Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) report that people who become dependent on alcohol before reaching age 25 are less likely to seek treatment for their addiction and more likely to experience multiple periods of dependence, be addicted longer, and meet more of the diagnostic criteria for dependence than those who develop drinking problems later in life.

The conclusions were drawn from thousands of responses to the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Of the 12.5 percent of survey respondents who said they had been dependent on alcohol sometime in their lives, "our analyses found that almost half of these individuals became alcohol dependent before age 21 and about two-thirds before age 25, while about 20 percent became alcohol dependent at age 30 or older," according to study author Ralph Hingson, formerly of the Boston University School of Public Health and now director of NIAAA's Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research.  "The odds of ever seeking help were lower among those first dependent before ages 18, 20, and 25 compared with those who first became alcohol dependent at age 30 and above, regardless of the number of dependence criteria they met."

Younger alcoholics may be less likely to seek treatment because they have fewer work, family or marital responsibilities that can be disrupted by problem drinking. They also may be less likely to recognize a drinking problem because so many of their peers engage in episodes of heavy drinking.

Hingson called for more counseling aimed at adolescent drinkers. "Early onset of drinking predicts early onset of dependence, which in turn is associated with chronic, relapsing dependence," he said. "Screening and brief motivational counseling can reduce alcohol-related problems among adolescents and college students who are heavy drinkers, and needs to be expanded."

The research appeared in the Sept. 1, 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics. 

Reference:
Hingson, R.W. et. al. (2006). Age of Alcohol-Dependence Onset: Associations With Severity of Dependence and Seeking Treatment. Pediatrics, 118, 3,:e755-e763.