In a study of 1311 people, Rossow and Kuntsche22 used a binary measure of whether participants reported alcohol consumption by age 13–14 years as their exposure variable, based on questions about the most recent drinking occasion. Participants were followed up once at age 26–27 years to measure adult alcohol consumption patterns. At follow-up, AFD by age 13 years or 14 years was associated with frequent intoxication (OR 1.5: 95% CI 1.2 to 1.9) and high Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores (OR 1.6: 95%CI 1.3 to 2.1) in models adjusting only for gender. When the authors also adjusted for conduct problems in adolescence, these ORs attenuated and were no longer statistically significant (OR for frequent intoxication, 1.2: 95% CI 0.9 to 1.6, OR for high AUDIT scores, 1.2: 95% CI 0.9 to 1.6). The authors identify these findings as coherent with findings from studies with other designs which suggest that delaying AFD will not reduce alcohol problems in adulthood.22
