delaying first alcohol use will largely reduce risk conferred by early drinking6-7. In contrast, it has been argued that, rather than causing AD, early age at first drink is a marker for familial liability to the disorder8-10. McGue et al. 9, for example, found that age at first drink was associated with a psychophysiological marker of AD risk (reduced P3 amplitude). A recent study by King and Chassin11 examining the association between age at first drink and AD also supports this hypothesis: after accounting for family history of alcohol-related problems (in combination with other shared risk factors) the association was reduced to non-significance.
