The younger people were when they had their first drink, especially if that occurred before age 15, the more symptoms of alcohol dependency they developed, the study found. Sign Up for MedicineNet Newsletters. Clinical & Experimental Research, are based on a study of 6,257 adult twins. Latest Healthy Kids News Health Tip. Bedwetting Can Signal Other Problems Insured Kids With Uninsured Parents Miss Care Want More News. This suggests that alcohol dependency among those who started drinking later, "while less com are attributable to.

Early drinkers also tended to have an increased genetic vulnerability for alcohol. From a biological perspective, taking that first drink at a young age "may induce changes in the highly sensitive adolescent brain, which may also modify an individual's subsequent genetic vulnerability to [alcohol dependence]," Arpana Agrawal, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Hussein University School of Medicine and an The findings, published online and in the December print issue of Alcoholism. Starting Young May Lead to Dependency Drinking Age, if Lowered, Leads to Problems Later Health Tip.

Those who had their first drink later in life sho far fewer signs of alcohol dependency, despite the genetic predisposition, Agrawal noted.