BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies examining the next-day cognitive effects of heavy alcohol consumption have produced mixed findings, which may reflect inconsistencies in definitions of 'hangover'. Recent consensus has defined hangover as 'mental and physical symptoms, experienced the day after a single episode of heavy drinking, starting when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) approaches zero'. In light of this, we aimed to review the literature systematically to evaluate and estimate mean effect sizes of the next-day effects of heavy alcohol consumption on cognition.
METHODS: Embase, PubMed and PsycNET databases were searched between December 2016 and May 2018 using terms based on 'alcohol' and 'hangover'. Studies of experimental designs which reported the next-day cognitive effects of heavy alcohol consumption in a 'hangover' group with BAC < 0.02% were reviewed. A total of 805 articles were identified. Thirty-nine full-text articles were screened by two independent reviewers and 19 included in the systematic review; 11 articles provided sufficient data to be included in the meta-analysis; 1163 participants across 19 studies conducted since 1970 were included in the analysis. Data for study design, hangover severity, BAC at testing and cognitive performance were extracted and effect estimates calculated.
RESULTS: The systematic review suggested that sustained attention and driving abilities were impaired during hangover. Mixed results were observed for: psychomotor skills, short- (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) and divided attention. The meta-analysis revealed evidence of impairments in STM [g = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.15-1.13], LTM (Hedges' g = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.01-1.17) sustained attention (g = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.07-0.87) and psychomotor speed (Hedges' g = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.31-1.00) during alcohol hangover.
CONCLUSION: The research literature suggests that alcohol hangovers may involve impaired cognitive functions and performance of everyday tasks such as driving.
OBJECTIVE: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a very common disorder worldwide which carries an important economic burden. We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis to assess the role of alcohol in the occurrence of PMS.
METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the five regional bibliographic databases of the WHO, the Proceedings database and the Open Access Thesis and Dissertations (OATD) from inception to May 2017. We also reviewed the references of every article retrieved and established personal contact with researchers to trace further publications or reports. We did not include any language limitations. Studies were included if: (1) they presented original data from cohort, case-control or cross-sectional studies, (2) PMS was clearly defined as the outcome of interest, (3) one of the exposure factors was alcohol consumption, (4) they provided estimates of odds ratios, relative risks, or any other effect measure and their confidence intervals, or enough data to calculate them.
RESULTS: We identified 39 studies of which 19 were eligible. Intake of alcohol was associated with a moderate increase in the risk of PMS (OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.79). Heavy drinking yielded a larger increase in the risk than any drinking (OR=1.79, 95% CI: 1.39 to 2.32).
DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that alcohol intake presents a moderate association with PMS risk. Future studies should avoid cross-sectional designs and focus on determining whether there is a threshold of alcohol intake under which the harmful effect on PMS is non-existent.
Despite the pervasive use of social media by young adults, there is comparatively little known about whether, and how, engagement in social media influences this group's drinking patterns and risk of alcohol-related problems. We examined the relations between young adults' alcohol-related social media engagement (defined as the posting, liking, commenting, and viewing of alcohol-related social media content) and their drinking behavior and problems. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating the association of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems with alcohol-related social media engagement. Summary baseline variables regarding the social media platform used (e.g., Facebook and Twitter), social media measures assessed (e.g., number of alcohol photographs posted), alcohol measures (e.g., Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and Timeline Follow back Interview), and the number of time points at which data were collected were extracted from each published study. We used the Q statistic to examine heterogeneity in the correlations between alcohol-related social media engagement and both drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems. Because there was significant heterogeneity, we used a random-effects model to evaluate the difference from zero of the weighted aggregate correlations. We used metaregression with study characteristics as moderators to test for moderators of the observed heterogeneity. Following screening, 19 articles met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The primary findings indicated a statistically significant relationship and moderate effect sizes between alcohol-related social media engagement and both alcohol consumption (r = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.29 to 0.44, p < 0.001) and alcohol-related problems (r = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.51, p < 0.001). There was significant heterogeneity among studies. Two significant predictors of heterogeneity were (i) whether there was joint measurement of alcohol-related social media engagement and drinking behavior or these were measured on different occasions and (ii) whether measurements were taken by self-report or observation of social media engagement. We found moderate-sized effects across the 19 studies: Greater alcohol-related social media engagement was correlated with both greater self-reported drinking and alcohol-related problems. Further research to determine the causal direction of these associations could provide opportunities for social media-based interventions with young drinkers aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related adverse consequences.
A routine of light or moderate alcohol consumption (4drinks/day) is associated with an increased risk for death and cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD). Excessive alcohol intake trails behind only smoking and obesity among the 3 leading causes of premature deaths in the United States (US). Heavy alcohol use is a common cause of reversible hypertension (HTN), nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation (AF), and stroke (both ischemic and hemorrhagic). Among males aged 15 to 59years, alcohol abuse is perhaps the leading cause of premature death. As such, the risk-to-benefit ratio of drinking is less favorable in younger individuals. A daily habit of light to moderate drinking is ideal for those who choose to consume alcohol regularly. Red wine in particular before or during the evening meal is linked with the best long-term CV outcomes. Most of the studies on alcohol and health are observational, and correlation does not prove causation. Health care professionals should not advise nondrinkers to begin drinking because of the paucity of randomized outcome data coupled with the potential for alcohol abuse even among seemingly low risk individuals.