Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on August 2, 2004
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alcohol & Alcoholism Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 433-438, 2004
Alcohol & Alcoholism Vol. 39, No. 5 © Medical Council on Alcohol 2004; all rights reserved
CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE SELF-REPORTED LEVEL OF RESPONSE TO ALCOHOL
Department of Psychiatry (116A), University of California, San Diego and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161-2002, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Psychiatry (116A), University of California, San Diego and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161-2002. Tel.: (858) 552-8585 (ext.) 7978; Fax: (858) 552-7424; Email: mschuckit{at}ucsd.edu
(Received 18 March 2004; first review notified 24 April 2004; in revised form 24 May 2004; accepted 24 May 2004)
Aims: A low level of response to alcohol, or the need for a higher number of drinks for an effect, is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders. The response to alcohol is usually measured in young subjects, and changes in this phenomenon over time have rarely been evaluated. Reports that, overall, individuals are likely to become more reactive to alcohol with advancing age led to the current evaluation to determine whether the number of drinks needed for an effect decreased between the teens and age 40 in a group of men. Methods: Data were available from the 20-year follow-up of 202 men who had originally been chosen at age 20 as nonalcoholic subjects from families at high and low risk for alcoholism. The number of drinks required for effects was determined through the Self-Report of the Effects of Alcohol questionnaire (SRE) regarding their recollection of their intensity of reaction early in their drinking careers, as well as reports regarding the recent (e.g. prior 3 month) response to alcohol at the 15- and 20-year follow-ups. Results: Overall, there was a slight decrease in the drinks required for effects (SRE scores) across the three time points which became significant when recent drinking and depressant medication use were evaluated as covariates. When nonalcoholic or light-drinking subjects were evaluated separately, the decrease in the number of drinks needed for effects was more prominent. Among heavier drinkers, there was an increase in the number of drinks required for effects over time. The findings were generally similar for men with and without alcoholic relatives. Conclusions: The development of a more intense reaction to alcohol, or the need for fewer drinks for an effect, with advancing age may only be relevant to lighter drinkers. Among heavier drinkers, the finding that a higher number of drinks are required for effects may be relatively stable over time.