Youths and young adults who binge on alcohol raise their risk of developing myriad serious health problems later in life, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, Newswise reported Nov. 20.

Researcher Marcia Russell of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) found that not only did young binge drinkers face more health risks as they age than moderate drinkers and those who start drinking later, the risk is independent of total alcohol consumed over a lifetime.

"Early initiation of alcohol drinking and heavy drinking in adolescence and early adulthood seem to be associated with a number of adverse health effects collectively known as the metabolic syndrome" -- a cluster of metabolic risk factors that increase the chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. -- said Russell.

Russell and colleagues studied data from the Western New York Health Study and identified two distinct lifetime drinking trajectories among study participants who self-identified as being regular drinkers at some point in their lives. The "early peak trajectory" subjects were those who drank early and heavily, then sharply reduced their alcohol intake. "Stable trajectory" subjects were those who drank moderately over a longer period of time.

The study is slated to be published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.