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The AUDIT and AUDIT-C are accurate in screening for heavy drinking among the elderly if the cut points are tailored to this age group.

Internationally, and also in Europe, adolescent gambling is increasingly recognized as an important public health issue. Most research on adolescent gambling, however, is prevalence-focused and population-based studies are scarce. Few studies have examined gambling-related harms among adolescents. In a national sample, we examined self-experienced harms related to gambling and the relationship between reported harms and gambling behavior among Finnish adolescents. A national survey of 12-18-year-olds was conducted in Finland in 2011 (N = 4,566). Main measures were frequency of gambling and gambling-related harms reported during the past 6 months. The relationship between reported harms and gambling behavior was assessed using logistic regression analysis. Overall, 44% had gambled during the past 6 months. Of the sample, 12% were frequent gamblers (at least weekly) and 32% were occasional gamblers (monthly or less often). Compared to occasional gamblers, frequent gamblers were more likely to experience harms. The most commonly reported harms among frequent gamblers were "felt guilty or shameful due to gambling" (17%) followed by "problems with relationships" (13%) and "disruptions of daily rhythm" (10%). In age and gender-adjusted analysis, daily gamblers were significantly more likely to report all different types of harms when compared to other groups. These findings suggest that when planning and targeting youth gambling prevention and harm reduction strategies the nature and extent to which gambling may contribute to the different types of harms are important to consider.

The high prevalence of hazardous drinking makes it an important public health concern. Hazardous drinkers have different sociodemographic characteristics as compared to people in other alcohol use categories.

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BMT appears to be an effective treatment for opioid dependents using mainly buprenorphine intravenously. On the other hand, bare SEP appears to result in high drop-out, not significant improvements and deaths.

This article describes the socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behavior of 39 pathological gamblers who participated in our treatment study in 2009. The inclusion criteria of the study were: score of five or more on both the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and a pathological gambling screen based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The first 39 patients meeting the inclusion criterion were recruited into the study. The average age of the subjects was 39 years, and 80 % were males. The lag-time between active gambling (at least three times per week) and the onset of a pathological gambling problem was short: within 2 years of active gambling, 62 % of the subjects reported having become pathological gamblers. Our results also indicated certain gender-specific differences in the age at initiation and in the severity of the gambling problem.