Showing papers by "Timothy S. Naimi published in 2008"
TL;DR: By individual metabolic abnormality, drinking in excess of the dietary guidelines was associated with an increased risk of impaired fasting glucose/diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia, abdominal Obesity, abdominal obesity, and high blood pressure.
Abstract: Context and Objective: Protective and detrimental associations have been reported between alcohol consumption and the metabolic syndrome. This may be due to variations in drinking patterns and different alcohol effects on the metabolic syndrome components. This study is designed to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and the metabolic syndrome. Design, Setting, Participants, and Measures: The 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is a population-based survey of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults. Current drinkers aged 20–84 yr without cardiovascular disease who had complete data on the metabolic syndrome and drinking patterns were included in the analysis (n = 1529). The metabolic abnormalities comprising the metabolic syndrome included having three of the following: impaired fasting glucose/diabetes mellitus, high triglycerides, abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Measures of alcohol consumption included usual ...
140 citations
TL;DR: There is a strong association between binge drinking and AI driving and implementing effective interventions to prevent binge drinking could substantially reduce AI driving.
Abstract: Background: Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill approximately 17,000 Americans annually and were associated with more than $51 billion in total costs in 2000. Relatively little is known about the drinking patterns of alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers in the United States. Methods: 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was analyzed for alcohol consumption and self-reported AI driving among U.S. adults aged>/=18 years for all states. Alcohol consumption was divided into 4 categories: binge/heavy, binge/nonheavy, nonbinge/heavy, and nonbinge/nonheavy. Binge drinking was defined as>/=5 drinks for men or>/=4 drinks for women on one or more occasions in the past month, and heavy drinking was defined as average daily consumption of>2 drinks/day (men) or>1 drink/day (women). The prevalence of AI driving was examined by drinking pattern and by demographic characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between drinking patterns and AI driving. Results: Five percent of drinkers were engaged in AI driving during the past 30 days. Overall, 84% of AI drivers were binge drinkers and 88% of AI driving episodes involved binge drinkers. By drinking category, binge/nonheavy drinkers accounted for the largest percentage of AI drivers (49.4%), while binge/heavy drinkers accounted for the most episodes of AI driving (51.3%). The adjusted odds of AI driving were 20.1 (95% CI: 16.7, 24.3) for binge/heavy, 8.2 (6.9, 9.7) for binge/nonheavy, and 3.9 (2.4, 6.3) for nonbinge/heavy drinkers, respectively. Conclusions: There is a strong association between binge drinking and AI driving. Most AI drivers and almost half of all AI driving episodes involvepersonswho are not heavy drinkers (based on average daily consumption). Implementing effective interventions to prevent binge drinking could substantially reduce AI driving. Language: en
130 citations
TL;DR: Excessive drinking and binge drinking among US medical students is common, though somewhat less prevalent than among comparably aged adults in the US general population, and medical schools should consider routinely training students to screen and counsel patients for alcohol misuse.
Abstract: Objective To determine which factors affect alcohol counselling practices among medical students. Design Cohort study. Setting Nationally representative medical schools (n=16) in the United States. Participants Medical students who graduated in 2003. Interventions Questionnaires were completed (response rate 83%) at the start of students’ first year (n=1846/2080), entrance to wards (typically during the third year of training) (n=1630/1982), and their final (fourth) year (n=1469/1901). Main outcome measures Previously validated questions on alcohol consumption and counselling. Results 78% (3777/4847) of medical students reported drinking in the past month, and a third (1668/ 4847) drank excessively; these proportions changed little over time. The proportion of those who believed alcohol counselling was highly relevant to care of patients was higher at entrance to wards (61%; 919/1516) than in final year students (46%; 606/1329). Although students intending to enter primary care were more likely to believe alcohol counselling was highly relevant, only 28% of final year students (391/1393) reported usually or always talking to their general medical patients about their alcohol consumption. Excessive drinkers were somewhat less likely than others to counsel patients or to think it relevant to do so. In multivariate models, extensive training in alcohol counselling doubled the frequency of reporting that alcohol counselling would be clinically relevant (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.6 to 3.3) and of reporting doing counselling (2.2, 1.5 to 3.3). Conclusions Excessive drinking and binge drinking among US medical students is common, though somewhat less prevalent than among comparably aged adults in the US general population. Few students usually discussed alcohol use with patients, but greater training and confidence about alcohol counselling predicted both practising and believing in the relevance of alcohol counselling. Medical schools should consider routinely training students to screen and counsel patients for alcohol misuse and consider discouraging excessive drinking.
103 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Findings underscore the importance of implementing effective population-based interventions to prevent excessive alcohol consumption and to reduce alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality among AI/ANs.
Abstract: Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading preventable cause of death in the United States and has substantial public health impact on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. To estimate the average annual number of alcohol-attributable deaths (AADs) and years of potential life lost (YPLLs) among AI/ANs in the United States, CDC analyzed 2001-2005 data (the most recent data available), using death certificate data and CDC Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) software. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that AADs accounted for 11.7% of all AI/AN deaths, that the age-adjusted AAD rate for AI/ANs was approximately twice that of the U.S. general population, and that AI/ANs lose 6.4 more years of potential life per AAD compared with persons in the U.S. general population (36.3 versus 29.9 years). These findings underscore the importance of implementing effective population-based interventions to prevent excessive alcohol consumption and to reduce alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality among AI/ANs.
64 citations