Alcohol dependence and treatment utilization in Europe - a representative cross-sectional study in primary care

Alcohol dependence (AD) in Europe is prevalent and causes considerable health burden. Recognition by general practitioners (GPs) and provision of or referral to treatment may contribute to reduce this burden. This paper studied AD prevalence in varying European primary care settings and examined who received treatment

People with Alcohol Use Disorders in Specialized Care in Eight Different European Countries

Aim: To provide a description of patients receiving alcohol treatment in eight different European countries, including the level of comorbidities and functional limitations. Methods: Drinking behaviours, DSM-IV alcohol use disorder (AUD), mental and somatic comorbidities, disability and health services utilization of 1767 patients from various specialized treatment settings were assessed as representative for regions of eight European countries. Severity of alcohol dependence (AD) in terms of drinking level was compared with a large representative US sample. Results: Patients in specialized care for AUDs showed high levels of consumption [average level of daily ethanol intake: 141.1 g, standard deviation (SD): 116.0 g], comorbidity [e.g. liver problems: 19.6%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 17.5-21.6%; depression: 43.2%, 95% CI: 40.7-45.8%; anxiety: 50.3%, 95% CI: 47.8-52.9%], disability and health services utilization (average number of nights spent in hospital(s) during the last 6 months: 8.8, SD: 19.5 nights). Severity of AD was similar to the US sample, but European men consumed on average more alcohol daily. Conclusions: High levels of consumption, somatic and mental comorbidities, disability and functional losses were found in this representative treatment sample, indicating that treatment was initiated only at severe stages of AUDs. Earlier initiation of treatment could help avoid some of the health and social burde

Perspectivas sobre la prevención de los problemas relacionados con el alcohol

En un período de creciente consumo de bebidas alcohólicas y de crecientes daños producidos por el alcohol en el Reino Unido se produce un conflicto entre el actual enfoque de la política del alcohol por parte del gobierno británico y los principios preventivos compartidos por la mayoría de la comunidad científica internacional. Este conflicto representa una confrontación general en Europa entre la ideología del mercado único y la estrategia de restricción que conviene al enfoque de la salud pública. Sin embargo, desde la perspectiva europea deben tomarse en consideración otros factores: las diferencias en las formas de beber que difieren según los países y las culturas; la efectividad de las políticas preventivas; el dilema entre prohibir y permitir

Editorial: Discussing conflicts of interest during a Kettil Bruun Society symposium, June 2014, Turin (Italy)

Allamani, A., & Beccaria, F. (2016). Editorial: Discussing conflicts of interest during a Kettil Bruun Society symposium, June 2014, Turin (Italy). The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(1), 1-3. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i1.226Human beings have always sought after truth and made efforts to define and measure objects and events outside and inside themselves. In the last four centuries, since the time of Galileo, scholars came to agree more and more on a scientific method that could be shared in order to obtain replicable results that could become a common good for humanity. The results of a study can in fact lead to technological applications in various sectors of human life, like education, commerce, industry, and health.The search for scientific truth and its relationship with the economy has always had a complicated life: first, because in any given moment there will be different ideas about truth, and second, because researchers need both the means and the time to conduct their work. This is why a researcher must either support him- or herself and/or be financially supported by someone that may have different expectations about the research results.Thus, this involves the integrity of both the individual researcher and his/her referral network—the "scientific community"—that can call into question their ethical sphere by a potentially problematic relationship with truth, economy, and utility

Concern about family members drinking and cultural consistency: A multi-country GENACIS Study

Programa de Aprendizaje INGLÉS TÉCNICO ADMINISTRATIVO - CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMEC