Health & Medicine
Young Binge Drinkers Are Likely to Develop Alcohol Use Disorder
Thomas Carannante
First Posted: May 15, 2014 11:43 AM EDT
Binge drinking refers to consuming a number of drinks within two hours causing blood alcohol concentration levels to reach 0.08 g/dL. This form of drinking is popular among college students, and could pose a problem entering adulthood.
Researchers from the University of Chicago found adverse effects of binge drinking leading into the early 30s. In a study of 104 young adult heavy social drinkers, the researchers determined that young binge drinkers who reported greater stimulation and reward from alcohol were more likely to develop alcohol use disorder over time. The participants also tracked their long-term drinking habits.
The first part of the study tracked the participants in their early 20s and revealed that the heavy drinkers showed a strong preference for alcohol and reported pleasurable effects after consumption. They were called in for follow-ups so the researchers could track their drinking behaviors and symptoms of addiction over time.
To effectively evaluate the heavy drinkers, the researchers used a group of light social drinkers as a control. The participants were then asked to partake in three sessions of drinking: the first with a placebo drink that smelled like alcohol, the second was a drink containing a low dose of alcohol, and the third with a drink containing a high dose of alcohol. The heavy drinkers, through questionnaires and cortisol samples, reported greater stimulating effects when it came to alcohol.
Six years later, the participants' average age was in the early 30s. The researchers then grouped the heavy drinkers, based on their past examinations, into three alcohol addiction symptom categories: high, intermediate, and low. Those placed in the "high alcohol addiction symptom" group reported higher stimulation and pleasure from consuming alcohol.
"Heavy drinkers who felt alcohol's stimulant and pleasurable effects at the highest levels in their 20s were the ones with the riskiest drinking profiles in the future and most likely to go on and have alcohol problems in their 30s," said Andrea King, PhD, of the University of Chicago and leader of the study, in a news release. "In comparison, participants reporting fewer positive effects of alcohol were more likely to mature out of binge drinking as they aged."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent, but it's most common among young adults aged 18-34. The researchers next study hopes to examine the effects of heavy binge drinking well into the participants' 30s.
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First Posted: May 15, 2014 11:43 AM EDT
Binge drinking refers to consuming a number of drinks within two hours causing blood alcohol concentration levels to reach 0.08 g/dL. This form of drinking is popular among college students, and could pose a problem entering adulthood.
Researchers from the University of Chicago found adverse effects of binge drinking leading into the early 30s. In a study of 104 young adult heavy social drinkers, the researchers determined that young binge drinkers who reported greater stimulation and reward from alcohol were more likely to develop alcohol use disorder over time. The participants also tracked their long-term drinking habits.
The first part of the study tracked the participants in their early 20s and revealed that the heavy drinkers showed a strong preference for alcohol and reported pleasurable effects after consumption. They were called in for follow-ups so the researchers could track their drinking behaviors and symptoms of addiction over time.
To effectively evaluate the heavy drinkers, the researchers used a group of light social drinkers as a control. The participants were then asked to partake in three sessions of drinking: the first with a placebo drink that smelled like alcohol, the second was a drink containing a low dose of alcohol, and the third with a drink containing a high dose of alcohol. The heavy drinkers, through questionnaires and cortisol samples, reported greater stimulating effects when it came to alcohol.
Six years later, the participants' average age was in the early 30s. The researchers then grouped the heavy drinkers, based on their past examinations, into three alcohol addiction symptom categories: high, intermediate, and low. Those placed in the "high alcohol addiction symptom" group reported higher stimulation and pleasure from consuming alcohol.
"Heavy drinkers who felt alcohol's stimulant and pleasurable effects at the highest levels in their 20s were the ones with the riskiest drinking profiles in the future and most likely to go on and have alcohol problems in their 30s," said Andrea King, PhD, of the University of Chicago and leader of the study, in a news release. "In comparison, participants reporting fewer positive effects of alcohol were more likely to mature out of binge drinking as they aged."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent, but it's most common among young adults aged 18-34. The researchers next study hopes to examine the effects of heavy binge drinking well into the participants' 30s.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone