US study finds early drinkers are more likely to get injured

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- People who begin drinking as adolescents are not only more likely to develop drinking problems as adults but are at higher risk of getting injured while under the influence, researchers said Tuesday.

Compared to those who begin drinking at the legal age of 21, those who begin drinking regularly before the age of 14 are three times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetimes and 12 times more likely to get injured.

"Unintended injuries are the leading cause of death among people up to age 34. This is a very important problem," said Ralph Hingson of the Boston University School of Public Health.

In 1997, there were 92,253 deaths in the United States caused by unintentional injuries, according to federal government statistics cited in the study, which was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Of those deaths, almost half were in motor vehicle accidents and the rest died in falls, by drowning, from burns or from unintended gunshot wounds. In both crashes and other causes, alcohol was involved in roughly 38 percent of cases.

The survey of more than 42,000 adults, performed in 1992 by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that early-onset drinkers were much more likely to put themselves in harm's way. The younger the age at which drinking began, the higher the risk of injury and alcohol problems, the study found.

"(Youth) put themselves in more risky situations while under the influence," Hingson said in a telephone interview.

"Health care providers should ask their patients, particularly adolescents, to find out about their drinking and explain the risks," he said.

Reducing adolescents' access to alcohol, educating parents and enforcing underage drinking laws could all help curtail the problem, Hingson said.

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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study

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