HHS HealthBeat (September 06, 2006)

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Getting hooked on alcohol earlier in life makes it harder to stay sober as you get older. A study in the Journal Pediatrics finds people who become alcohol-dependent at younger ages tend to often have more severe problems – and are less likely to seek help.

Twelve percent of adults in a national survey were diagnosable for alcohol dependence at some point, nearly half before the legal drinking age of 21, and two thirds by age 25.

Ralph Hingson of the National Institutes of Health:

"Those who were first diagnosable with alcohol dependence prior to age 25 were half as likely to seek help or treatment, and they also took longer to seek help." (10 seconds)

They also had more trouble controlling drinking as they got older.

Hingson says parents can help kids avoid drinking, by setting clear standards.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.