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Alcohol-related illness and injury take "a personal, social, and economic toll on the American people--an estimated 100,000 lives and $184.6 billion annually," Dr. Ruth Kirschstein, acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in the report's preface. The 492-page report, which highlights research findings on alcohol use and abuse, is the first released since 1997. "Domestic violence, child abuse, fires and other accidents, falls, rape, and other crimes against individuals such as robbery and assault--all are linked to alcohol misuse," stated Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala in her forward to the report. "Alcohol misuse also is implicated in diseases such as cancer, liver disease and heart disease." The report highlights advances in understanding genetic influences on alcoholism. Scientists have identified specific genes that appear to be involved in susceptibility to the disease, as well as a gene that seems to offer protection against it. Research is also helping scientists understand how damage to the immune system contributes to the liver damage commonly found in alcoholics, and on links between excessive drinking and cancer. For example, the reports' authors note there is "substantial evidence...that breast cancer risk is elevated for women consuming high levels of alcohol (more than three drinks per day) compared with abstainers." More important, perhaps, are efforts aimed at preventing alcohol abuse. Efforts to keep young people from starting to drink, as well as programs to limit the availability of alcohol to underage drinkers, have proven successful, according to the NIH experts. The report also provides an overview of psychological and drug-based treatments for alcoholism, as well as efforts to reduce drunk driving. Produced by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), a division of the National Institutes of Health, the full report is available at the NIAAA Web site: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov. |
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Last modified: March 30, 2007 |
