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Age is a strong predictor of developing alcohol dependence and abuse, according to the results of a new study released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in January.
Young people who began drinking regularly by age 15 were four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence and more than twice as likely to develop alcohol abuse as those who began drinking at age 21.
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala commented in a press statement, "This study adds new evidence about the need to regard underage drinking as the serious problem it is. Parents, schools, and communities need to say to our young people with one voice that underage drinking can jeopardize health and lifetime prospects."
The study, based on interviews with nearly 28,000 former and current drinkers, differentiated between tasting or having a sip of alcohol and drinking regularly. The authors defined alcohol dependency as an addiction and alcohol abuse as a maladaptive drinking pattern that repeatedly causes life problems.
Researchers found that more than 40 percent of respondents who began drinking before age 15 became alcohol dependent at some time in their lives. In contrast, only 25 percent of respondents who began drinking at age 17 and about 10 percent of respondents who began drinking at age 21 became alcohol dependent, according to the press statement.
Similarly, the prevalence of alcohol abuse declined as the drinking age rose. For example, about 13 percent of the respondents who began drinking at age 14 were found to abuse alcohol, compared with 5 percent who began drinking at age 21 or older.
According to Bridget Grant, lead author of the study, which was published in the January Journal of Substance Abuse, "The prevalence of each of these diagnoses shows a striking decrease with increasing age at onset of use."
For each year that drinking is delayed, the likelihood of developing alcoholism is reduced by 14 percent, and the lifetime risk of alcohol abuse is reduced by 8 percent, said Grant.
NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D., commented in the press statement, "This is the first comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the age of drinking onset and the prevalence of lifetime alcohol dependence and abuse and represents one piece of a complex puzzle."
Gordis continued, "It remains to be seen whether it is the delay in alcohol use or possibly other associated factors that can explain the inverse relationship between age at drinking onset and lifetime risk for alcohol abuse and alcoholism."