Alcohol proved to be a consistent factor in those who had never vaped cannabis to begin or experiment. “The ultimate goal is to delay initiation of substances in youth because the later someone initiates a substance, the less likely they are to become addicted to it,” Mantey said. That can raise pressure in a major blood vessel called the portal vein and cause a buildup of toxins. Most people with this condition have had at least seven drinks a day for 20 years or more. Approximately 9.5% of Hispanics will struggle with alcohol dependency during the course of their lives, whereas 13.8 % of non-Hispanic Whites struggle with the same dependency. Furthermore, 33% of Hispanics with an alcohol dependency tend to have perpetual and reoccurring problems with alcohol consumption.
Recent advances in alcohol research continue to build our understanding of alcohol consumption and related consequences for U.S. ethnic minority groups. National surveys show variations across ethnicities in drinking, alcohol use disorders, alcohol problems, and treatment use. Higher rates of high-risk drinking among ethnic minorities are reported for Native Americans and Hispanics, although within-ethnic group differences (e.g., gender, age-group, and other subpopulations) also are evident for ethnicities. Whites and Native Americans have a greater risk for alcohol use disorders relative to other ethnic groups. However, once alcohol dependence occurs, Blacks and Hispanics experience higher rates than Whites of recurrent or persistent dependence.
Addiction Across Hispanic Communities
- Here, we’ll discuss the risk factors for substance abuse and addiction in Hispanic Americans as well as options for treatment.
- Cuban Americans are less likely to report substance use disorders than Puerto Ricans (Alegria, Mulvaney-Day, Torres, Polo, Cao, & Canino, 2007).
- It is hypothesized that a greater range of role repertoire facilitates positive interactions and reduces conflict, with both cultural groups (LaFromboise et al., 1993).
- Latino Americans represent the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S. (behind Caucasians) and were the fastest-growing group in 2015.
In our recent analyses, we found several significant interactions between national group and acculturation level. For example, among women in all national groups, the mean number of drinks consumed per week increased with level of acculturation (statistically significant only for Mexican American and D/SC American women in relation to low vs. high acculturation). Higher frequencies of binge drinking of one or more times per month were found among Puerto Rican women of low and high levels of acculturation.
Infectious Diseases
Depression predicted cannabis vaping initiation among Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks groups. The authors said more research is needed to understand the impact depression and other mental health problems may have on cannabis vaping among various demographics, so public health intervention can target the most at-risk groups. The most common sign of alcoholic hepatitis is yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, called jaundice.
Age-groups identified as being at high risk for alcohol-involved suicide included Native Americans ages 30 to 39 (54 percent of suicide victims had BACs higher than or equal to 0.08), Native Americans and Hispanics ages 20 to 29 (50 percent and 37 percent, respectively), and Asians ages 10 to 19 (29 percent). Males were at higher risk than female drinkers in all ethnic groups except Native adult children of alcoholics screening quiz Americans; the percentages of alcohol intoxication among Native American suicides were equal for males and females (37 percent). Lower rates of treatment completion for Blacks and Hispanics than Whites point to another possible disparity in alcohol treatment (Bluthenthal et al. 2007). However, those that complete treatment appear to benefit equally regardless of their ethnic group (Brower and Carey 2003; Tonigan 2003).
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Estimates of current and heavy drinking for adults by gender within each ethnic group are provided by the 2001–2002 NESARC (see Table 1) (NIAAA 2006). These data show that current drinking is most prevalent among White and Hispanic men and lowest for Asian-American women. Heavy drinking is defined by both weekly and daily drinking limits (i.e., consuming 5 or more standard drinks per day or 15 or more per week for men and 4 or more drinks per day or 8 or more per week for women) (NIAAA 2006). Native Americans of both genders have the highest prevalence of weekly heavy drinking, whereas Hispanic men have the highest prevalence of daily heavy drinking.
However, the consequences of alcohol consumption are more profound in some ethnic groups than others. High-risk drinking contributes to the higher rates of alcohol-related problems for some ethnic groups (e.g., Native Americans), but the negative effects of alcohol for ethnic minorities often occur over and above the contribution of alcohol use. Most recently, Mulia et al. (2009) showed that Black and Hispanic adult drinkers are more likely than White drinkers to report alcohol dependence symptoms and social consequences from drinking. These ethnic group differences were identified in drinkers at the no/low level of heavy drinking, whereas alcohol problems were similar for all groups at the highest heavy-drinking level. Furthermore, research continues to show different trajectories of alcohol problem development across ethnic groups.
