Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
School of Public Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
BMJ Paediatr Open. 2022 Mar;6(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001242.
Alcohol use is a leading contributor to the burden of disease among youth. Early-onset use is associated with later life dependency, ill health and poor social functioning. Yet, research on and treatment opportunities for alcohol use among younger children are scarce. Despite knowledge that alcohol intake occurs in childhood, and the fact that children understand alcohol related norms and develop alcohol expectancies from age 4, younger children are rarely included in studies on alcohol use.Patterns of early alcohol use vary greatly across the globe and are part of complex interplays between sociocultural, economic and health-related factors. Family influence has proven important, but genetic factors do not seem to play a crucial role at this age. Stressful circumstances, including mental health problems and sociocultural factors can entice alcohol use to cope with difficult situations. The World Health Organization has developed guidelines for effective strategies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, including preventative and treatment interventions, but important gaps in implementation remain. An increased focus on research, policy and implementation strategies related to early alcohol use is warranted, granted its wide-ranging implications for public health and social functioning. In this summary of literature on alcohol use among younger children and adolescents, we show that younger children (aged 10 and younger) tend to be systematically overlooked. However, research, interventions and policy implementation strategies need to include younger children to mitigate the global burden of harmful alcohol use more effectively.
饮酒是导致年轻人疾病负担的主要因素之一。早期饮酒与以后的依赖、健康状况不佳和社交功能不良有关。然而，针对幼儿饮酒的研究和治疗机会却很少。尽管人们知道儿童时期会饮酒，而且儿童从 4 岁起就开始理解与酒精相关的规范并形成对酒精的期望，但在关于饮酒的研究中很少包括幼儿。全球范围内，早期饮酒模式差异很大，是社会文化、经济和健康相关因素之间复杂相互作用的一部分。家庭影响已被证明很重要，但遗传因素在这个年龄段似乎没有起到关键作用。包括心理健康问题和社会文化因素在内的压力情况可能会诱使他们为了应对困难情况而饮酒。世界卫生组织已经制定了减少有害饮酒的有效策略指南，包括预防和治疗干预措施，但在实施方面仍存在重要差距。鉴于早期饮酒对公共卫生和社交功能的广泛影响，有必要更加关注与早期饮酒相关的研究、政策和实施策略。在这篇关于幼儿和青少年饮酒的文献综述中，我们表明，年幼的儿童（10 岁及以下）往往被系统地忽视了。然而，为了更有效地减轻全球有害饮酒的负担，研究、干预和政策实施策略需要包括年幼的儿童。
