PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study Shows Stricter Alcohol Policies Are Associated with Reduction in Homicides

Findings from a statistical analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveal the association of states' alcohol policy changes with population-level changes in homicide rates

2024-06-24
(Press-News.org) Ann Arbor, June 24, 2024 – Alcohol consumption is involved in a large proportion of homicides and suicides each year in the United States, but there has been limited evidence on how policies targeting alcohol use influence violence. A statistical analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, indicates that more restrictive alcohol policy environments are associated with a reduction in specific states’ homicide rates.

Lead investigator James P. Murphy, PhD, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, says, "Previous studies have found a significant relationship between some state-level alcohol policies, such as the level of taxation and age-based restrictions, and crime rates, showing that more restrictive alcohol regulations are associated with a lower likelihood of alcohol involvement among homicide victims. However, the effects of alcohol policies on population-level homicide and suicide rates are not well-understood."

The researchers assessed the association of alcohol policy changes with population-level changes in homicide and suicide rates using the Alcohol Policy Scale (APS), an established and comprehensive alcohol policy index that measures state-year alcohol policy environments. Higher APS percentile scores are indicative of more restrictive alcohol policies. The study sample included all 50 US states. Vital deaths data were drawn from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).

To estimate the association between changes in a state’s APS score and changes in its homicide and suicide rates using data from 2002 to 2018, investigators applied a recently developed statistical model that, in similar policy settings, reduces bias in estimating the effects of policy changes on state-level rate outcomes compared to conventional approaches.

Dr. Murphy continues, “We found that adopting more restrictive alcohol policies was associated with a reduction in homicide rates, but not suicide rates. Based on our results, we would expect a nationwide increase in policy restrictions equivalent to a shift from the 25th to 75th percentile of the APS score would correspond with 1200 fewer homicides annually."

More than 74,000 individuals died of homicide or suicide in 2021 in the US. While many homicide and suicide decedents are not tested for blood alcohol content (BAC), among those tested, over 40% had a measurable BAC level. A recent meta-analysis estimated that the percentage of deaths attributable to alcohol among those with known BAC levels or intoxication status was 29% for all homicides (considering alcohol use only by the offender) and 21% for all suicides. These findings suggest that alcohol regulations may have an important role to play in addressing violence-related morbidity and mortality, including the growing number of firearm deaths.

Dr. Murphy concludes, "More restrictive alcohol policies may provide a promising approach to addressing the recent increases in homicides in the US. Further research is needed to identify the particular policies that are most effective, as well as to identify the particular mechanisms through which they affect homicide rates."

 

 

 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Kennesaw State University researcher to analyze electromagnetic waves with help of grant

Kennesaw State University researcher to analyze electromagnetic waves with help of grant
2024-06-24
The stereotype of mathematics and mathematicians involves a solitary pursuit of knowledge, but Eric Stachura knows better. The Kennesaw State University assistant professor of mathematics works on quantitative analysis of electromagnetic waves and keeps a collaborative research practice with colleagues near and far. That partnership has led to a three-year grant worth $223,206 from the Army Research Office, a director of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory. “It is a very collaborative subject, ...

NIH and National Science Foundation to award $15.4 million for RNA research

NIH and National Science Foundation to award $15.4 million for RNA research
2024-06-24
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has partnered with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide approximately $15.4 million over three years for research into the structures, functions and interactions of ribonucleic acid (RNA), as well as the creation of RNA-based technologies. RNA sequencing and the mapping of RNA modifications have gained significant momentum in the genomics community in recent years, with a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlining a roadmap for the field to build technology and infrastructure to allow researchers to more completely study and catalog RNA and its modifications.  “A ...

Study examines acceptability of teleneurology across neurological conditions

2024-06-24
INDIANAPOLIS – One of the first studies to examine patient acceptability of teleneurology and determine factors influencing acceptability across neurological conditions, has found teleneurology was highly acceptable across the full range of patients with different neurological diagnoses, including headache, movement disorders and other neurological symptoms and diagnoses. The study also determined that the more medical complexity -- having additional diseases -- was associated with increased patient satisfaction with teleneurology. Older patients were as accepting of teleneurology as younger patients, individuals often viewed as more ...

Correcting biases in image generator models

2024-06-24
Image generator models – systems that produce new images based on textual descriptions – have become a common and well-known phenomenon in the past year. Their continuous improvement, largely relying on developments in the field of artificial intelligence, makes them an important resource in various fields.   To achieve good results, these models are trained on vast amounts of image-text pairs – for example, matching the text "picture of a dog" to a picture of a dog, repeated millions of times. Through this training, ...

How cells boost gene expression

How cells boost gene expression
2024-06-24
The function of non-coding RNA in the cell has long been a mystery to researchers. Unlike coding RNA, non-coding RNA does not produce proteins – yet it exists in large quantities. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now discovered an important function of antisense RNA (asRNA): the researchers found that asRNA acts as a "superhighway" in cell transport and thus accelerates gene expression. The results were published in Nature.   RNA (ribonucleic acid) plays a central role in the translation of DNA information into proteins. There are different types of RNA, one of which is known as messenger ...

Meet CARMEN, a robot that helps people with mild cognitive impairment

Meet CARMEN, a robot that helps people with mild cognitive impairment
2024-06-24
Video: https://youtu.be/bGKA32TlVXM?si=0PdhaUyOKH33DFbB Meet CARMEN, short for Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation–a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.  Unlike other robots in this space, CARMEN was developed by the research team at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with clinicians, people with MCI, and their care partners. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, CARMEN is also the only robot that teaches compensatory cognitive strategies to help improve memory and executive function. “We ...

NYU creates Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy

2024-06-24
New York University has established the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, which aims to further our understanding of the sentience and moral status of nonhumans, notably animals and AI systems.  “The world contains quintillions of animals, and in the future, it could contain an even larger number of AI systems,” says Jeff Sebo, CMEP’s founding director and a professor in NYU’s Department of Environmental Studies. “Human activity is increasingly shaping the lives of these beings, and these trends raise important and difficult questions, such as: Which of these beings are sentient, ...

New mathematical proof helps to solve equations with random components

2024-06-24
Whether it’s physical phenomena, share prices or climate models – many dynamic processes in our world can be described mathematically with the aid of partial differential equations. Thanks to stochastics – an area of mathematics which deals with probabilities – this is even possible when randomness plays a role in these processes. Something researchers have been working on for some decades now are so-called stochastic partial differential equations. Working together with other researchers, Dr. Markus Tempelmayr ...

Researchers awarded $2.78M federal grant to improve rectal cancer treatment with artificial intelligence

Researchers awarded $2.78M federal grant to improve rectal cancer treatment with artificial intelligence
2024-06-24
CLEVELAND—With a new five-year, $2.78 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, researchers at Case Western Reserve University(CWRU), Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals (UH) will use artificial intelligence (AI) to better treat rectal cancer patients. The American Cancer Society estimates about 46,000 people nationally will be diagnosed this year with rectal cancer—the third most common type of cancer in the digestive system, after colon and pancreatic cancer. By using AI, the researchers intend to derive specific metrics on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to better understand how ...

Manipulating the frequency of terahertz signals through temporal boundaries

Manipulating the frequency of terahertz signals through temporal boundaries
2024-06-24
Terahertz technology could help us meet the ever-increasing demand for faster data transfer rates. However, the down-conversion of a terahertz signal to arbitrary lower frequencies is difficult. In a recent study, researchers from Japan have developed a new strategy to up- and down-convert a terahertz signal in a waveguide by dynamically modifying its conductivity using light, creating a temporal boundary. Their findings could pave the way to faster and more efficient optoelectronics and enhanced telecommunications.    As we plunge deeper into the Information Age, the demand for faster data transmission keeps soaring, accentuated by fast progress in fields like deep learning ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] Study Shows Stricter Alcohol Policies Are Associated with Reduction in Homicides
Findings from a statistical analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveal the association of states' alcohol policy changes with population-level changes in homicide rates