Suchergebnisse

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Addiction is a major social and health problem. Studies on suicide and alcohol at the individual and aggregated level have confirmed a link between alcohol and suicide. <b><i>Aim:</i></b> To assess the impact of the new national alcohol policy in Slovenia on the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in BAC-positive suicide victims before, during and after the implementation of the new national alcohol policy in 2003. <b><i>Method:</i></b> Blood samples were collected by forensic pathologists during medicolegal autopsies of suicide victims in order to establish their BAC levels at the time of death. BAC was measured using two routine independent headspace gas chromatography methods (HSS-GC-FID) and expressed in grams per kilogram. <b><i>Results:</i></b> During the period before the implementation of the act which limited the availability of alcohol in Slovenia, the BACs of BAC-positive suicide victims were higher than those tested in the period after the implementation of the act. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Despite certain limitations, this study demonstrates that legislation measures restricting alcohol availability may be an effective measure of BAC reduction in BAC-positive suicide victims.

Objective: A field study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) battery to assist officers in making arrest decisions at blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) below 0.10%. Background: The SFST Battery was validated at 0.10% BAC in 1981, but since then many states have reduced statutory limits for driving while intoxicated to 0.08% BAC. Methods: During routine patrols, participating officers followed study procedures in administering SFSTs, scoring results, making arrest/no arrest decisions, and completing a data collection form for each of the 297 motorists evaluated during the study period. The officers' final step in each case was the administration of an evidentiary breath alcohol test. Results: Overall, officers' decisions were correct in more than 91% of the cases at the 0.08% BAC level. Cohen's kappa tests found all officers' scores to be within the categories of "substantial" and "near perfect" agreement, indicating low variance among the officers and a high degree of interrater reliability. Conclusion: The results of this study provide evidence of the validity of the SFST Battery as an accurate and reliable decision aid for discriminating between BACs above and below 0.08%. Application: The SFST Battery presently is used by law enforcement officers throughout the United States to help make roadside arrest decisions for impaired driving.

Purpose: This study assessed whether college student (1) protective behavioral strategy (PBS) use differed between those who reached legal intoxication during their most recent drinking episode compared to those who did not reach the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold, and (2) frequency of PBS use could explain the variance associated with BAC during the most recent drinking episode, above and beyond one's sex, age, and involvement in the Greek system. Design: Secondary data analysis of the American College of Health Association's National College Health Assessment. Setting: Forty-four distinct campuses were included. Participants: A total of 21479 college students were included. Measures: BAC and PBS were measured. Analysis: The data were analyzed by conducting both independent samples t-tests and a multiple regression model. Effect sizes are reported. Results: Participants who reached legal intoxication used PBS less frequently ( P < .001; d = 0.80). Frequency of PBS use had the strongest unique contribution to the regression model (β = −.315, P < .001), such that participants with higher BAC reported less frequent use of PBS. Conclusion: Interventions should seek to develop strategies that encourage college student use of PBS prior to, and during, drinking episodes. More frequent use of PBS can reduce intoxication as well as occurrence of alcohol-associated consequences.

Introduction and aims: Associations between bar trading hours, a government lever for controlling alcohol availability, nightlife-goer intoxication levels and their likelihood of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have not been explored. We investigated whether: (i) participant AUD was associated with blood alcohol concentration (BAC); and, (ii) any association between AUD and BAC was moderated by participant preferred bar (i.e., venue spent most time at) closing time. Design and methods: A cross-sectional observational study using a sample of nightlife-goers who went out drinking in Perth, Western Australia, on weekends in 2015-16. Participants who reported alcohol use that night and spent most time in a bar (n = 667) completed street intercept surveys including AUDIT-C (n = 459) and provided a breath sample to estimate BAC (n = 651). We used gender-specific multinomial logistic regression models to explore associations between participant AUDIT-C score (1–4, lower risk; 5–7, hazardous; 8–12, active AUD), preferred bar type (standard vs. late closing time based on absence or presence of an extended trading permit) and BAC (male: 0–0.049, 0.05–0.099, ≥0.1 g/100 mL; female: 0–0.049, 0.05–0.079, ≥0.08 g/100 mL). Results: Males with active AUD (RR = 3.31; 95% CI 1.30–8.42; p = 0.01) and females with hazardous/active AUD (RR = 9.75; 95% CI 2.78–34.21; p < 0.001) were both more likely to have high-range BAC than their counterparts typically drinking at lower risk. We also found preferred bar type moderated the association between AUDIT-C score and BAC for some males but no females. Males with active AUD and high-range BAC were less likely to prefer late closing bars than males usually drinking at lower risk and high-range BAC (RR = 0.12; 95% CI 0.02–0.96; p = 0.046). Discussion and conclusions: Our study provides evidence of positive associations between AUD and acute intoxication among nightlife-goers and on the moderating effect of bar closing times among males.