A study of U.S. Marine Corps recruits conducted in San Diego adds further weight to previous findings that early-age drinking increases the risk of problem drinking later, MedPage Today reported Dec. 5.

The study looked at 41,482 male recruits and found that those who had begun drinking at age 13 or earlier were 5.5 times more likely to be engaging in risky drinking. Other factors associated with risky drinking included engaging in smoking, coming from a rural or small-town community, enduring childhood sexual or emotional abuse, and experiencing alcohol abuse or mental illness in the household.

Researchers led by Margaret Ryan, M.D., M.P.H., of the Naval Health Research Center, used three alcohol consumption questions on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests (AUDIT-C) to measure risky drinking. A total of 14.8% of the recruits were categorized as risky drinkers; 45.1% were non-risky drinkers and 40.2% were non-drinkers.

Some factors that were inversely associated with risky drinking in the study included being married and attending religious services at least weekly.

The researchers concluded that the study results reinforce the need for public health efforts to prevent tobacco use and child abuse. An important question to be answered is whether reducing youth smoking would also reduce risky drinking, they said. 

Study results were published in the December issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.