AAP: BINGE DRINKING AMONG ADOLESCENTS
Siqueira L, Smith VC; Committee on Substance Abuse. Binge drinking (clinical report). Pediatrics. 2015;136(3):e718-e726. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-2337.
A clinical report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) details alcohol abuse by children and adolescents in the United States and offers guidance and recommendations to combat this high-risk behavior. The report states that among youth who drink, the proportion that drinks heavily is higher than among adult drinkers.
Among those who drink, binge drinking increases from approximately 50% in those ages 12 to 14 to 72% among those ages 18 to 20. Alcohol use is also associated with the leading causes of death and serious injury in this age-group, including motor vehicle accidents, homicides, and suicides. Recommendations offered in the report include
• In the office setting, provide programs designed to deliver messages about binge-drinking prevention to parents.
• Ask adolescents about alcohol use during office visits.
• Encourage schools to adopt preventive measures, including school-based health education programs.
COMMENTARY
Binge drinking in adults is defined as consumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period for men and four or more drinks for women. The number of drinks that qualifies as binge drinking in teenagers is slightly less and varies by age.
Using a 30-day time period, 14% of adolescents (1 out of 7) reported binge drinking. When teenagers drink alcohol, they tend to binge drink. Of students who consume alcohol, two-thirds report binge drinking, and 10% report having drunk 10 or more drinks in a row.
It is important to address this problem with parents and youth beginning at about age 9, as the change in attitudes toward drinking appears to begin between ages 9 and 12. It is also important to remind parents, supported by good evidence, that the message they send to their children about alcohol is the most important influence on teenage and young adult decisions about drinking.1
1. Turrisi R, Mallett KA, Cleveland MJ, et al. Evaluation of timing and dosage of a parent-based intervention to minimize college students’ alcohol consumption. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2013;74(1):30-40.
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