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Genes Influence Early Drinking

A 2001/2002 survey by the World Health Organization found that about 80 percent of young people began drinking before they were16 years old. Furthermore, the average age of drinking for the first time was 12 years. Boys reported drinking for the first time at an average age of 12.3 years and girls at an average of 12 years. As in many other countries Dutch adolescents establish a drinking pattern early in life. This University of Amsterdam study looked at the contribution of genes and environment to the initiation of alcohol use and frequency of drinking among early adolescents in The Netherlands.

The researchers used data collected through the Netherlands Twin Register to identify 694 twin pairs 12 to 15 years of age during survey years 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2000. Of these pairs, 125 were identical males, 89 were fraternal males, 183 were identical females, 106 were fraternal females, and 191 were fraternal of the opposite sex (in total, 619 males, and 769 females). The study authors analyzed the initiation and frequency of drinking as a function of three influences: genetic effects, common environmental effects, and unique environmental effects.

Results showed that genetic factors were the most important influence in early initiation of alcohol use. Common environmental factors explained most of the variation in frequency of drinking once alcohol use had been initiated. While it is often assumed that initiation of alcohol use is mainly predicted by social factors like peer pressure, family norms, and cultural attitudes toward alcohol use, these findings suggest that genetic factors may play a significant role in early initiation of some adolescent children to alcohol.

(Poelen, EAP, Derks, EM, Engels, RCME, van Leeuwe, JFJ, Scholte, RHJ, Willemsen, G, Boomsma, DI: The relative contribution of genes and environment to alcohol use in early adolescents: Are similar factors related to initiation of alcohol use and frequency of drinking? Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research 32:975-982, 2008.)

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