Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults.

This study examines relationships between country of origin, age of drinking onset, and adverse drinking outcomes among young adult Mexican Americans in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression models estimate associations between age of drinking onset, age of onset in relation to age at immigration, and adverse drinking outcomes, controlling for sex, age, employment, education, marital status, and income. Adjusted analyses indicate the odds of adverse drinking outcomes decreased as age of drinking onset increased. Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in Mexico had significantly lower odds of current or lifetime harmful drinking than U.S. born but the odds were not significantly different between foreign-born Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in the U.S. and U.S. born. Irrespective of whether drinking onset was in Mexico or the U.S., foreign-born Mexican Americans had lower odds of alcohol abuse than U.S. born. However, odds of dependence were not significantly different between foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. While findings suggest that being foreign born may be protective, further research on social and cultural factors impacting drinking onset and related outcomes among young Mexican Americans may help inform prevention efforts.

The use of polymerase chain reaction for chromosome assignment.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach to chromosome assignment consists of analyzing the profile of specific amplification products of the gene of interest using genomic DNAs from a panel of somatic cell hybrids as templates (see Fig 1). Each hybrid somatic cell line contains the normal complement of chromosomes of one species, along with one or more additional chromosomes from a second species (1,2). The PCR approach has obvious advantages over the conventional Southern blotting method of chromosome assignment, including speed, sensitivity, and conservation of the genomic DNAs, which are difficult and labor intensive to generate.