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Aims: The aims of this study were to identify alcohol‐related population surveys administered in the Americas, determine which alcohol‐related measures are examined and identify coverage gaps regarding alcohol‐related measures. Methods: As part of the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health study, a systematic search was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses criteria to identify regionally or nationally representative survey reports of the general population from 1 January 2010 to 6 August 2019. Alcohol‐related measures extracted from surveys were categorized into 10 domains: alcohol consumption status; alcohol consumption; unrecorded alcohol consumption; drinking patterns; symptoms of dependence and/or harmful use; drinking during pregnancy; treatment coverage; second‐hand harms; economic; and other. Results: The systematic search identified 7417 survey reports, 94 of which were new and included in this study, with an additional 11 studies included from a previous systematic study of alcohol surveys. In total, 94 unique surveys and 161 unique survey waves were located, representing 105 unique survey questionnaires covering 30 countries. No population surveys were found for five member states; namely, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Kitts and Nevis. All countries with population‐based alcohol surveys had had a population survey probing alcohol use in the past year/month. Questions regarding heavy episodic drinking, alcohol use disorders, treatment‐seeking for alcohol use, drinking during pregnancy, harms to others and the amounts spent on alcohol were asked in 26, 25, 10, 6, 22 and 11 countries, respectively. Conclusions: The heterogeneity in alcohol‐related population surveys in the Americas from 2010 to 2019 limits their comparability throughout countries and over time. Future surveys should implement a standardized set of core questions to provide consistency in the monitoring of alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol consumption is an established cause of female breast cancer. This systematic review examines in detail the association between alcohol and female breast cancer overall and among the described subgroups, using all of the evidence to date. A systematic review of PubMed and Embase was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines. The search included articles published up to November 15, 2023. Meta‐analyses and regressions were performed for alcohol consumption of less than 1 standard drink (10 g of ethanol) per day and for a range of alcohol consumption categories in relation to breast cancer. Analyses by menopausal status, hormone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status, and molecular subtype were performed. The search yielded 5645 publications, of which 23 publications of individual and pooled studies examined the association between overall alcohol consumption and breast cancer incidence. The meta‐regression showed a positive association; relative risks (RR) of breast cancer were 1.05 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.06), 1.10 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.12), 1.18 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.21), and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.25) for 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 standard drinks per day compared with nondrinking, respectively. A meta‐analysis of nine studies indicated that for consumption of less than one standard drink per day, the RR estimate of breast cancer was 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.07) compared with nondrinking. Consumption of an additional 1 standard drink per day was associated with a higher risk of premenopausal (RR: 1.03 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.06)) and postmenopausal (RR: 1.10 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.12)) breast cancer. Alcohol consumption increases female breast cancer risk, even for women who consume one drink per day. Furthermore, alcohol consumption is associated with both pre‐ and postmenopausal breast cancer risk. These findings support evidence‐based cancer prevention guidelines to reduce alcohol‐related risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research is limited on consumers' ability to detect perceptible sensory differences between low- and high-strength alcoholic beverages. This study, therefore, conducted three pilot experiments using ISO sensory analysis methods to assess accuracy for evaluating beverages of different strengths. Participants were food production professionals trained in sensory analysis. Experiment 1 used a wide-range discrimination test to estimate low- to high-strength beverages (0–60% alcohol by volume (ABV) in 10% intervals). Experiment 2 included a narrower range of intermediate to high strengths (25–45% ABV in 5% intervals). Experiment 3 used 3-alternative forced choice tests (ISO 13301) to discriminate between beverages of varying strengths. Experiment 1 (n = 16) indicated that estimation ability was dependent upon the beverages' ABV; as ABV increased, estimation significantly decreased (p < 0.005). These findings were not replicated in Experiment 2 (n = 13). In Experiment 3 (n = 17), a significant perceptible difference between high- and low-strength samples was observed in two of nine conditions (35% vs. 31% ABV (p = 0.009); 41% vs. 37% ABV (p = 0.037)). While people can detect large differences in beverage ABVs, they may have a moderate to poor ability to discriminate between beverages of similar strengths. These findings provide support for public health interventions that promote lower-strength alcoholic beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task is a widely used measure of preschoolers' executive function. We combined data for 3,290 3-year-olds from 37 unique studies reporting 130 experimental conditions. Using raw pass/fail counts, we computed the pass rates and chi-squared value for each against chance (50/50) performance. We grouped data according to DCCS variants and computed the standard pass rate and chi-squared and phi for each variant relative to standard. For all standard versions, the mean pass rate was 36%. We compared all other variants to the standard and found robust improvements in performance for manipulations that involved spatial separation of the conflicting dimensions, use of distraction between pre and post-switch, elimination of all conflict, and extra practice. We also found that "negative priming" offers a better explanation for 3-year-olds' perseveration than "attentional inertia." The results support a theoretical model of 3-year-olds' performance based on inhibitory control.