Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105722

Mary Z. Mays, PhD¹, Norma Gray, PhD², Janice Jirsak², and Denise E. Wolf, MPH². (1) Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 48 N. Tucson Blvd., Suite 101A, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-626-5576, maysmz@email.arizona.edu, (2) Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, 48 N. Tucson Blvd., Suite 101, Tucson, AZ 85716

Recent reports indicate that self-reported “age at first drink” strongly predicts self-reported alcohol abuse in adults. This association has been quantified in several studies, most recently in a representative sample of U.S. households with telephones. That study found that for each year of increase in the age at first drink, there was a 12% decrease in the odds of alcohol abuse. However, it included a very small sample of American Indians. Thus, we analyzed baseline data from an ongoing study of 268 American Indian women participating in a wellness intervention program. Our data showed that for each year of increase in the age at first drink, there was an 11% decrease in the odds of self-reported alcohol abuse. Our results support the generality of the relationship. We also analyzed the relationship between adult alcohol abuse and self-reported childhood trauma or self-reported history of depression. For each unit increase in physical abuse, there was a 9% increase in the odds of alcohol abuse; for emotional abuse, a 9% increase; and for sexual abuse, a 7% increase. Depression was the strongest predictor; for each unit increase in the severity of depression history, there was a 130% increase in the odds of alcohol abuse. Although our study like the others is limited by its cross-sectional design, it provides evidence of the association between early experience and adult alcohol abuse and may provide additional means to identify high risk individuals and tailor prevention programs.

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