ELSA cohort 2014: association of age of first drink and progression from first drink to drunkenness on alcohol outcomes in Argentinean college freshmen

ABSTRACT

Background: College freshman are at-risk for hazardous alcohol drinking and for experiencing alcohol-related negative consequences. This is exacerbated in those featuring an early age of first alcohol use or of first drunkenness. It remains unclear which of these milestones is more strongly associated with alcohol outcomes. Objective: We examined, in Argentinean college drinkers (n = 4088; 43% men; racially and ethnically homogeneous), the association of age at drinking onset and progression to drunkenness (drunkenness naïve [Drunk-Naïve]; No-Delay [same age of first alcohol use and first alcohol intoxication]; one year of delay between age of first alcohol use and first alcohol intoxication; ≥2years of delay) on several alcohol outcomes. Methods: A survey measured substance use, age at drinking and drunkenness onset and alcohol-related consequences. Results: Alcohol consumption per drinking occasion was significantly greater in men than in women. An early drinking onset (alcohol use before age 13) and lifetime drunkenness independently exacerbated alcohol consumption per drinking occasion and during the last year. In men, Early-Onset was associated with a greater number of alcohol-related consequences when the delay between Early-Onset and the first drunkenness episode was 1 or ≥2 years yet did not significantly alter the number of negative consequences in Drunk-naïve or No-delay drinkers. In women, Early-Onset significantly enhanced the number of negative consequences when the delay was two years, but not when the delay was one-year or in Drunk-naïve or No-delay drinkers. Conclusions: The window between the first contact with alcohol and the first episode of drunkenness is a critical period to reduce alcohol-related problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol
• college students
• early drinking onset
• drunkenness

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Marcos Cupani for his assistance in the data analysis, Florencia Caneto, Francisco Tuzinkievich, Oscar Lagoria, Virginia Moroni and Denise Roqué for their assistance during data collection and Oscar Lagoria, Virginia Moroni, Denise Roqué and María Micaela Marín for their assistance during data entry.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Contributors

Pilatti and Pautassi designed the study. Vera, Pilatti and Pautassi conducted the statistical analysis and prepared the first draft of the manuscript and subsequent versions of it.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Secretary of Science and Technology, [FONCYT 2015-849], by grants from the Secretary of Science and Technology- National University of Córdoba (SECyT-UNC) to Angelina Pilatti. This work was also supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina). CONICET, FONCyT and SECyT-UNC had no role in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.