Alcohol addiction by drinking during puberty

Drinking during puberty increases the risk of alcohol abuse

05/19/2013

Adolescents try out a lot of new things during their puberty, but unfortunately they also often use drugs or alcohol. The later alcohol consumption seems to be significantly influenced in this phase, the findings Mannheimer researchers.

Teenagers prone to drug rewards
Teenagers who drink alcohol for the first time during puberty increase their risk of consuming more and more alcohol later in life. This finding is based on studies by scientists from the Mannheim Central Institute of Mental Health. The pharmacologist Rainer Spanagel explains: „The reward system of the brain changes dramatically during puberty“ and that's why the brain at this stage is also more prone to rewards from narcotic drugs. This could also affect the consumption of alcohol in the rest of life. In the October issue of the journal „Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research“ the results of the studies should be published. Under the direction of Miriam Schneider, the Mannheim researchers came to their findings by means of a long-term observation. For this purpose, the alcohol consumption of 283 young adults was evaluated with a view to whether they had already drunk alcohol at puberty. In addition, studies were also performed on rats. Schneider said: „ Most teenagers drink alcohol for the first time during puberty.“

With the onset of sexual maturity, which usually starts earlier in girls than in boys, puberty is defined. Usually it begins between the ages of 12 and 14 years. Spanagel, however, says: „But today this is shifting more and more forward.“

Alcohol even before puberty
The investigations also showed that the risk of a higher alcohol consumption in the further life seems to decrease, if one consumes alcohol only after completed puberty for the first time. The researchers also emphasize that it even appears that the risk is slightly lower if you take alcohol before puberty - compared to when it happens during puberty. From these findings, the scientists conclude that prevention programs would have to be much more targeted to adolescents. Schneider added: „In any case, there is still research to be done on this topic.“

So far, it has been assumed that the consequences are the worse, the sooner alcohol consumption begins, the first indications are that human development phases are of major importance. Of course, the high risk of addiction, which emanates from alcohol, is generally problematic. Scientists from California found that after consuming alcohol, the human brain releases the hormone endorphin. „Consumers feel happy after drinking alcohol“, so the researchers. And so, of course, the danger for some people is to grab the bottle too often.

26,349 young people because of „Binge drinking“ hospitalized
The Federal Statistical Office warns that alcohol excesses in children and adolescents end more often in the hospital. In 2011, there were exactly 26,349 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 19 due to the „coma drunkenness“ treated in hospital in a clinic. Since the introduction of statistics in 2000, the number is steadily increasing in comparison to the population. Boys and young men account for almost two-thirds of the patients. However, according to the last drug and addiction report of the Federal Government, alcohol consumption is declining, especially among adolescents. According to the report published in 2012, 14.2 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 use the bottle regularly. In 2001, the proportion was still 17.9 percent. However, with young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, regular alcohol consumption is still just as widespread as it was in 2001 at just under 40 percent. (Sb)

Image: Jorma Bork