BACKGROUND Despite the relatively low recorded alcohol consumption level, the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and neighbouring Finland suffer from similar harmful consequences related to the use of alcoholic beverages, including socio-economic inequalities in alcohol related mortality. Comparative evidence is needed to understand harmful drinking patterns and to implement preve...

We study the effect of women’s education on fertility and children’s health during a period gender equalization greater access to economic opportunities. In 1980, Spain raised minimum working age from 14 16, while compulsory remained at 14. This reform changed within-cohort incentives remain in educational system. Using difference-in-differences approach, we find that delayed but did not impact...

Aims: The study aimed to determine whether alcohol use during late adolescence contributes to the weight gain from adolescence to young adulthood or risk of obesity or waist circumference at young adulthood. Methods: A population-based, longitudinal study of 5563 Finnish twins born in 1975–1979 and surveyed at ages 16 (T1), 17 (T2), 18 (T3) and 23–27 (T4) years. Drinking habits, height and weig...

This study examines the response of blood pressure, plasma catecholamines and cortisol to acute alcohol intake in young men with light to moderate drinking habits. Ingestion of alcohol was associated with a highly significant increase in systolic blood pressure and heart rate which occurred before blood alcohol reached its peak concentration of 16.9 +/- 1.1 mmol/l (80 mg/100 ml). After an initi...

BACKGROUND Although there have been a wide range of epidemiological studies examining the impact of patterns of alcohol consumption among adolescents, there remains considerable variability in both defining these patterns and the ability to comprehensively evaluate their relationship to behavioural patterns. This study explores a new procedure for defining and evaluating drinking patterns and i...

The consumption of drugs during young adulthood may be particularly detrimental given important neurodevelopmental changes occurring during this period. As impulsivity may lead to substance use and substance use to the commission of seemingly impulsive acts, an improved understanding of the relationship between alcohol use, other substance use and impulsivity in young adults is important. We ga...

In order to investigate the association between polymorphisms in genes encoding metabolizing enzymes (CYP1A1-MspI, EC-SOD (extracellular superoxide dismutase), GSTT1, GSTM1, ALDH2), cigarette and alcohol consumption, and the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma, we conducted a prospective case-control study comprised of 750 individuals with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and 750 healthy in...

BACKGROUND Adolescents and college students are at high risk for initiating alcohol use and high-risk (or binge) drinking. There is a growing body of literature on neurotoxic and harmful cognitive effects of drinking by young people. On average, youths take their first drink at age 12 years. METHODS MEDLINE search on neurologic and cognitive effects of underage drinking. RESULTS Problematic...

While the association between problem gambling and alcohol use disorders has been studied previously, little is known about the association between risk gambling and risk drinking. This study aimed at examining the association between at-risk gambling and binge drinking in the general Swedish population and to test whether this association remained after controlling for demographic factors. The...

BACKGROUND High prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular disease is attributable to sedentary lifestyle and eating diets high in fat and refined carbohydrate while eating diets low in fruit and vegetables. Epidemiological studies have confirmed a strong association between eating diets rich in fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular health. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether ...