Alcohol consumption and its correlation with medical conditions: a UK Biobank study.

Background: Alcohol consumption has been associated with the occurrence of many health conditions. We analyzed UK Biobank data to explore associations of various conditions to type and amount of alcohol consumed. UK Biobank is a large biomedical database providing information from UK participants, including lifestyle questionnaires and diagnosis data. Methods: Using UK Biobank, we examined the relationship between weekly alcohol consumption, alcohol type and the incidence of eight select conditions. We calculated counts of individuals consuming each type diagnosed with these conditions. To assess the effect of alcohol consumption on each condition's prevalence, we used log-logistic regression models to generate dose-response models for each alcohol type. Results: The alcohol consumed included: red wine (228,439 participants), white wine (188811), beer (182648), spirits (129418), and fortified wine (34598). We observed increased condition prevalence with increasing amounts of alcohol. This was especially seen for chronic obstructive lung disease, cirrhosis of liver, hypertension, gastritis, and type 2 diabetes. Beer consumers showed higher prevalence for most conditions while fortified wine had the largest increases in incidence rates. Only white wine showed decreased incidence for acute myocardial infarction. In general, the prevalence of many conditions was higher among alcohol consumers, particularly for hypertension, 33.8%, compared to 28.6% for non-drinkers. Conclusion: Although many conditions were already prevalent among non-drinkers, participants consuming increasing amounts of alcohol had increased incidence rates for many of the studied conditions. This was especially true for consumers of beer and fortified wine, but also true to a lesser extent for consumers of spirits, red and white wine.

Chemosensory Profile of South Tyrolean Pinot Blanc Wines: A Multivariate Regression Approach.

A multivariate regression approach based on sensory data and chemical compositions has been applied to study the correlation between the sensory and chemical properties of Pinot Blanc wines from South Tyrol. The sensory properties were identified by descriptive analysis and the chemical profile was obtained by HS-SPME-GC/MS and HPLC. The profiles of the most influencing (positively or negatively) chemical components have been presented for each sensory descriptor. Partial Least Square Regression (PLS) and Principal Component Regression (PCR) models have been tested and applied. Visual (clarity, yellow colour), gustatory (sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, astringency, and warmness) and olfactory (overall intensity, floral, apple, pear, tropical fruit, dried fruit, fresh vegetative, spicy, cleanness, and off-odours) descriptors have been correlated with the volatile and phenolic profiles, respectively. Each olfactory descriptor was correlated via a PCR model to the volatile compounds, whereas a comprehensive PLS2 regression model was built for the correlation between visual/gustatory descriptors and the phenolic fingerprint. "Apple" was the olfactory descriptor best modelled by PCR, with an adjusted R2 of 0.72, with only 20% of the validation samples falling out of the confidence interval (α = 95%). A PLS2 with 6 factors was chosen as the best model for gustatory and visual descriptors related to the phenolic compounds. Finally, the overall quality judgment could be explained by a combination of the calibrated sensory descriptors through a PLS model. This allowed the identification of sensory descriptors such as "olfactory intensity", "warmness", "apple", "saltiness", "astringency", "cleanness", "clarity" and "pear", which relevantly contributed to the overall quality of Pinot Blanc wines from South Tyrol, obtained with two different winemaking processes and aged in bottle for 18 months.

Alcohol excise taxes as a percentage of retail alcohol prices in 26 OECD countries.

BACKGROUND: Many countries have implemented alcohol excise taxes. However, measures of excise taxes as a percentage of alcohol prices have not been systematically studied. METHODS: Data on the retail prices of alcoholic beverages sold in stores and excise taxes in 26 countries during 2003-2018 was from the Economist Intelligence Unit price city data and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tax database. The percentages of excise taxes in off-premise retail prices were derived as the ratio of taxes to prices at different price levels. Changes of excise taxes over time were assessed using negative binominal regressions. RESULTS: The percentage of excise taxes in average off-premise alcohol prices was from 5 % in Luxembourg to 59 % in Iceland for beer, and from 0 % in France to 26 % in Iceland for wine. Excise taxes accounted for 5% of discount liquor prices in Czech Republic to 41 % in Sweden for Cognac, for 19 % in the United States (US) to 67 % in Sweden for Gin, for 13 % in the US to 63 % in Australia for Scotch Whisky six years old, and for 6 % in Iceland to 76 % in Sweden for Liqueur Cointreau. There were no significant changes in the percentage of excise taxes in alcohol prices over time in most countries except for Nordic countries. While wine had the lowest excise taxes, liquors had the highest tax burden. CONCLUSION: Tax burden on alcoholic beverages is low in OECD countries, indicating ample room for increasing alcohol excise taxes, particularly for beer and wine in those countries.

Impact of bottle size on in-home consumption of wine: a randomized controlled cross-over trial.

AIM: To assess the impact of purchasing wine in 50 cl bottles compared with 75 cl bottles on the amount of wine consumed at home. DESIGN: Cross-over randomized controlled trial with a 'usual behaviour' period of a maximum of 3 weeks between conditions. SETTING: Households in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and eighty-six households that consumed between two and eight 75 cl bottles of wine each week. INTERVENTION: Households were randomized to the order in which they purchased wine in two bottle sizes. During two 14-day intervention periods, households purchased a pre-set volume of wine-based on their baseline self-reported weekly consumption-in either 75 cl bottles or 50 cl bottles. On days 7 and 14 of each study period, participating households sent photographs of each purchased wine bottle. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was the volume of study wine in millilitres (ml) consumed during each study period estimated through returned photographs. The secondary outcome was the rate of consumption measured by the mean number of days taken to drink 1.5 litres from each bottle size. FINDINGS: One hundred and sixty-six of 186 enrolled households satisfactorily completed the study. After accounting for pre-specified covariates, 191.1 ml [95% confidence interval (CI) = 42.03-339.2] or 4.5% (95% CI = 1.0-7.9%) more wine was consumed per 14-day period from 75-cl bottles than from 50-cl bottles. Consumption was 5.8% faster (95% CI = -10.9 to -0.4%) from 75 cl bottles than from 50 cl bottles. CONCLUSIONS: Consuming wine at home from 50 cl bottles, compared with 75 cl bottles, may reduce both amount consumed and rate of consumption.

Drinking beer, wine or spirits - does it matter for inequalities in alcohol-related hospital admission? A record-linked longitudinal study in Wales.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related harm has been found to be higher in disadvantaged groups, despite similar alcohol consumption to advantaged groups. This is known as the alcohol harm paradox. Beverage type is reportedly socioeconomically patterned but has not been included in longitudinal studies investigating record-linked alcohol consumption and harm. We aimed to investigate whether and to what extent consumption by beverage type, BMI, smoking and other factors explain inequalities in alcohol-related harm. METHODS: 11,038 respondents to the Welsh Health Survey answered questions on their health and lifestyle. Responses were record-linked to wholly attributable alcohol-related hospital admissions (ARHA) eight years before the survey month and until the end of 2016 within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. We used survival analysis, specifically multi-level and multi-failure Cox mixed effects models, to calculate the hazard ratios of ARHA. In adjusted models we included the number of units consumed by beverage type and other factors, censoring for death or moving out of Wales. RESULTS: People living in more deprived areas had a higher risk of admission (HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.23-2.48) compared to less deprived. Adjustment for the number of units by type of alcohol consumed only reduced the risk of ARHA for more deprived areas by 4% (HR 1.72; 95% CI 1.21-2.44), whilst adding smoking and BMI reduced these inequalities by 35.7% (HR 1.48; 95% CI 1.01-2.17). These social patterns were similar for individual-level social class, employment, housing tenure and highest qualification. Inequalities were further reduced by including either health status (16.6%) or mental health condition (5%). Unit increases of spirits drunk were positively associated with increasing risk of ARHA (HR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.12), higher than for other drink types. CONCLUSIONS: Although consumption by beverage type was socioeconomically patterned, it did not help explain inequalities in alcohol-related harm. Smoking and BMI explained around a third of inequalities, but lower socioeconomic groups had a persistently higher risk of (multiple) ARHA. Comorbidities also explained a further proportion of inequalities and need further investigation, including the contribution of specific conditions. The increased harms from consumption of stronger alcoholic beverages may inform public health policy.

Adolescent wine consumption is inversely associated with long-term weight gain: results from follow-up of 20 or 22 years.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested a link between the type of alcoholic beverage consumption and body weight. However, results from longitudinal studies have been inconsistent, and the association between adolescent alcohol consumption long-term weight gain has generally not been examined. METHODS: The study was based on data from 720 Danish adolescents aged between 15 to 19 years at baseline from the Danish Youth and Sports Study (YSS). Self-reported alcohol use, height, weight, smoking, social economic status (SES) and physical activity levels were assessed in baseline surveys conducted in 1983 and 1985, and in the follow up survey which was conducted in 2005. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between alcohol consumption in adolescence and subsequent weight gain later in midlife. RESULTS: There was no significant association between total alcohol consumption during adolescence and change in BMI into midlife (P = 0.079) (ß - 0.14; 95% CI -0.28, 0.005). Wine consumption was found to be inversely associated to subsequent BMI gain (P = 0.001) (ß - 0.46; 95% CI -0.82, - 0.09) while the results were not significant for beer and spirit. The relationship did not differ by gender, but smoking status was found to modify the relationship, and the inverse association between alcohol and BMI gain was seen only among non-smokers (P = 0.01) (ß - 0.24; 95% CI -0.41, - 0.06) while no association was found among smokers. Neither adolescent nor attained socioeconomic status in adulthood modified the relationship between alcohol intake and subsequent BMI gain. CONCLUSION: Among non-smoking adolescents, consumption of alcohol, and in particular wine, seems to be associated with less weight gain until midlife. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The YSS cohort was retrospectively registered on August 2017. (Study ID number: NCT03244150 ).

Distribution of crown hexameric procyanidin and its tetrameric and pentameric congeners in red and white wines.

Nineteen red and white wines were screened for the presence of crown (oligomeric cyclic) procyanidins with 4, 5 or 6 (epi)catechin monomers by means of HPLC-HRMS/MS. For the first time, the distribution of crown procyanidins in wines obtained from several grape varieties was discussed including white wines. The ratios between crown and non-cyclic procyanidins allowed the samples to be discriminated by grape variety. The crown hexameric procyanidin was present in the red wines and absent in the white wines analyzed. The crown pentameric procyanidin was absent in Gewürztraminer. In Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, the pentameric procyanidin was present only in the cyclic form. Less oxidized high quality red wines displayed a higher fraction of crown to non-cyclic procyanidins than the other wines. These compounds are proposed as potential complement markers of wine quality and authenticity.

What are the perceived target groups and occasions for wines and beers labelled with verbal and numerical descriptors of lower alcohol strength? An experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: Alcohol consumption is the fifth leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The development and promotion of lower strength alcohol products may help reduce alcohol consumption and associated harms. This study assessed what a sample of UK weekly drinkers perceived to be the target groups and occasions for drinking wines and beers labelled with different verbal and numerical descriptors of lower alcohol strength. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: 3390 adults (1697 wine and 1693 beer drinkers) were sampled from a nationally representative UK panel, and participated in a between-subjects experiment in which participants were randomised to 1 of 18 groups with one of three levels of verbal descriptor (Low vs. Super Low vs. No verbal descriptor) and six levels of %ABV (five levels varying for wine and beer, and no level given). MEASURES: The study gauged participants' perceptions of the type of person that would find the randomised beverage appealing and the type of occasion on which the beverage is likely to be drunk at. RESULTS: A principal component analysis showed that participants perceived pregnant women, sportspeople and those aged 6-13 years old were the target groups for products labelled with 0%ABV or the verbal descriptors Low or Super Low, whereas men, women, and those aged above 18 were perceived as the target groups for products labelled with higher %ABV. Participants also rated the products labelled with 0%ABV or the verbal descriptors Low or Super Low as targeting consumption on weekday lunches, whereas products labelled with higher %ABV were rated as targeting dinner/evening occasions, including parties, holidays and celebrations. CONCLUSIONS: Lower strength products were seen as targeting non-traditional consumers (pregnant women) and occasions (weekday lunchtimes), suggesting these products may be perceived as extensions to regular strength alcoholic drinks rather than as substitutes for them.

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study of Men.

Studies indicate an inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and chronic inflammatory diseases; however, the association between alcohol consumption and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) incidence has not been widely studied. We investigated the associations of total alcohol consumption and intake of specific alcoholic beverages with risk of COPD in a population-based prospective cohort study, the Cohort of Swedish Men (n = 44,254). Alcohol consumption was assessed with a self-administered questionnaire in 1997. During follow-up (1998-2014), 2,177 COPD cases were ascertained. Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with the lowest risk of COPD. A J-shaped association was observed for ethanol consumption (P for nonlinearity = 0.003) and beer consumption (P for nonlinearity < 0.001); for wine consumption, a U-shaped association was observed (P for nonlinearity < 0.001). Defining a "standard drink" as 12 g of ethanol, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66, 0.90) and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.05) for beer consumption of 4.1-6.0 and >6.0 standard drinks/week (SDW) versus <1.0 SDW, respectively; 0.80 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.93) and 1.00 (95% CI: 0.83, 1.21) for wine consumption of 2.0-4.0 and >4.0 SDW versus <1.0 SDW, respectively; and 1.10 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.24) and 1.20 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.44) for liquor consumption of 2.0-4.0 and >4.0 SDW versus <1.0 SDW, respectively. In conclusion, our findings suggest that moderate beer and wine consumption, but not liquor consumption, may decrease risk of COPD. Additional studies are needed to confirm these associations.

Association between alcohol exposure and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the Euro-MOTOR study.

OBJECTIVES: Several studies focused on the association between alcohol consumption and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), although with inconsistent findings. Antioxidants may play a role since lyophilised red wine was found to prolong SOD1 mice lifespan. The aim of this international population-based case-control study performed in Ireland, The Netherlands and Italy was to assess the role of alcohol, and red wine in particular, in developing ALS. METHODS: Euro-MOTOR is a case-control study where patients with incident ALS and controls matched for gender, age and area of residency were recruited in a population-based design. Logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, cohort, education, leisure time physical activity, smoking, heart problems, hypertension, stroke, cholesterol and diabetes were performed. RESULTS: 1557 patients with ALS and 2922 controls were enrolled in the study. Exposure to alcohol drinking was not significantly associated with ALS risk. A stratified analysis of exposure to alcohol by cohort revealed significant ORs in The Netherlands and in Apulia, with opposite directions (respectively 0.68 and 2.38). With regard to red wine consumption, only in Apulia the double-fold increased risk (OR 2.53) remained significant. A decreased risk was found for current alcohol drinkers (OR 0.83), while a significantly increased risk was detected among former drinkers (OR 1.63). Analysis of cumulative exposure to alcohol revealed no significant associations with ALS risk. CONCLUSION: With few exceptions, no significant association was found between alcohol consumption and ALS. The study of the association between alcohol and ALS requires a thorough exploration, especially considering the role of different type of alcoholic beverages.

Chemical characterization of South American red wines / Caracterização química de vinhos tintos sul americanos

In this study, 83 wines considered by experts as representatives of the following commercial categories: "Argentinean Malbec (AM)", "Brazilian Merlot (BM)", "Uruguayan Tannat (UT)" and "Chilean Carménère (CC)" were analyzed according to their composition of phenolic, volatiles and semi-volatiles compounds. The objective was to identify the chemical compounds profile that characterized each commercial category. From about 600 peaks obtained by chromatographic techniques, 169 were identified and 53 of them were selected for multivariate statistical analysis. Four clusters, designated as "Chemical Categories" were obtained. Chemical Category 2 and Chemical Category 4 were composed by 90% of CC and 68% of AM respectively, Chemical Category 3 grouped mostly CC (50%) and BM (36%), while Chemical Category 1 showed predominance of AM (37%) and UT (30%). Based on the chemical classification, CC wines were characterized by higher content of Isopentyl lactate, Isobutyl alcohol, Ionone, malvidin and gallic acid and lower content of rutin, quercetin and resveratrol. On the other side, AM wines showed higher concentration of myricetin. UT wines had the highest antioxidant activity, higher content of quercetin, epicatechin, rutin and also the highest amount of all semi-volatiles detected in the negative mode, while BM wines only showed the highest concentration of catechin, petunidin and all semi-volatiles detected in the positive mode. Considering that phenolic and volatile compounds are strictly associated to the wines sensory characteristics, these data can contribute to establish criteria for further wines authentication and typification

Neste estudo, 83 vinhos considerados por especialistas como representantes das seguintes categorias comerciais: "Malbec Argentino (AM)", "Merlot Brasileiro (BM)", "Tannat Uruguaio (UT)" e "Carménere Chileno (CC)" foram analisados de acordo com a sua composição de compostos fenólicos, voláteis e semi-voláteis. O objetivo foi identificar a combinação dos compostos químicos que caracteriza cada categoria comercial. De cerca de 600 picos obtidos por técnicas cromatográficas, 169 foram identificados e 53 deles foram selecionados para análise estatística multivariada. Quatro clusters, designados como "Categorias Químicas" foram obtidos. A Categoria Química 2 e a Categoria Química 4 foram compostas por 90% de CC e 68% de AM respectivamente, a Categoria Química 3 agrupou principalmente CC (50%) e BM (36%), enquanto a Categoria Química 1 mostrou predominância de AM (37%) e UT (30%). Com base na classificação química, os vinhos CC foram caracterizados por apresentarem maior teor de lactato isopentílico, álcool isobutílico, ionona, malvidina e ácido gálico e menor teor de rutina, quercetina e resveratrol. Por outro lado, os vinhos AM apresentaram maior concentração de miricetina. Os vinhos UT apresentaram a maior atividade antioxidante, maior teor de quercetina, epicatequina, rutina e também a maior quantidade de todos os semi-voláteis detectados no modo negativo, enquanto os vinhos BM apresentaram a maior concentração de catequina, petunidina e todos os semi-voláteis detectados no modo positivo. Considerando que compostos fenólicos e voláteis estão estritamente associados às características sensoriais dos vinhos, esses dados podem contribuir para o estabelecimento de critérios para posterior autenticação e tipificação de vinhos sul americanos

Water footprint and economic water productivity of Italian wines with appellation of origin: Managing sustainability through an integrated approach.

In the agribusiness wine is certainly a very interesting sector to analyze. The specific aim of this work is to assess water efficiency and economic water productivity for the Italian wines with Appellation of Origin (AO). This assessment could represent a potential management instrument to improve production performances from a more integrated perspective, pursuing new market trends. The study is related to Italy, the first worldwide producer, and analyzes the available data of AO wines, which globally have specific features, being strictly connected with the territory and its background. The results show the top and bottom five AO wines in terms of crop water use and economic water productivity and their trends during the period 2011-2015, based on average annual change rates. Results of this study are relevant for the wine sector since they can guide decision makers on vine variety selection in the context of micro- and macro-level sustainability of water resource use.

Measuring the gradualist approach to internationalization: Empirical evidence from the wine sector.

The objective of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on internationalization, in relation to the absence of objective and measurable performance indicators for the process of how firms sequentially enter external markets. To that end, this research develops a quantitative tool for use as a performance indicator of gradualness for firms entering external markets at a sectoral level. The performance indicator is based on firms' export volumes, number of years operating in the export market, geographic areas targeted for export and when exports began to each area. The indicator is tested empirically in the wine sector. The main contribution of this study is the creation of a reliable international priority index, which can serve more widely as a valuable tool because of its potential use in other industry sectors and geographic areas, and which would allow the analysis of how geographically differentiated internationalization strategies develop.

Impact of low alcohol verbal descriptors on perceived strength: An experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: Low alcohol labels are a set of labels that carry descriptors such as 'low' or 'lighter' to denote alcohol content in beverages. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers in lower strength alcohol products. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of strength. The present research examines consumers' perceptions of strength (% ABV) and appeal of alcohol products using low or high alcohol verbal descriptors. DESIGN: A within-subjects experimental study in which participants rated the strength and appeal of 18 terms denoting low (nine terms), high (eight terms) and regular (one term) strengths for either (1) wine or (2) beer according to drinking preference. METHODS: Thousand six hundred adults (796 wine and 804 beer drinkers) sampled from a nationally representative UK panel. RESULTS: Low, Lower, Light, Lighter, and Reduced formed a cluster and were rated as denoting lower strength products than Regular, but higher strength than the cluster with intensifiers consisting of Extra Low, Super Low, Extra Light, and Super Light. Similar clustering in perceived strength was observed amongst the high verbal descriptors. Regular was the most appealing strength descriptor, with the low and high verbal descriptors using intensifiers rated least appealing. CONCLUSIONS: The perceived strength and appeal of alcohol products diminished the more the verbal descriptors implied a deviation from Regular. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of policy implications for lower strength alcohol labelling and associated public health outcomes. Statement of contribution What is already known about this subject? Current UK and EU legislation limits the number of low strength verbal descriptors and the associated alcohol by volume (ABV) to 1.2% ABV and lower. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers to extend the range of lower strength alcohol products above the current cap of 1.2% ABV set out in national legislation. There is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of alcohol product strength (both low and high). What does this study add? Verbal descriptors of lower strength wine and beer form two clusters and effectively communicate reduced alcohol content. Low, Lower, Light, Lighter, and Reduced were considered lower in strength than Regular (average % ABV). Descriptors using intensifiers (Extra Low, Super Low, Extra Light, and Super Light) were considered lowest in strength. Similar clustering in perceived strength was observed amongst the high verbal descriptors. The appeal of alcohol products reduced the more the verbal descriptors implied a deviation from Regular.

Alcohol consumption and lung cancer risk in never smokers: a pooled analysis of case-control studies.

Background: Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in developed countries but the etiology of lung cancer risk in never smokers (LCRINS) is largely unknown. We aim to assess the effects of alcohol consumption, in its different forms, on LCRINS. Methods: We pooled six multi-center case-control studies developed in the northwest of Spain. Cases and controls groups were composed of never smokers. We selected incident cases with anatomopathologically confirmed lung cancer diagnoses. All participants were personally interviewed. We performed two groups of statistical models, applying unconditional logistic regression with generalized additive models. One considered the effect of alcohol type consumption and the other considered the quantity of each alcoholic beverage consumed. Results: A total of 438 cases and 863 controls were included. Median age was 71 and 66, years, respectively. Adenocarcinoma was the predominant histological type, comprising 66% of all cases. We found that any type of wine consumption posed an OR of 2.20 OR 95%CI 1.12-4.35), and spirits consumption had an OR of 1.90 (95%CI 1.13-3.23). Beer consumption had an OR of 1.33 (95%CI 0.82-2.14). These results were similar when women were analyzed separately, but for men there was no apparent risk for any alcoholic beverage. The dose-response analysis for each alcoholic beverage revealed no clear pattern. Conclusions: Wine and spirits consumption might increase the risk of LCRINSs, particularly in females. These results have to be taken with caution given the limitations of the present study.

Wine glass size and wine sales: a replication study in two bars.

OBJECTIVE: Wine glass size may influence perceived volume and subsequently purchasing and consumption. Using a larger glass to serve the same portions of wine was found to increase wine sales by 9.4% (95% CI 1.9, 17.5) in a recent study conducted in one bar. The current study aimed to replicate this previous work in two other bars using a wider range of glass sizes. To match the previous study, a repeated multiple treatment reversal design, during which wine was served in glasses of the same design but different sizes, was used. The study was conducted in two bars in Cambridge, England, using glass sizes of 300, 370, 510 ml (Bar 1) and 300 and 510 ml (Bar 2). Customers purchased their choice of a 750 ml bottle, or standard UK measures of 125, 175 or 250 ml of wine, each of which was served with the same glass. RESULTS: Bar 1: Daily wine volume (ml) purchased was 10.5% (95% CI 1.0, 20.9) higher when sold in 510 ml compared to 370 ml glasses; but sales were not significantly different with 300 ml vs. 370 ml glasses (6.5%, 95% CI −5.2, 19.6) [corrected]. Bar 2 Findings were inconclusive as to whether daily wine purchased differed when using 510 ml versus 300 ml glasses (-1.1%, 95% CI -12.6, 11.9). These results provide a partial replication of previous work showing that introducing larger glasses (without manipulating portion size) increases purchasing. Understanding the mechanisms by which wine glass size influences consumption may elucidate when the effect can be expected and when not. Trial registration This study is a replication study, based on the procedure set out in the trial registration for the study that it attempts to replicate (ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN12018175).

Business cycle impacts on substance use of adolescents: A multi-country analysis.

Populations respond to changes in the economic climate in a variety of ways. The recent 'Great Recession' has brought attention to the vulnerability of many economies around the world to changes in non-domestic macroeconomic fluctuations. However, empirical evidence on the responses of adolescents' substance consumption behaviour when the economy deteriorates is very scarce. Thus, the focus of this paper is to analyse the substance consumption patterns displayed by adolescents in response to changes in macroeconomic conditions in a large number of countries. Our results show that beer and wine consumption vary counter-cyclically (a 1pp increase in the unemployment rate increases the probability of drinking beer (wine) by 3% (5.5%)) while adolescent smoking prevalence varies pro-cyclically (a 1pp increase in the unemployment rate decreases the probability of being a current smoker by 3.8%). More importantly, we find that the probability of ever being drunk increases by 1.3% for a 1pp increase in the unemployment rate. Further to this, substantial heterogeneous effects from the aggregate-level results were found when analysing a variety of demographic and geographic dimensions. In light of the existing empirical evidence which outlines that early substance initiators demonstrate worse neurological deficits and suffer stronger labour market penalties (compared to later initiators or abstainers) these findings can aid policy makers in reducing these lasting adverse outcomes.

Alcohol consumption and fecundability: prospective Danish cohort study.

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate to what extent alcohol consumption affects female fecundability. DESIGN:  Prospective cohort study. SETTING:  Denmark, 1 June 2007 to 5 January 2016. PARTICIPANTS:  6120 female Danish residents, aged 21-45 years, in a stable relationship with a male partner, who were trying to conceive and not receiving fertility treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:  Alcohol consumption was self reported as beer (330 mL bottles), red or white wine (120 mL glasses), dessert wine (50 mL glasses), and spirits (20 mL) and categorized in standard servings per week (none, 1-3, 4-7, 8-13, and ≥14). Participants contributed menstrual cycles at risk until the report of pregnancy, start of fertility treatment, loss to follow-up, or end of observation (maximum 12 menstrual cycles). A proportional probability regression model was used to estimate fecundability ratios (cycle specific probability of conception among exposed women divided by that among unexposed women). RESULTS:  4210 (69%) participants achieved a pregnancy during follow-up. Median alcohol intake was 2.0 (interquartile range 0-3.5) servings per week. Compared with no alcohol consumption, the adjusted fecundability ratios for alcohol consumption of 1-3, 4-7, 8-13, and 14 or more servings per week were 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.03), 1.01 (0.93 to 1.10), 1.01 (0.87 to 1.16) and 0.82 (0.60 to 1.12), respectively. Compared with no alcohol intake, the adjusted fecundability ratios for women who consumed only wine (≥3 servings), beer (≥3 servings), or spirits (≥2 servings) were 1.05 (0.91 to1.21), 0.92 (0.65 to 1.29), and 0.85 (0.61 to 1.17), respectively. The data did not distinguish between regular and binge drinking, which may be important if large amounts of alcohol are consumed during the fertile window. CONCLUSION:  Consumption of less than 14 servings of alcohol per week seemed to have no discernible effect on fertility. No appreciable difference in fecundability was observed by level of consumption of beer and wine.

Alcoholic Beverage Preference and Dietary Habits in Elderly across Europe: Analyses within the Consortium on Health and Ageing: Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States (CHANCES) Project.

INTRODUCTION: The differential associations of beer, wine, and spirit consumption on cardiovascular risk found in observational studies may be confounded by diet. We described and compared dietary intake and diet quality according to alcoholic beverage preference in European elderly. METHODS: From the Consortium on Health and Ageing: Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States (CHANCES), seven European cohorts were included, i.e. four sub-cohorts from EPIC-Elderly, the SENECA Study, the Zutphen Elderly Study, and the Rotterdam Study. Harmonized data of 29,423 elderly participants from 14 European countries were analyzed. Baseline data on consumption of beer, wine, and spirits, and dietary intake were collected with questionnaires. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI). Intakes and scores across categories of alcoholic beverage preference (beer, wine, spirit, no preference, non-consumers) were adjusted for age, sex, socio-economic status, self-reported prevalent diseases, and lifestyle factors. Cohort-specific mean intakes and scores were calculated as well as weighted means combining all cohorts. RESULTS: In 5 of 7 cohorts, persons with a wine preference formed the largest group. After multivariate adjustment, persons with a wine preference tended to have a higher HDI score and intake of healthy foods in most cohorts, but differences were small. The weighted estimates of all cohorts combined revealed that non-consumers had the highest fruit and vegetable intake, followed by wine consumers. Non-consumers and persons with no specific preference had a higher HDI score, spirit consumers the lowest. However, overall diet quality as measured by HDI did not differ greatly across alcoholic beverage preference categories. DISCUSSION: This study using harmonized data from ~30,000 elderly from 14 European countries showed that, after multivariate adjustment, dietary habits and diet quality did not differ greatly according to alcoholic beverage preference.

Impact of Maryland's 2011 alcohol sales tax increase on alcoholic beverage sales.

BACKGROUND: Increasing alcohol taxes has proven effective in reducing alcohol consumption, but the effects of alcohol sales taxes on sales of specific alcoholic beverages have received little research attention. Data on sales are generally less subject to reporting biases than self-reported patterns of alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the effects of Maryland's July 1, 2011 three percentage point increase in the alcohol sales tax (6-9%) on beverage-specific and total alcohol sales. METHODS: Using county-level data on Maryland's monthly alcohol sales in gallons for 2010-2012, by beverage type, multilevel mixed effects multiple linear regression models estimated the effects of the tax increase on alcohol sales. We controlled for seasonality, county characteristics, and national unemployment rates in the main analyses. RESULTS: In the 18 months after the tax increase, average per capita sales of spirits were 5.1% lower (p < 0.001), beer sales were 3.2% lower (p < 0.001), and wine sales were 2.5% lower (p < 0.01) relative to what would have been expected from sales trends in the 18 months prior to the tax increase. Overall, the alcohol sales tax increase was associated with a 3.8% decline in total alcohol sold relative to what would have been expected based on sales in the prior 18 months (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that increased alcohol sales taxes may be as effective as excise taxes in reducing alcohol consumption and related problems. Sales taxes also have the added advantages of rising with inflation and taxing the highest priced beverages most heavily.