The association between early onset of alcohol, smokeless tobacco and marijuana use with adult binge drinking in United States

Abstract

1) BackgroundBinge drinking remains significant public health problems in United States. To date, less is known how the early onset of substance use and other factors impacted the severity of adult binge drinking. 2) MethodThe 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data was used to identify binge drinking (binary and in number of days in the past month). Age at onset was categorized four groups as 1–12, 13–14, 15–17, or beyond 18. Weighted multivariate logistic regression and Poisson regression analyses were performed to examine the association between early onset of alcohol, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana use with binge drinking. 3) ResultsThe severity of binge drinking was statistically significantly associated with substance use (2.66 days in a month), early (before age 15) onset of alcohol, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana use (3.20–4.93 days, all p-values < 0.0001), after accounting for the covariates. Past year substance use disorder is strongly associated with binge drinking. 4) ConclusionsThe severity of adult binge drinking is significantly associated with early onset of substance use including alcohol, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana. Continued efforts are warranted to improve substance use prevention and treatment tailored for adolescents and youth to prevent development of adult binge drinking.