Association of early drinking onset with subsequent alcohol abuse.

BACKGROUND

In the recent years the phenomenon of early alcohol initiation is observed. This problem is often underestimated, in spite of its numerous negative consequences

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The research study was based on authors` anonymous questionnaire including questions referring to: age of alcohol initiation, age of the first blackout after drinking alcohol, the place and circumstances of alcohol initiation and the reason of drinking alcohol for the first time. The study group consisted of 125 people, 83 men and 42 women, aged from 22 to 68 participating in treatment programs for alcohol addiction.

RESULTS

In the study group it occurred before the age of 15 more often than in the control group (49% vs. 42%). The same correlation exists for the alcohol initiation before 12 years of age (13% vs. 8%) and is statistically significant (p<0.05). What's very alarming drinking alcohol for the first time took place for some of the respondents before the age of 10 and also significantly more often in the study group (6% vs. 2%, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The obtained results allow to conclude that in patients addicted to alcohol the initiation took place earlier than in the study group (age 13-15 vs. 16-18). Also, very early alcohol initiation (<12 years) occurred more frequently in the study group (12.8% vs 8.2%). Based on our research, we confirmed that early drinking onset is associated with subsequent alcohol dependence.