smoke and ensuring we have good indoor ventilation, especially when cooking; reduce our intake of smoked, grilled, and charbroiled foods; limit exposure to diesel fumes and wood smoke; use cedar shavings or blocks in place of mothballs for pest control; and wear gloves to avoid skin contact with soot or creosote-treated lumber, and wear a mask if cutting treated lumber.

Previous research by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health has linked prenatal exposure to PAHs with numerous adverse outcomes in the child, including asthma, obesity, and developmental delays.

Additional co-authors include Lehyla Calero, Darrell Holmes, Elizabeth A. Gibson, and Haleigh M. Cavalier from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Lisa M. Bramer and Katrina M. Waters from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Holly M. Dixon and Kim A. Anderson from Oregon State University; Diana Rohlman and Laurel Kincl from Oregon State University; and Rachel L. Miller from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

This research was supported by National Institute of Health grants UH3OD023290, 1R21ES024718, 4R33ES024718, P30ES030287, P42ES016465, T32 ES007322; TRANSFORM TL-1 Fellowship 5TL1TR001875-07. Anderson and Rohlman disclose a financial interest in MyExposome, Inc., which is marketing products related to the research being reported. The authors have no other relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Newswise — Hepatitis linked to alcohol, the most severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, is increasingly prevalent, severe, and likely to involve emergency departments, according to a new analysis. The findings reflect increased drinking and alcohol-linked liver disease in the general population. Rising rates of alcohol-associated hepatitis, including among adults aged 25–44 years, are known to be causing greater disability, mortality, and health care and economic costs. The growing use of emergency departments for alcohol complications, rather than more cost-effective primary care services, further amplifies that burden. A better understanding of how patients with alcohol-associated conditions use emergency departments can potentially inform interventions. Although most hospitalized patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis are admitted from the emergency department, little is known about emergency department use by people seeking help with this condition. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators at the Cleveland Clinic aimed to evaluate the rate of emergency department visits for alcohol-associated hepatitis in addition to disease severity and its complications.

Investigators drew from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample dataset for 2016–2019; this included visits that did and did not lead to hospital admission across 1,000 emergency departments in 40 US states and DC. They analyzed the visits of patients aged 18 years and older who were recorded as having primary alcohol-associated hepatitis (the principal diagnosis) or secondary alcohol-associated hepatitis (if the visit was likely linked to that condition); this terminology did not necessarily reflect disease severity. They used statistical analysis to explore trends in emergency department use by these patients.

Over the three-year study period, emergency department visits remained steady. Overall, alcohol-associated hepatitis accounted for one-tenth of 1 percent of visits; 85% of those patients required hospitalization. However, the number of visits attributed to this disease increased from 99,000 in 2016 to 125,000 in 2019. These patients had an average age of 47 years. Those aged 45–64 years had the highest rate of emergency department visits; this decreased during the study period. Meanwhile, the rate increased among those aged 25­–44 years. Two out of three presenting patients were male—even though women are more susceptible to liver disease linked to alcohol—perhaps in part because of greater high-risk binge drinking in men. Most patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis had underlying cirrhosis. The other most frequent liver complications were ascites, acute kidney injury, and pancreatitis. The rate of secondary hepatitis (more common in older patients) increased more than the rate of primary hepatitis (more common among younger patients). Patients with secondary alcohol-associated hepatitis had increased rates of complications involving co-occurring liver conditions, higher emergency department use, and a higher death rate during their visit or hospital admission compared to those with primary hepatitis. Medicaid and private insurance were the most common payors.

The findings point to more patients presenting at emergency departments with advanced disease and related severe complications. The increasing emergency department use for alcohol-associated hepatitis, more patients requiring hospitalization, and more younger patients presenting with this condition may reflect rising binge drinking, targeted alcohol marketing, and increased rates of certain co-occurring conditions. Notably, the rise in emergency department visits for alcohol-associated hepatitis occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic, which further drove up the prevalence of this disease.

Emergency services utilization by patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis: an analysis of national trends. S. Sengupta, A. Anand, R. Lopez, J. Weleff, P. Wang, A. Bellar, A. Attaway, N. Welch, S. Dasarathy. (pp xx)

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Newswise — College students with social anxiety may be driven by social motives to ‘pre-game,’ meaning drink prior to a party or event. Simultaneously, students with co-occurring social anxiety and depression also experience more negative consequences, like blackouts, from their alcohol use, according to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study authors recommend efforts to help students address mental health issues and their motivations for drinking before social events to prevent the harms associated with pregaming.

Pregaming, sometimes called frontloading or pre-partying, is common among college students and involves drinking prior to a social event, typically where more drinking will take place. It often leads to heavier drinking on days when students pre-game and puts students at a higher risk of academic and interpersonal problems, injury, sexual or physical assault, driving while intoxicated, and blacking out. 

For this study, researchers examined how college students’ mental health and motivations for pre-gaming were associated with pre-gaming drinking behaviors and related negative consequences, including blackouts. Five hundred college students completed self-assessments of social anxiety, depression, and motivations for pre-gaming, which included to meet new friends, “hook up,” control the kind of alcohol they drink, and because they may not be able to drink at the subsequent event. Based on their responses, they were grouped into one of four profiles. Fifty-nine percent of participants were categorized as having mild to moderate social anxiety and depression symptoms and moderately motivated to pregame, 13 percent were categorized as having minimal social anxiety and depression symptoms and low pregaming motivations, 16 percent had subclinical/elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms and high pregaming motives, and 12 percent had clinically-elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms with moderate motives.

The subclinical/elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms profile reported the highest frequency of pregaming and the highest number of past-month drinking-related consequences. They reported an average of three and a half alcohol-induced blackouts in the prior 30 days, significantly more than any other group. This group also reported more motivations for pregaming than any group, particularly for social motivations. The group assessed to have minimal social anxiety and depression symptoms had significantly lower calculated blood alcohol levels and reported the fewest alcohol-related consequences of all the groups. This profile still attained risky blood alcohol levels and reported five drinking-related consequences in the past month. The group with clinically elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms reported the second fewest consequences of the four groups.

Participants in the mobile phone-based study were full-time undergraduate students at a single, large, private U.S. university who had reported pre-gaming at least once a week for the prior month. The sample was predominantly white, cisgender, and female. Participants reported high levels of alcohol use, were primarily a socially motivated sample, and thus were likely not fully representative of students with clinically high levels of social anxiety and depression.

The researchers suggest that social anxiety and social motivation put students at greater risk from pregaming and recommend the exploration of mental health and drinking motivations as targets for intervention in heavy drinking populations.

A latent profile analysis of social anxiety, depression, and pregaming motives among heavy-drinking college students. R. Fitzke, T. Atieh, J. Davis, L. Canning, Liv; D. Tran, K. Buch, J. Hummer, E. Pedersen

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