Alcohol can induce temporary positive feelings such as elation and happiness and reduce negative feelings like distress. These emotional responses to alcohol are believed to contribute to drinking behaviors that lead to alcohol use disorder or that make abstaining from drinking more difficult for some people. A new study funded by the National Institute on … Read more
The NIAAA announces the release of genetic data collected from individuals who participated in NIAAA’s National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), the largest study ever conducted on alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD), and its co-occurrence with drug use, substance use disorders (SUD), and related psychiatric conditions. The NESARC-III is a … Read more
During the course of the pandemic, researchers and scientists from across the biomedical spectrum have focused on the diverse health impacts of the novel coronavirus. For their part, alcohol researchers are investigating numerous ways that alcohol might affect COVID-19 risk and severity, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic may influence alcohol consumption patterns and … Read more
Chronic heavy drinking, a common symptom of alcohol use disorder (AUD), has been linked to changes in the levels and types of beneficial bacteria in the gut, known as the gut microbiome. Changes in the gut microbiome, often termed microbial dysbiosis, can lead to further downstream health problems such as liver disease, inflammation, and malnutrition. … Read more
For many years, the concept of recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD) has permeated our societal discourse and been celebrated for individuals with AUD who do recover. Yet, recovery’s complex nature has led to ambiguity about its meaning. This lack of agreement about the kinds of outcomes that define recovery has complicated efforts to compare … Read more
This December marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Over the past five decades, NIAAA-funded researchers have made tremendous progress in advancing the understanding of how alcohol impacts health. NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D., comments, “While we have much more work to do, today … Read more