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Drinking Before Age 15 Raises Risk of Later Alcohol Problems

Early imbibing can lay the groundwork for disorders throughout life

September 30, 2008

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It may seem like a minor point, but it matters when someone takes his first drink of alcohol relative to later development of alcohol problems. A new study concludes that taking that first drink before age 15 increases risks for many problems later on.

The study looked at the relationship between age at first drink (AFD) and the risk of developing alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) during adulthood has found that the risk is greatest when AFD occurs before the age of 15.

"Some early drinkers become alcohol dependent while still in their teens, a time when those who have not yet started drinking are not even at risk of becoming dependent." explained Deborah A. Dawson, staff scientist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and corresponding author for the study. "By looking at adult-onset dependence, we can see for the first time that the association between early AFD and increased AUD risk is not time limited, but rather persists into adulthood."

"In addition," said Howard B. Moss, associate director for Clinical and Translational Research at NIAAA, "this study controls for a variety of individual risk factors that could contribute to both early drinking behavior and later alcohol problems."

Researchers analyzed data from a three-year study of U.S. drinkers 18 years of age and older at baseline. They examined associations between three groups of AFD -- younger than 15, between 15 and 17, and 18 years of age or older -- and first incidence of alcohol dependence, abuse, and specific AUD criteria.

They also controlled for duration of exposure, family history and a wide range of baseline and childhood risk factors.

"The key finding of this study was that people who started drinking before age 15, and to a lesser extent those who started drinking at ages 15 to 17, were more likely to become alcohol dependent as adults than people who waited until 18 or older to start drinking," said Dawson.

Past studies have often suggested that this association might result from common risk factors predisposing people to both early drinking and AUDs. Although the current study does not provide conclusive evidence that early drinking directly increases AUD risk, it suggests that it is premature to rule out the possibility of such a direct effect, she added.

"By controlling for a variety of confounding risk factors in their analysis, Dawson and colleagues were able to demonstrate that ... early alcohol consumption itself, as a misguided choice or decision, is driving the relationship between early drinking and risk for development of later alcohol problems," observed Moss.

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