This study assessed whether persons who begin drinking at younger ages are more likely to report unintentional injuries under the influence of alcohol. A national survey conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 1992, asked 42,862 respondents questions about when they started drinking and unintentional injuries under the influence of alcohol. The current study used data from that survey and found that, respondents who started drinking before age 14, compared to those who started at age 21 or older, were 5 times more likely to have been injured under the influence of alcohol ever in their lives, and 3.2 times more likely in the past year, after controlling for drug use, smoking, family history of alcoholism and other characteristics associated with age of drinking onset. They were 3.0 times more likely to have ever been injured under the influence of alcohol and 2.0 times more likely in the past year, even after further adjusting for personal history of alcohol dependence and frequency of heavy drinking which were also related to early drinking onset. (A) Report located at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/pub/age-of-drinking/pub…
Abstract