Age at initiation of alcohol use (early, average, or late) and the corresponding prevalence of AD for each age group are shown separately by sex in Table 1. Risk for AD was significantly higher among women who began drinking at an early (OR=4.16; CI: 2.93-5.89) or average age (OR=2.26; CI: 1.68-3.04) when compared with those who initiated alcohol use at a later than average age. The prevalence of AD in women who began drinking at 14 years of age or younger was 25.3%, compared with 7.5% for those who were 18 or older when they first drank. Similar results were found for males: 41.1% of early vs. 14.6% of late onset drinkers met AD criteria and when compared with late initiators, significant elevations in risk for AD were observed for men who began drinking at an early (OR=4.09; CI: 2.90-5.76) or average age (OR=2.42; CI: 1.74-3.37). The interaction between age at onset and sex was non-significant (OR=0.97; CI: 0.77-1.22), indicating that although the prevalence of AD was higher for males than females (χ2 (1)=181.79; p<0.001), the association between age at
