College Freshmen See Rx Drug Misuse More Risky Than Alcohol, Pot

Freshman college students think the occasional use of prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes poses a greater risk to their health than smoking pot or knocking back five drinks every weekend, a new study indicates. Read more

Health Tip: When Seniors Have Trouble Sleeping

(HealthDay News) -- Sleep disturbances -- including trouble getting to sleep or waking frequently throughout the night -- are common in elderly people.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers this list of common reasons for sleep problems in older people:

• Increased need to urinate.
• Pain, particularly from arthritis.
• Depression.
• Neurological problems.
• Alzheimer's disease.
• Side effects of taking certain medications.
• Alcohol use.
• Not getting enough exercise.
• Consuming too much caffeine.

Does Drinking Really Make You Warmer?

Alcohol may seem like the perfect cold-weather beverage, because it creates a sensation of warmth. But it actually decreases core body temperature and increases your risk of hypothermia.

In cold weather, blood flows away from your skin and into your organs, causing a sensation of coldness but increasing core body temperature. Alcohol reverses this process, increasing the flow of blood to your skin. This causes a sensation of warmth, but sets off a sharp drop in body temperature.

Alcohol also reduces your ability to shiver, which is one of your body’s way of creating warmth, and increases sweating, which further decreases body temperature.

Several studies have found that alcohol often plays a role in hypothermia-related injuries and deaths.

Sources:
New York Times January 1, 2008

Alcohol in Early Pregnancy May Prompt Fetal Cell Death

(HealthDay News) -- Just a few glasses of wine over a short period in early pregnancy may cause fetal problems, suggest researchers from the Medical College of Georgia.

The initial signs of fetal alcohol syndrome, which affects one in 1,000 babies, include facial malformations such as a flat and high upper lip, small eye openings, and a short nose. Researchers are investigating whether these signs can help determine how much alcohol at what point in pregnancy may cause fetal problems.

Supported by a grant from the March of Dimes, Erhard Bieberich, a biochemist in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, and his colleagues are focusing on how alcohol consumption affects neural crest cells, which help form the upper part of the skull, in mice.

Specifically, the researchers are comparing cell death in mice following different levels of alcohol consumption to the cell death that occurs during normal development.

There is evidence that the equivalent of just a few glasses of wine over an hour in the first few weeks of fetal life can increase cell death.

"It's well known that when you drink, you get a buzz. But a couple of hours later, that initial impact, at least, is gone," said Bieberich in a Medical College of Georgia press release. "But, your fetus may have experienced irreversible damage."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pregnant women and sexually active women not using effective birth control refrain from drinking.

More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about fetal alcohol syndrome.

Drinking Problems Greater Among Returning Combat Veterans

(HealthDay News) -- A host of new studies confirm that the effects of war linger long after the conflict ends.

The Aug. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association is a special themed issue on violence and human rights, and three studies published in that issue found that various mental health issues, such as alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were more common after exposure to violent conflicts. The one bright spot was a study that found suicide rates weren't higher for returning combat veterans.

The first study found that veterans coming home from combat were 63 percent more likely to report new-onset heavy drinking than were military personnel that hadn't been deployed to combat zones.

"Our study found that combat deployment in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was significantly associated with new-onset heavy weekly drinking, binge drinking, and other alcohol-related problems among Reserve/Guard and younger personnel after return from deployment," wrote the study's authors, who represent various branches of the U.S. military, including the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego.

"Because alcohol use may serve as a coping mechanism after traumatic events, it is plausible that deployment is associated with increased rates of alcohol consumption or problem drinking," the researchers suggested.

Their study included nearly 50,000 military personnel: 26,613 were active duty and 21,868 were Reserve or National Guard. Most -- 37,310 -- were not deployed, while 5,661 were deployed, but in non-combat areas. Just over 5,500 were deployed into combat zones.

New-onset rates of heavy weekly drinking were 8.8 percent after combat deployment, according to the study. Rates of new-onset binge drinking were 25.6 percent for combat veterans returning home, and new-onset alcohol-related problems were 7.1 percent.

Young soldiers had the highest risk for developing alcohol-related outcomes, and Reserve and National Guard members returning from combat had higher rates of new-onset heavy drinking than soldiers from other military branches, according to the study.

"I think this study is probably very accurate. As part of the re-entry process, people will turn to coping mechanisms that are easily accessible, and alcohol is easily available, socially acceptable and quite effective for short-term stress relief," said Jeffrey T. Parsons, chair of the department of psychology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, in New York City. Parsons added that long-term use of alcohol as a coping mechanism can lead to numerous negative outcomes.

He recommended that returning soldiers try to immediately rebuild their support networks. If a deployment has lasted awhile, Parsons pointed out that friends and family members may have moved or just drifted away. "Surround yourself with people you can talk to and establish a support system that isn't tied to a bar," he advised.

Parsons added that being a soldier doesn't mean that you have to be devoid of emotions, and that asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. And, he added, this study may trigger awareness campaigns for military personnel that could "have a huge effect, and it could lead people to treatment on their own." He added that if the military were to develop some kind of routine psychological screening for returning veterans, it "would be a real and clear indication that they valued and respected the contribution of these people."

Another study, this one published as a letter in the same issue of the journal, offers some good news about the mental health of returning combat veterans. This study found there were no statistically significant differences in the rates of suicide between U.S. veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan compared to the U.S. population as a whole.

Two other studies in the same issue looked at former child soldiers in Nepal and in people who fought in the Liberian civil wars who experienced sexual violence. In both groups, researchers found higher rates of PTSD symptoms and depression. Thoughts of suicide were also higher in Liberians who had been exposed to sexual violence.

More information
To learn more about alcohol abuse, visit the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Health Tip: Can't Sleep?

(HealthDay News) -- If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, it's important to understand the reasons for your insomnia.

Here's a list of possible reasons for your sleepless nights, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

• Discomfort or illness.
• Depression.
• Stress or anxiety.
• Drinking caffeine or alcohol, smoking, or taking certain medications or illicit drugs.
• An inappropriate sleep environment, including one that's too bright or too noisy.
• Related activities that affect your sleep, such as taking naps or going to bed too early.