Relative Age Effect on Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescents

Matej Markota; Brandon J. Coombes; Ewa D. Bieber; Robert W. Kirchoff; William V. Bobo; Paul E. Croarkin

doi:10.1089/cap.2021.0033

Relative Age Effect on Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescents

Matej Markota^*, Brandon J. Coombes, Ewa D. Bieber, Robert W. Kirchoff, William V. Bobo, Paul E. Croarkin

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Objective: Relative age refers to a difference in age between peers in the same academic year. Although younger age of alcohol use is associated with a higher risk of lifetime problematic alcohol use, the potential effects of relative age are poorly understood. We hypothesized that a younger relative age would be associated with a younger chronological age of testing positive for alcohol in a medical setting. Methods: Problematic alcohol use was operationalized and identified as a positive alcohol test (PAT) in a medical setting. This was a retrospective population study of all 12 to 18-year-old residents (n = 4610) of Olmsted County, Minnesota (USA), who were tested for alcohol in a medical care setting from 1998 through 2016. Cox regression models examined the relationship between relative age and the age at testing positive for alcohol. Results: Relative age was not associated with age at first PAT. Results remained nonsignificant after stratifying by gender, and after adjusting for race, number of nonalcohol-related psychiatric comorbidities, and type of alcohol testing. Conclusions: The results did not support a relative age effect as a risk factor for alcohol use in adolescents in Olmsted County, Minnesota. These results contrast with findings from previous studies on this topic, which suggested older relative age increases risk of alcohol use in adolescence.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	692-696
Number of pages	5
Journal	Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Volume	31
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2021.0033
State	Published - Dec 1 2021

Funding

Departments of 1Psychiatry and Psychology, 2Health Sciences Research, and 3Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. 4Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. iORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0437-5497). iiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9369-2242). iiiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6843-6503). Funding: This study was made possible using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG034676. This study was funded by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the National Institute on Drug Abuse Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorders to Matej Markota, MD. This research was also supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH113700 PI: P. Croarkin). Statistical support for this publication was received by Grant Number UL1 TR002377 (PI: S. Khosla) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Mental Health, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Keywords

adolescent
alcohol abuse
alcohol use disorder
relative age
substance use

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Psychiatry and Mental health
Pharmacology (medical)
Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1089/cap.2021.0033

Cite this

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title = "Relative Age Effect on Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescents",

abstract = "Objective: Relative age refers to a difference in age between peers in the same academic year. Although younger age of alcohol use is associated with a higher risk of lifetime problematic alcohol use, the potential effects of relative age are poorly understood. We hypothesized that a younger relative age would be associated with a younger chronological age of testing positive for alcohol in a medical setting. Methods: Problematic alcohol use was operationalized and identified as a positive alcohol test (PAT) in a medical setting. This was a retrospective population study of all 12 to 18-year-old residents (n = 4610) of Olmsted County, Minnesota (USA), who were tested for alcohol in a medical care setting from 1998 through 2016. Cox regression models examined the relationship between relative age and the age at testing positive for alcohol. Results: Relative age was not associated with age at first PAT. Results remained nonsignificant after stratifying by gender, and after adjusting for race, number of nonalcohol-related psychiatric comorbidities, and type of alcohol testing. Conclusions: The results did not support a relative age effect as a risk factor for alcohol use in adolescents in Olmsted County, Minnesota. These results contrast with findings from previous studies on this topic, which suggested older relative age increases risk of alcohol use in adolescence.",

keywords = "adolescent, alcohol abuse, alcohol use disorder, relative age, substance use",

author = "Matej Markota and Coombes, {Brandon J.} and Bieber, {Ewa D.} and Kirchoff, {Robert W.} and Bobo, {William V.} and Croarkin, {Paul E.}",

note = "Funding Information: Departments of 1Psychiatry and Psychology, 2Health Sciences Research, and 3Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. 4Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. iORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0437-5497). iiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9369-2242). iiiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6843-6503). Funding: This study was made possible using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG034676. This study was funded by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the National Institute on Drug Abuse Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorders to Matej Markota, MD. This research was also supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH113700 PI: P. Croarkin). Statistical support for this publication was received by Grant Number UL1 TR002377 (PI: S. Khosla) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Mental Health, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2021.",

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AU - Coombes, Brandon J.

AU - Bieber, Ewa D.

AU - Kirchoff, Robert W.

AU - Bobo, William V.

AU - Croarkin, Paul E.

N1 - Funding Information: Departments of 1Psychiatry and Psychology, 2Health Sciences Research, and 3Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. 4Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. iORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0437-5497). iiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9369-2242). iiiORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6843-6503). Funding: This study was made possible using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG034676. This study was funded by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the National Institute on Drug Abuse Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorders to Matej Markota, MD. This research was also supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH113700 PI: P. Croarkin). Statistical support for this publication was received by Grant Number UL1 TR002377 (PI: S. Khosla) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Mental Health, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2021.

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KW - substance use

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Relative Age Effect on Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescents

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