Early Drinking Increased Higher Lifetime Alcoholism Risk

Filed in archive Studies on July 11, 2006

When was the first time you had your very first alcoholic drink? I think mine was when I was barely twelve and one crazy aunt sort of "baptized" us (me, with sibling and cousins) to alcohol drinking on a New Year's Day. We had some local whiskey and I remember the experience being so awful I was puking my intestines out afterwards and I had skin rashes that lasted for almost a week.

But I didn't go into bouts of drinking sprees after that. Though it gave me a good head for alcohol and the social drinking in college (and up to present) made me overcome the "allergy" to alcohol a little bit. My face still turns red; I am one of those who cannot deny the fact that I had a glass of wine or beer. My red face is a dead give away. But I never had those nasty rashes again, not since that first time.

I didn't become dependent to alcohol though, but I can take drinking some (without acting foolish or stupid) when the occasion calls for it. So I guess I am an exception to the result of a survey of 43,000 American adults which strengthens 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.

The study results increased concerns that drinking at a young age might raise the risk of future alcohol problems and appears in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & adolescent Medicine, Volume 160, pages 739-746.

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.

Read more at Science Daily.

On a personal note, I guess being dependent to something like alcohol is mind over matter, whatever age bracket you are in. Sure drinking alcohol gives you a nice, lighter feeling and its best to be drinking with friends but being drunk is an awful state, much less being drunk most of your waking hours.

I think you just have to pull yourself through (even if you are drinking in an attempt to drown your sorrows) and realize that there are better things to attend to than drowning your senses in alcohol.