Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2025
05:40
The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
3.2K
Relative Age Effect on Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescents
Matej Markota1, Brandon J Coombes2, Ewa D Bieber1
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
|July 27, 2021
Summary
Relative age, the age difference between peers, did not predict earlier alcohol testing in adolescents. This study found no significant link between being younger or older in your class and testing positive for alcohol.
Area of Science:
- Adolescent Health
- Public Health
- Substance Use Research
Background:
- Younger age of alcohol initiation is linked to increased risk of problematic alcohol use.
- The impact of relative age on adolescent alcohol use patterns remains under-explored.
- Relative age, defined by age differences among peers in the same academic year, is a factor in developmental studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between relative age and the age of first positive alcohol test (PAT) in adolescents.
- To determine if being younger or older within an academic cohort influences the timing of alcohol detection in a medical setting.
- To test the hypothesis that younger relative age correlates with earlier alcohol detection.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective population study of 4,610 adolescents (aged 12-18) in Olmsted County, Minnesota, tested for alcohol between 1998-2016.
- Operationalized problematic alcohol use as a positive alcohol test (PAT) in a medical setting.
- Utilized Cox regression models to analyze the relationship between relative age and age at first PAT, adjusting for covariates.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between relative age and the age of first positive alcohol test (PAT).
- Stratification by gender and adjustments for race, psychiatric comorbidities, and testing type did not alter the nonsignificant findings.
- Results indicate that relative age is not a risk factor for adolescent alcohol use in this population.
Conclusions:
- The study did not support the hypothesis that relative age influences the age of alcohol detection in adolescents.
- Findings contrast with previous research suggesting older relative age may increase adolescent alcohol use risk.
- Further research is needed to understand the complex factors influencing adolescent alcohol use and potential disparities.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
51
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
51
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
36
As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
36
01:24Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
249
Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
249
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
97
In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
97
01:00Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
30
Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are...
30
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
49
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
49