Exploring the relationships between adolescent alcohol misuse and later life health outcomes

Abstract

Background We sought to clarify the impact of adolescent alcohol misuse on adult physical health and subjective well‐being. To do so, we investigated both the direct associations between adolescent alcohol misuse and early midlife physical health and life satisfaction and the indirect effects on these outcomes attributable to subsequent alcohol problems. Method The sample included 2733 twin pairs (32% monozygotic; 52% female) from the FinnTwin16 study. Adolescent alcohol misuse was a composite of frequency of drunkenness, frequency of alcohol use, and alcohol problems at ages 16, 17, and 18.5. The early midlife outcomes included somatic symptoms, self‐rated health, and life satisfaction at age 34. The mediators examined as part of the indirect effect analyses included alcohol problems from the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index at ages 24 and 34. Serial mediation and co‐twin comparison models were applied and included covariates from adolescence and early midlife. Results There were weak direct associations between adolescent alcohol misuse and early midlife physical health and life satisfaction. However, there was stronger evidence for indirect effects, whereby young adult and early midlife alcohol problems serially mediated the relationship between adolescent alcohol misuse and early midlife somatic symptoms (β = 0.03, 95% CI [0.03, 0.04]), self‐rated health (β = −0.02, 95% CI [−0.03, −0.01]), and life satisfaction (β = −0.03, CI [−0.04, −0.02]). These serial mediation effects were robust in co‐twin comparison analyses. Conclusions These results provide evidence that alcohol problems are a primary driver linking adolescent alcohol misuse and poor health outcomes across the lifespan.

Adolescent alcohol exposure promotes mechanical allodynia and alters synaptic function at inputs from the basolateral amygdala to the prelimbic cortex

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The Association of Influencer Marketing and Consumption of Non-Alcoholic Beer with the Purchase and Consumption of Alcohol by Adolescents

“…Both early initiation and heavy consumption of alcohol throughout adolescence are associated with increased risks of alcohol-related harm [2]. Abuse of alcohol by adolescents is associated with poor health outcomes across the lifespan [3]. A review study associated adolescents' binge drinking with poorer cognitive functioning in areas such as learning, memory, executive functioning, and impulsivity [4].…”

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences in the United States and Sweden: Measurement Invariance of the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index

“…For example, the RAPI has been adapted and validated for use in Spain (López-Núñez et al, 2012) and with First Nations populations in Canada (Noel et al, 2010). In addition, the RAPI has been used in longitudinal and epidemiological studies in New Zealand (Fergusson et al, 2002), Norway (Pedersen & Skrondal, 1998), Russia (Koposov et al, 2002), and Finland (Pascale et al, 2022; Viken et al, 2007). The international and translated versions of the RAPI have consistently differentiated between low- and high-problem drinkers (Koposov et al, 2002; López-Núñez et al, 2012; Noel et al, 2010), and the level of psychological distress (López-Núñez et al, 2012) is regularly used as an outcome variable (Fergusson et al, 2002; Koposov et al, 2002; Pascale et al, 2022; Pedersen & Skrondal, 1998; Viken et al, 2007).…”