J Psychoactive Drugs

The study aimed to examine the age of onset of stages of alcohol use in the general population, and to estimate the association of cohort use with the probability of transitioning from alcohol use to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and remission. French data (N = 2,894) from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders Survey and collected in 2000 were used. Data on lifetime history of alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders, and remission were collected. Nearly every adult has consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime (92.8%), and among users, 88.3% developed regular use, 6.0% met criteria for abuse and 1.7% for dependence. One-third of the population (32.8%) had used alcohol by the age of 15. Over 85% of cases of regular use were established prior to age 25, as were 61.1% of abuse and 39.4% of dependence cases. The proportion of people in an individual's age and sex cohort who had already used alcohol by a given age was positively and significantly associated with increased odds of transitioning to each stage examined. The findings highlight sensitive periods of life where persons are at greater risk for transitioning to a higher level of alcohol use, and underscore the importance of cohort use in transition risk