Drinking alcohol at the age of 16-18 affects life satisfaction, physical condition, and health self-esteem after age 30, according to researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
The study is based on information from surveys given to 2,733 sets of twins born in Finland in the late 1970s. The results were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. From 1991 to 1995, scientists from Finland surveyed Finnish twins when they were 16, 17, and 18.5 years old.
The researchers chose twins because such a longitudinal study allowed them to identify family factors of alcohol abuse — researchers had the opportunity to compare the effects of alcohol consumption within the same family.
The questionnaires included alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, general health, eating behaviour, weight gain, obesity, and life satisfaction.
Alcohol consumption affects life satisfaction
Based on these questionnaires, the researchers concluded that alcohol consumed during teenage is a primary driver that indirectly affects physical condition and life satisfaction across the lifespan. Researchers hope that understanding the long-term effects of alcohol consumption will allow them to further develop measures for its early prevention and abuse.
