Reasons for drinking, alcohol use, and alcoholism among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites.

Estimated associations of subjective reasons for drinking with heavy drinking (HD), frequent drinking (FD), and alcohol abuse or dependence (AAOD). Respondents were 725 Mexican-American and 915 non-Hispanic White community residents who reported drinking at least once in the 6 mo before being interviewed. Each reason for drinking and number of reasons given for drinking were associated with HD, FD, or AAOD. However, multivariate models suggested that different reasons may be associated with different types of alcohol involvement. Cultural differences in alcohol involvement were typically not accounted for by cultural differences in reasons for drinking. Drinking to cheer up or to loosen up around people and drinking to induce sleep had different associations with HD and AAOD in different cultural groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess whether Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores represent the same underlying construct in randomly selected non-Hispanic White (n?=?1,149), U.S.-born Mexican-American (n?=?538), and Mexico-born Mexican-American (n?=?706) community residents. The factor structure identified in previous studies (e.g., V. A. Clark et al, 1981) fit the data well. Although the factor structure was not statistically identical across ethnic and immigration groups, factor loadings were substantively similar in the 3 groups. The exception was sleep disturbance, which loaded primarily on a Somatic factor for U.S.-born Mexican Americans, primarily on a Negative Affect factor for the Mexico-born, and about equally on these factors for non-Hispanic Whites. The results indicate high (but imperfect) conceptual equivalence of the CES-D in these cultural groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in New Mexico

Tri(gamma-glutamylcysteinylglycinyl)trithioarsenite (AsIII(GS)3) is formed in cells and is a more potent mixed-type inhibitor of the reduction of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) by yeast glutathione (GSH) reductase than either arsenite (AsIII) or GSH. The present work examines the effects of valence and complexation of arsenicals with GSH or L-cysteine (Cys) upon potency as competitive inhibitors of the reduction of GSH disulfide (GSSG) by yeast GSH reductase. Trivalent arsenicals were more potent inhibitors than their pentavalent analogs, and methylated trivalent arsenicals were more potent inhibitors than was inorganic trivalent As. Complexation of either inorganic trivalent As or methylarsonous diiodide (CH3As(III)I2) with Cys or GSH produced inhibitors of GSH reductase that were severalfold more potent than the parent arsenicals. In contrast, dimethylarsinous iodide ((CH3)2As(III)I) was a more potent inhibitor than its complexes with either GSH or Cys. Complexes of CH3AsIII with GSH (CH3-AsIII(GS)2) or with Cys (CH3AsIII(Cys)2) were the most potent inhibitors, with Ki's of 0.009 and 0.018 mM, respectively. Inhibition of GSH reductase by arsenicals or arsenothiols was prevented by addition of meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) to a mixture of enzyme, GSSG, and inhibitor before addition of NADPH. DMSA added to the reaction mixture after NADPH reversed inhibition by (CH3)2As(III)I but had little effect on inhibition by CH3As(III)I2, Ch3AsIII(GS)2, CH3AsIII(Cys)2, or AsIII(GS)3. Partial redox inactivation of the enzyme with NADPH increased the inhibitory potency of CH3As(III)I2 and (CH3)2As(III)I and changed the mode of inhibition for CH3As(III)I2 from competitive to noncompetitive. The greater potency of methylated trivalent arsenicals and arsenothiols than of inorganic trivalent As suggests that biomethylation of As could yield species that inhibit reduction of GSSG and alter the redox status of cells.     

Comparison of treatment utilization and outcome for Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites

Ketoprofen is a chiral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) available as a racemic (rac) mixture of S-(+)- and R-(-)-isomers. Its inhibitory effect on prostaglandin biosynthesis resides virtually in the S-form. Interestingly, R-ketoprofen does not undergo substantial metabolic inversion in humans. Though contraindicated during the last trimester of pregnancy, NSAIDs, including ketoprofen, are used as tocolytic agents in some cases. The S/R plasma concentration ratio was reported to average 2.3 in premature neonates whose mothers were given rac-ketoprofen and to be close to 1 in the maternal plasma. Thus, we investigated the placental transfer of rac-ketoprofen in vitro using Schneider's perfused human cotyledon model. Glucosed Earle solutions with and without human serum albumin (HSA) were used. Several maternal perfusates were tested with different rac-ketoprofen concentrations together with 20 mg L-1 of antipyrine as a reference substance. Ketoprofen enantiomers were assayed by a specific HPLC method with derivatization procedure. HSA concentrations in maternal perfusate influenced the placental transfer of ketoprofen enantiomers. In the absence of HSA in the maternal perfusate, the S-(+)/R-(-) concentration ratio was close to 1 in the fetal perfusate. By contrast, this ratio averaged 1.44 after addition of HSA 10 g L-1 on the maternal side. Similar results were found for dialysis experiments using an inert Spectrapor 2 membrane suggesting that the S-(+)-free concentration is superior to the R-(-)-free concentration in the presence of HSA. Direct measurements of the free concentrations by centrifugal ultrafiltration confirmed this hypothesis. Accordingly, the data observed in vivo may result, at least in part, from the stereoselective protein binding of ketoprofen.     

Trends in alcohol-related mortality among New Mexico's American Indians, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites

Reduction of alcohol-related mortality is a national goal for health promotion and disease prevention. We conducted this analysis to determine whether trends in New Mexico's Hispanics, non-Hispanic Whites, and American Indians were consistent with national trends in alcohol-related mortality, and whether differences in drinking patterns could account for racial and ethnic differences in rates. Age-adjusted, race-specific, and ethnic-specific alcohol-related mortality rates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for 5-year periods for 1958-1991 using New Mexico vital statistics data. We estimated the prevalence of acute and chronic at-risk drinking behaviors and abstinence from data collected by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for the period 1986-1992. We found that alcohol-related mortality rates varied substantially by race, ethnicity, sex, age, and calendar period. American Indians had the highest rates for both sexes. Rates increased sharply from the period 1958-1962 until the late 1970s and the early 1980s, and then began to decrease rapidly. However, during the most recent decade, the rates have followed contrasting trends in the three ethnic and racial groups. Although rates have continued to decline among non-Hispanic Whites, rates for Hispanics and American Indians have not declined, and still remain substantially higher than rates during the 1958-1962 period. Differences in at-risk drinking behaviors reported to the BRFSS do not explain the contrast in race-specific and ethnic-specific mortality rates. Although progress has been made in reducing national per capita alcohol consumption and alcohol-related mortality, certain high-risk racial and ethnic groups may not be sharing in the progress.     

Reactions to two versions of affirmative action action among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.

Houston-area Whites (n?=?414), Blacks (n?=? 392), American-born Hispanics (n?=?162), and Hispanic immigrants (n?=?177) evaluated a self-defined "typical" affirmative action plan (AAP) and a tiebreak AAP that applies under conditions of equal qualifications and underrepresentation. Whites preferred Tiebreak; Blacks and Hispanics preferred the typical AAP. The groups differed in beliefs about the procedures and fairness of affirmative action (AA), perceptions of workplace discrimination, and political orientations. Perceived fairness predicted support for both AAPs in all American-born groups, but the impact of other predictors varied greatly across AAPs and ethnic groups. The results clarify the bases for Whites' opposition to AA as they construe it. The results also underscore the importance of specifying the AAP procedures, of uncovering the predictors of AA attitudes among target-group members, and of conducting separate analyses in each ethnic community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trends in alcohol consumption patterns among whites, blacks and Hispanics: 1984 and 1995

OBJECTIVE: To report national trends in alcohol consumption patterns among whites, blacks and Hispanics between 1984 and 1995, in relation to the recent decline in per capita consumption in the United States. METHOD: Data were obtained from two nationwide probability samples of U.S. households, the first conducted in 1984 and the second in 1995. The 1984 sample consisted of 1,777 whites, 1,947 blacks and 1,453 Hispanics; the 1995 sample consisted of 1,636 whites, 1,582 blacks and 1,585 Hispanics. On both occasions, interviews averaging 1 hour in length were conducted in respondents' homes by trained interviewers. RESULTS: Between 1984 and 1995, the rate of abstention remained stable among whites but increased among blacks and Hispanics. Frequent heavy drinking decreased among white men (from 20% to 12%), but remained stable among black (15% in both surveys) and Hispanic men (17% and 18%). Frequent heavy drinking decreased among white women (from 5% to 2%), but remained stable among black (5% in both surveys) and Hispanic women (2% and 3%). White men and women were two times more likely to be frequent heavy drinkers in 1984 than in 1995. CONCLUSIONS: The reduction in per capita consumption in the U.S. is differentially influencing white, black and Hispanic ethnic groups. The stability of rates of frequent heavy drinking places blacks and Hispanics at a higher risk for problem development than whites. This finding is, therefore, a concern to public health professionals and others interested in the prevention of alcohol-related problems among ethnic groups in the United States.     

Expectancies, alcohol, and sexual arousal in women.

A total of 40 university female volunteers, all social drinkers aged 18–35 yrs, were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 expectancy conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half the Ss in each expectancy condition, the beverage actually contained vodka; for the other half, tonic only. After their drinks, measures of vaginal pressure pulse obtained with a vaginal photoplethysmograph were recorded during a nonerotic control film and 2 erotic films depicting a heterosexual or a homosexual interaction. The 2 groups that received alcohol, regardless of whether they believed that their drinks contained alcohol, showed significantly reduced sexual arousal during both erotic films. No effects of expectancy or an interaction between alcohol and expectancy were obtained. Ss' subjective estimates of intoxication were significantly correlated with their self-report of sexual arousal during both erotic films. The differences between these results and previous findings using similar procedures with male social drinkers are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A patient under the influence of alcohol under acute care in the emergency department

The authors of this paper paid special attention to the problem of treatment patients being under influence of drink, which was very often left out in the past. Investigation shows the cases contains patients treated in Clinic of Traumatology CM UJ in years 1990-1994 and pays attention to difference between these patients to the others. The authors included difficulties, that physicians usually meet in process of diagnosis and treatment. Data was analysed under sort of injuries and their causes. Complement data is lawful, toxicological and economical aspect of the question. This work means to make easier taking the decision about diagnosis and treatment for the physicians, who meet such kind of patients during emergency service.     

Expectancies, alcohol, and sexual arousal in male social drinkers.

Randomly assigned 40 undergraduate males, all social drinkers, to 1 of 2 expectation conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half of the Ss in each expectation condition, the beverage contained vodka; the others drank only tonic. After their drinks, measures of penile tumescence were taken from Ss using a penile strain gauge during 2 erotic films, 1 depicting a heterosexual interaction, the other a male homosexual interaction. Although analyses of variance failed to reveal any effect of alcohol per se, there were significant effects of expectation on penile tumescence during both the heterosexual and homosexual films. Ss who believed that they had consumed an alcoholic beverage manifested significantly greater sexual arousal than those believing they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the contents of their drinks. Although no consistent effects were observed on additional measures of sexual arousal, including the TAT, the Word Association Test, and forehead skin temperature, there was a significant positive correlation between self-report measures of sexual arousal and penile tumescence. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies as mediators of the effects of social influences and alcohol knowledge on adolescent alcohol use: A prospective analysis.

Three-year panel data from 789 students in 8th grade and path-analytic techniques were used to test a model positing that social reinforcement expectancies mediate the effects of perceived friends' alcohol use, friends' alcohol attitudes, and knowledge of near-term health effects and alcohol prevalence on both contemporaneous and subsequent alcohol involvement. Evidence of mediation was obtained with both cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. Perceived peer norms had a direct effect on alcohol use, and knowledge of normative alcohol use had a unique long-term protective influence on later alcohol use. Findings are discussed in terms of a 2-pronged prevention model that (a) integrates principles of social learning theory with expectancy-based, cognitive-behavioral change and (b) emphasizes dissemination of age-appropriate alcohol information in programs that aim to reduce alcohol use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies for negative mood regulation, coping, and dysphoria among college students.

Participants (N?=?222) completed measures of negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancies, negative life events, coping responses, dysphoria, and somatic symptoms. After 6 to 8 wks, they completed the same questionnaires except that daily hassles in the previous month were assessed instead of negative life events. In cross-sectional analyses and with stable variance in coping and symptoms controlled, NMR expectancies were positively related to active coping and negatively related to avoidant coping and symptoms. Changes in NMR expectancies and dysphoria were correlated. Time 1 dysphoria was positively related to daily hassles at Time 2, which in turn was associated with changes in coping and dysphoria from Time 1 to Time 2. Implications for counseling and stress-management interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Poverty and impairment in activities of living among elderly Hispanics

This study employed data from a prior national survey of elderly Hispanics to examine the relationship between poverty and functionally impaired status, i.e., impairment in activities of daily living (IADL). The sample for this study consists of 1,685 Hispanics age 65 and older, representing four ethnic groups: Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and other Hispanics. Ethnic comparisons based on personal characteristics, poverty status and IADL found there were differences among the groups analyzed in terms of marital status, language, religion, age, education, poverty, and IADL. Logistic regression findings revealed that elderly Hispanics who were married, bilingual, and had higher educational achievement were more likely to live above the poverty level than were their counterparts. Findings from an ordinary least squares regression analysis revealed that poor elderly Hispanics had more IADL problems; that men had more IADL problems than women; that IADL problems tended to increase with age; that more educated people had fewer IADL problems; that Cubans had fewer IADL problems than other Hispanics; and that Puerto Ricans had more IADL problems than all other Hispanics. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Relationships between insulin resistance and lipoproteins in nondiabetic African Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study

The study purpose was to explore the association between dyslipidemia and insulin resistance in three ethnic groups. The Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) is a multicenter epidemiologic study conducted at four clinical centers in California, Texas, and Colorado. The study population for this analysis consisted of 931 non-Hispanic white, African American, and Hispanic men and women (aged 45 to 64 years) without diabetes. The IRAS clinical examinations included lipoprotein measures, a 75-g glucose tolerance test, and the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance (FSIGT) test. The results show a consistent relationship between insulin-mediated glucose disposal and dyslipidemia in African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white men and women. Further, LDL size was inversely associated with insulin resistance in all three ethnic groups. These findings indicate that dyslipidemia is a fundamental part of the insulin resistance syndrome in all of the ethnic groups studied.     

A reassessment of self-disclosure patterns among Anglo-Americans and Hispanics.

Analyzed the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire responses of 155 Anglo-American and 119 Hispanic undergraduates according to overall frequency of reported self-disclosure, preferred topics (whether about taste, attitude, body, personality, or money) and preferred targets (whether to mother, father, male friend, female friend, or spouse). Examiner ethnicity and gender were systematically varied so that the interaction with S gender and ethnicity could be determined. Results reveal that females reported significantly more disclosure than males. Anglo-Americans indicated more disclosure than Hispanics, and disclosure among Hispanic males was particularly low. However, Hispanics reported high self-disclosure under some conditions. Specifically, Hispanic females reported high self-disclosure to female administrators, and Hispanic males reported significantly high self-disclosure with Hispanic female administrators. Ethnicity was not a significant factor in determining preferred topic and target of self-disclosure. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental demonstration of the influence of alcohol advertising on the activation of alcohol expectancies in memory among fourth-and fifth-grade children.

Previous work has demonstrated that children's organization and activation of alcohol expectancies in memory vary as a function of alcohol use, even among children as young as in the 3rd grade. To advance the understanding of influences on the development of alcohol expectancies in children, 551 4th- and 5th-grade children were exposed to 5 beer commercials or 5 soft drink commercials. After viewing the advertisements, all children reported their 1st associate to an alcohol prompt and completed a memory model-based measure of children's alcohol expectancies. Multidimensional scaling was used to map expectancies into hypothetical memory network format, and preference mapping was used to derive possible paths of activation. Children who viewed beer commercials were more likely to activate positive and amusing alcohol expectancies. In view of previous findings demonstrating that this pattern of activation corresponded to higher drinking among 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th graders, the present findings suggested that antecedents to drinking like exposure to advertising may promote heavier drinking among children by influencing the activation of expectancies in memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religion/spirituality and health among elderly African Americans and Hispanics

1 It is important to view elders in a multicultural sense and also understand that there may be great heterogeneity within cultural or ethnic groups. 2 Knowledge of the impact of religion and spiritual beliefs for ethnic groups can help health care professionals design interventions that are culture-specific to the beliefs of individuals. 3 The psychiatric nurse is in a unique position to encourage the patient to use healthy religious practices to deal with their illness, whether mental or physical.     

Excess incidence of known non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites in the San Luis Valley, Colorado

Levodopa was released by depolarizing stimuli from rat striata in a transmitter-like manner in vitro and in vivo. Exogenous nanomolar levodopa stereoselectively facilitated the release of dopamine and noradrenaline via presynaptic beta-adrenoceptors in brain slices even under inhibition of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase. This facilitation was competitively antagonized by levodopa methyl ester, whereas it was non-competitively antagonized by propranolol. Furthermore, picomolar levodopa stereoselectively potentiated the isoproterenol-induced facilitation of the noradrenaline release. Levodopa methyl ester selectively antagonized this potentiation, while propranolol antagonized both the facilitation by isoproterenol alone and its potentiation by levodopa. The recognition site for levodopa could be differentiated from the carrier proteins for levodopa transport, because nanomolar levodopa methyl ester abolished the levodopa-induced facilitation of the noradrenaline release, whereas a 30 times higher concentration of L-phenylalanine or L-leucine produced no antagonism. Microinjection of levodopa into the nucleus tractus solitarii led to dose-dependent decreases in arterial blood pressure and heart rate in rats in a levodopa methyl ester-sensitive manner. Based on these findings, we propose that levodopa itself is an endogenous neurotransmitter in the CNS.