Chronic cigarette smoking has a high co-occurrence with alcohol use disorders, and roughly 60 to 90 percent of alcohol dependent (AD) individuals seeking treatment are chronic smokers. Postural instability is also common among AD individuals, because of damage to the brain systems that maintain postural stability. A new study of the effects of chronic cigarette smoking on postural stability has found that chronic cigarette use continues to impact the systems regulating postural stability even during abstinence.
Results will be published in the June 2014 online-only issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Researchand are currently available at Early View.
"Based on both anecdotal and empirical findings, postural instabilities with eyes open or closed appear to be highly prevalent in treatment-seeking AD individuals," explained Thomas Paul Schmidt, a research associate in the department of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco, and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "Other investigators looking at the relationships between falls and alcohol intake have also reported on increased fall risk in those with a history of problem drinking."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140408162222.htm
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