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<DIV class=sectionheader><STRONG><FONT size=5>Early Drinking Linked to Higher
Lifetime Alcoholism Risk</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<TD width=275><IMG height=104 alt="NIH News"
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<TD>National Institute on Alcohol Abuse<BR>and Alcoholism (NIAAA)<BR><A
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<P>EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:<BR>Monday, July 3, 2006<BR>4:00 pm
(ET)</P></SPAN></TD>
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<TD vAlign=top><SPAN class=bodytxt id=Contact>Contact: NIAAA Press Office,
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<P>Data from a survey of 43,000 U.S. adults heighten concerns that early alcohol
use, independent of other risk factors, may contribute to the risk of developing
future alcohol problems. Those who began drinking in their early teens were not
only at greater risk of developing alcohol dependence at some point in their
lives, they were also at greater risk of developing dependence more quickly and
at younger ages, and of developing chronic, relapsing dependence. Among all
respondents who developed alcoholism at some point, almost half (47 percent) met
the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence (alcoholism) by age 21. </P>
<P>The associations between early drinking and later problems held even after
investigators controlled for other risk factors for dependence, adding to
concerns that drinking at a young age might raise the risk of future alcohol
problems rather than being an identifying feature of young people predisposed to
risky behavior. The study appears in the July issue of <EM>Archives of
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,</EM> Volume 160, pages 739-746. </P>
<P>Elias Zerhouni, M.D., director of the NIH, said, "This is a very good example
of how insights gained from health research can inform public policy. Converging
research suggests that youthful drinking is associated with an increased risk of
long-term, not just acute, health consequences." </P>
<P>Scientists at the Boston University School of Public Health and Youth Alcohol
Prevention Center, led by Dr. Ralph Hingson,<A
href="http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/NewsEvents/NewsReleases/earlydrinking.htm#hingson">*</A>
carried out the analysis using data from the <EM>2001-2002 National
Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)</EM>, a
representative survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population aged
18 years and older.</P>
<P>NESARC involved face to face interviews with adults ages 18 and older. The
survey used questions based on diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse and alcohol
dependence from the American Psychiatric Association's <EM>Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV)</EM>. In the
study, "starting to drink" meant the age when respondents first drank alcohol,
not counting tastes or sips. </P>
<P>NIAAA Director Dr. Ting-Kai Li said "this work underscores the need for
research to clarify how early drinking relates to the risk of lifetime alcohol
problems. In particular, it is important to learn whether early alcohol use may
affect the developing brain in ways that increase vulnerability to
dependence."</P>
<P>In results that echo earlier studies, of those individuals who began drinking
before age 14, 47 percent experienced dependence at some point, vs. 9 percent of
those who began drinking at age 21 or older. In general, each additional year
earlier than 21 that a respondent began to drink, the greater the odds that he
or she would develop alcohol dependence at some point in life. While one quarter
of all drinkers in the survey started drinking by age 16, nearly half (46
percent) of drinkers who developed alcohol dependence began drinking at age 16
or younger. </P>
<P>New findings showed that among all drinkers, early drinking was associated
not only with a higher risk of developing alcoholism at some point, but also
within 10 years of first starting to drink, before age 25, and within any year
of adult life. Early drinking was also associated with increased risk of having
multiple episodes of alcoholism. Further, among respondents who had had alcohol
dependence at some point, those who began drinking young had episodes of longer
duration and with a wider range of symptoms than those who started later. </P>
<P>Previous research has established the link between early onset of drinking
and lifetime diagnosis of alcoholism. Key to understanding the relationship
between early drinking and alcoholism risk is whether the act of drinking while
young raises lifetime risk, or whether early drinking reflects an underlying
predisposition for risky behavior in particular young people. In the latter
case, early drinking would be considered a marker identifying individuals
already at risk for developing alcoholism. In this study, investigators
attempted to account for factors-such as family history of alcoholism, childhood
antisocial behavior and depression, and smoking and drug use-known to be
associated with higher risk. Even controlling for a number of risk factors and
the effects of age differences among respondents, early drinking was associated
with an increased risk of lifetime alcohol diagnosis. </P>
<P>In calculating the impact of early drinking on the risk of experiencing
alcoholism, the study used statistical methods that account for the fact that
older respondents have had a longer window of opportunity to develop alcoholism
than younger respondents. The risk of those who began drinking before age 14 was
multiplied by a factor (or "hazard ratio") of 1.78 relative to those who started
drinking at age 21 or older. </P>
<P>The recently released 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey-conducted by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-found that among high school students
nationwide, 26 percent had drunk alcohol (other than a few sips) for the first
time before age 13. </P>
<P>The authors conclude that the results of both studies support the need to
take measures to delay alcohol consumption by underage youth. Dr. Hingson said,
"This analysis suggests that interventions that delay drinking onset may not
only reduce the acute consequences of drinking among youth, but may help reduce
alcohol dependence among adolescents and adults. It's an important public health
issue for longitudinal research to
resolve." <BR><U> </U><BR>Dr.
<A id=#hingson name=#hingson></A>Hingson is now Director of NIAAA's Division of
Epidemology and Prevention Research.<BR></P>
<P>The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National
Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting
research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol
abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems and disseminates research findings to
general, professional, and academic audiences. Additional alcohol research
information and publications are available at <A
href="http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/">www.niaaa.nih.gov</A>. </P>
<P>The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - <EM>The Nation's Medical Research
Agency</EM> - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for
conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare
diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <A
href="http://www.nih.gov/">http://www.nih.gov</A>.
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