Non-beverage alcohol consumption in Russia: new evidence from Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies in Izhevsk, Novosibirsk, and Kazan have found that non-beverage alcohol is a large part of alcohol consumption in Russia. Whereas those places are relatively high-income cities, there are no studies about such a problem in low-income regions of Russia. The aim of this study is to investigate correlates and factors associated with non-beverage alcohol consumption in eastern regions of Russia, e.g. the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and to assess effectiveness of implementing Russian policies to restrict consumption of non-beverage alcohol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey of adults in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia was performed on workdays to assess non-beverage drinking patterns in summer 2022. The questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic status and alcohol use, including non-beverage alcohol consumption and drinking patterns. We use logistic regression to identify risk factors of consuming non-beverages. RESULTS: First, ~30% of individuals suffering from alcohol problems drink non-beverage alcohol. Second, those who regularly consume non-beverage alcohol compared with those who chronically drink legal strong alcohol are on average more likely to experience the negative effects of alcohol consumption. Third, income and marriage are the main factors negatively associated with surrogate alcohol consumption. Besides, age shows a curvilinear relationship with that. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that a modified anti-surrogate policy to increase the minimum price of pharmacy alcohol and to enforce restrictions on the sale of non-beverage alcohol is needed in Russia. Such measures could prevent an increase in non-beverage alcohol consumption in Russia against the backdrop of declining real incomes of the population.

Hyperlipidemia impairs osteoanabolic effects of PTH.

Epidemiological and in vitro studies have suggested that hyperlipidemia/oxidized phospholipids adversely affect bone. We recently found that oxidized phospholipids attenuate PTH-induced cAMP and immediate-early gene (IEG) expression in MC3T3-E1 cells, raising concerns that clinical hyperlipidemia may attenuate osteoanabolic effects of PTH in vivo. Thus, we studied whether intermittent PTH treatment has differential osteoanabolic effects in wildtype (C57BL/6) and hyperlipidemic (LDLR(-/-)) mice. Consistent with our previous in vitro studies, induction of IEGs in calvarial tissue, 45 min after a single dose of recombinant hPTH(1-34), was attenuated in LDLR(-/-) mice compared with C57BL/6 mice. Daily hPTH(1-34) injections for 5 wk significantly increased total and cortical BMD and BMC, assessed by pQCT, in C57BL/6 mice. However, this induction was completely abrogated in LDLR(-/-) mice. Similarly, PTH(1-34) failed to increase BMD in another hyperlipidemic mouse model, ApoE(-/-) mice. Histomorphometric analysis showed that trabecular bone of both mice responded similarly to PTH(1-34). Structural parameters improved significantly in response to PTH(1-34) in both mouse strains, although to a lesser degree in LDLR(-/-) mice. With PTH(1-34) treatment, osteoblast surface trended toward an increase in C57BL/6 mice and increased significantly in LDLR(-/-) mice. PTH(1-34) did not alter resorption parameters significantly, except for the eroded surface (ES/BS), which was reduced in the C57BL/6 but not in the LDLR(-/-) mice. These results show that PTH(1-34) has adverse effects on cortical bones of the hyperlipidemic mice, suggesting that the therapeutic effects of PTH may be compromised in the presence of hyperlipidemia.