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Association of binge drinking in adolescence and early adulthood with high blood pressure: findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994–2008)
  1. Lisa Ama Hayibor1,2,
  2. Jianrong Zhang1,
  3. Alexis Duncan1,3
  1. 1 Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
  2. 2 Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
  3. 3 Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
  1. Correspondence to Dr Jianrong Zhang, Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; jianrong.zhang{at}wustl.edu

Abstract

Background An investigation of the risk of high blood pressure (HBP) associated with heavy alcohol consumption in adolescence and early adulthood is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between binge drinking from adolescence to early adulthood and the risk of HBP in early adulthood.

Methods We applied logistic regression to publicly available, population-representative data from waves I (1994–1995; ages 12–18) and IV (2007–2008; ages 24–32) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=5114) to determine whether past 12-month binge drinking in adolescence (wave I) and early adulthood (wave IV) was associated with HBP in early adulthood after adjusting for covariates, including smoking and body mass index. HBP was defined according to both the former and new classifications.

Results HBP was significantly, positively associated with infrequent binge drinking (less than once a week) in adolescence based on the new classification (overall: OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.49; male: OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.81) and frequent binge drinking (heavy consumption) in adolescence based on the former classification (overall: OR= 1.64, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.22; male: OR= 1.79, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.60). The risk of HBP was high when participants engaged in frequent binge drinking in both adolescence and early adulthood, especially based on the former classification (overall: OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.13 to 5.20; female: OR 5.81, 95% CI 2.26 to 14.93).

Conclusion Binge drinking in adolescence may increase risk of HBP in early adulthood. This association is independent of other important risk factors for HPB, such as smoking and obesity.

  • alcohol consumption
  • binge drinking
  • high blood pressure
  • adolescence
  • early adulthood

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Footnotes

  • LAH and JZ are joint first authors.

  • Contributors JZ, LAH and AD conceived and designed the study. JZ and LAH contributed to the conduction of literature review. JZ conducted statistical analysis. JZ contributed to the writing of the introduction and discussion section of the paper. LAH contributed to writing the methods and results section of the paper. All authors contributed to final revision and editing. JZ is the guarantor of this research.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required

  • Ethics approval This study was approved as minimal risk by the Biomedical Institutional Review Board of Human Research Protection Office at Washington University in St. Louis (IRB ID#201812066).

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Data sharing statement Requests for additional details regarding the study protocol may be made by contacting JZ (jianrong.zhang@wustl.edu).