One-half of males who were binge drinkers at ages 17 to 20 were alsobinge drinkers at ages 30 to 31, compared to slightly less than one-fifth (19%) of those who were not adolescent binge drinkers. Similar results were found for females.

These differences remained even after statistically controlling for potentially confounding factors, such as early marijuana and cigarette use, college enrollment, and race/ethnicity.

The authors conclude that "efforts to prevent and treat adolescent problem drinking are likely to have an impact on adult drinking patterns and therefore may have immediate as well as longstanding effects on public health."

For details, including data charts, source information and caveats, download the PDF file at www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/cesarfax/vol14/14-19.pdf.

Reprinted from CESAR Fax, a weekly, one-page overview of timely substance abuse trends or issues, from The Center on Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) at the University of Maryland.

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