Drinkers who become alcohol-dependent at a young age are less likely to recover quickly and without complications than their peers, according to study released Sept. 3 by the Boston University School of Public Health.

SPH professors Ralph Hingson, Timothy Heeren and Michael Winter conducted the study, which showed a strong correlation between the age of dependence onset and the difficulty of recovery.

The younger people are not only more likely to become alcohol dependent, but they develop it more rapidly, Hingson, a social and behavioral sciences professor said. They also have longer, more severe and a greater number of episodes of dependence.

The study follows a July report, based on the same set of data, that found adolescents more likely to become alcoholics if they begin drinking at a young age. According to Hingson, almost half of the individuals in the recent national study of adults 18 and over who had become dependent developed dependence before the legal drinking age, and two-thirds before age 25. These young people were less likely to seek treatment for their dependence and waited longer to do so if they made that decision.

The general impression was that alcoholism is a middle-aged-person’s problem, Hingson said. Many people in the field felt that young people cannot become alcoholics. But the study shows that that is not so.

SPH Dean Robert Meenan said while moderate alcohol consumption in certain cultures has shown to have positive health effects, overuse is a major public health problem.

According to Hingson, injuries are the leaning cause of death among young people, with alcohol as the leading contributor to those injuries. Forty-thousand people die each year from alcohol-attributed injuries, he said.

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Nicole Urbanowski said she recognizes that some students have a problem, but she chooses to distance herself from it.

I don’t have a lot of respect for students who abuse alcohol, she said. It jeopardizes their education.

According to Hingson, a study conducted at the University of California at San Diego found that alcohol-dependent adolescents have less frontal lobe activity and difficulty with memory and planning. While it is unknown if these findings were a direct result of alcohol abuse, Hingson said we know that the brain develops until we are in our mid-twenties.

The researchers stressed the importance of education, screenings and treatment programs to help delay the onset of alcohol dependence.

People think, ‘I’m 20 years old, I’ll get over it,’ Meenan said. But the study shows it can be more than just a short-term problem. They are developing habits for life.

Meenan and Hingson also encouraged young people to watch out for each other, especially when they see an abusive drinker.

Not only are they posing a risk to themselves, but they are posing a risk to other people, Hingson said.

CAS junior Tyler Ramaker said he has little confidence in the ability of school programs and education to make a difference.

People who are already drinking aren’t going to be swayed from their behavior, he said. Most kids who already drink understand that it is bad for them, but they don’t really care. It is something that is socially acceptable.

School of Management junior Seth Herring said he feels most students who drink do so without resorting to abuse and dependence. However, he does see an importance in education available to students.

I think that more information should be given to students on how to confront a friend who they feel is abusing alcohol, he said.