Early Age of First Drink Increases Risk of Alcoholism

New research suggests that the earlier a person has their first drink, the more likely it is that they will develop a dependency on alcohol.

The study which looked at thousands of adult male and female Australian twins found that the earlier the age a person had their first drink, the greater the chance that they would eventually have alcohol dependency. It was also associated with greater genetic vulnerability to AD symptoms.

The study found that early age at first drink is both a direct and indirect cause of alcohol dependence. The study's findings suggest that in order to reduce the likelihood of expression of genetic vulnerability to alcoholism, youth should be encouraged to abstain from alcohol until a later age when the risk is much lower.