Introduction And Aims: A significant proportion of young Australians engage in risky alcohol consumption, and an increasing minority are regular ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users. Risky alcohol use, alone or in combination with ecstasy, is associated with a range of acute and chronic health risks. The aim of this study was to document the incidence and some health-related correlates of alcohol use, and concurrent alcohol and ecstasy use, among a large, national sample of regular ecstasy users (REU) in Australia.
Design And Methods: National, cross-sectional surveys of REU in Australia 2003-2008. Among REU in 2008 (n=678) usual alcohol use, psychological distress and health-related quality of life were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and Short Form-8 Survey respectively.
Results: Among REU in 2008, 36% reported high-risk patterns of usual alcohol consumption, 62% reported usually consuming more than five standard drinks with ecstasy, and 24% reported currently experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress. Controlling for age and education, high-risk drinking among REU was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and poorer health-related functioning; however, the associations between concurrent alcohol and ecstasy use, and health outcomes, were not significant (P>0.05).
Discussion And Conclusions: A large and increasing proportion of REU in Australia engage in high-risk patterns of alcohol consumption, including in combination with ecstasy. High-risk alcohol consumption among this group is associated with adverse health-related outcomes. Prevention and harm reduction interventions for REU should incorporate messages about the risks associated with alcohol use. There is an ongoing need for youth-specific, coordinated alcohol and other drug and mental health services.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00348.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
[REM-Sleep-Behavior Disorder - More Than a Simple Parasomnia].
Praxis (Bern 1994)
February 2025
Universitätsklinik für Neurologie, Schlaf-Wach-Epilepsie Zentrum, Inselspital, Universitätsspital, Bern.
Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM) sleep is an essential part of sleep dominating the second half of the night. A disturbance of the phy-siological muscle hypotonia of REM sleep can lead to dream enactment: REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). In the absence of a disease of the central nervous system or provoking factors such as sleep apnea, alcohol consumption or antidepressants, isolated RBD (iRBD) may be present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganic acids from ice wine ameliorate fructose-induced disorders of glycolipid metabolism in C57BL/6J mice.
Food Funct
March 2025
College of Enology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
Excessive intake of fructose has been widely reported to cause glycolipid metabolism disorders, and it is unclear whether long-term consumption of ice wine, a sweet wine with high sugar content, is beneficial for health. In this study, 6-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into pure water, ice wine, fructose, fructose + succinic acid, fructose + malic acid and fructose + alcohol groups to study the effects and mechanisms of organic acids on glycolipid metabolism. The results indicated that long-term consumption of ice wine did not lead to disorders of glycolipid metabolism, and organic acids inhibited the negative effects of fructose and reduced hepatic fat synthesis by decreasing the mRNA expression of hepatic ACC1, SREBP-1c, and ChREBP-β, as well as controlling the protein expression of KHK-C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whether healthy behaviors can attenuate the adverse association between ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is inconclusive.
Methods And Results: The parametric g-formula was used to quantify the potential reduction in PM effect on CVD under different scenarios of hypothetical behavioral interventions (including dietary patterns, physical activity, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, and dietary supplements). Feasible intervention scenarios, defined on the basis of values considered feasible in previous real-world interventions (eg, overweight participants lose 6.
Background: Although utility of composite trait-specific polygenic risk score (multi-trait PRS) has been examined among European ancestries, few studies investigated among East Asians and incorporated modifiable risk factors. We examined the associations of multi-trait PRS for cardiometabolic factors with cardiovascular disease mortality by integrating nongenetic determinants.
Methods: A total of 14 086 Japanese participants (mean age, 55±9; 55.
Identifying hazardous alcohol use in primary care using phosphatidylethanol: Timing of screening matters.
Addiction
March 2025
Center for Clinical Research Dalarna, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Background And Aims: Alcohol is a well-established risk factor for numerous health conditions, making screening for hazardous alcohol use in healthcare a critical task. While self-reported data suggest that alcohol consumption varies across seasons, this seasonal fluctuation has not yet been confirmed using objective biological markers. This study aimed to measure whether phosphatidylethanol (PEth) captures variations in hazardous alcohol use across two temporal resolutions: month of the year and day of the week.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!