Association between anxiety symptoms and problematic alcohol use in adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent, affecting approximately 10% of individuals throughout life; its onset can be detected since early childhood or adolescence. Studies in adults have shown that anxiety disorders are associated with alcohol abuse, but few studies have investigated the association between anxiety symptoms and problematic alcohol use in early ages.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate if anxiety symptoms are associated with problematic alcohol use in young subjects.


METHODS
A total of 239 individuals aged 10-17 years were randomly selected from schools located in the catchment area of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) was used to evaluate the presence of anxiety symptoms, and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), to evaluate alcohol use.


RESULTS
One hundred twenty-seven individuals (53.1% ) reported having already used alcohol. Of these, 14 individuals showed problematic alcohol use (5.8% ). There was no association between lifetime use of alcohol and anxiety symptoms, but mean SCARED scores in individuals with problematic alcohol use was higher if compared to those without problematic use, even after adjustment for age and gender (29.9±8.5 vs. 23.7±11.8, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the limitation of a cross-sectional design, our study suggests that anxiety symptoms are associated with problematic alcohol use early in life.
Anxiety Disorders Program for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Marianna de Abreu
Mde A
Costa
PROTAIA, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Giovanni Abrahão
GA
Salum Junior
PROTAIA, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Luciano Rassier
LR
Isolan
Anxiety Disorders Program for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Jandira Rahmeier
JR
Acosta
PROTAIA, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Rafaela Behs
RB
Jarros
PROTAIA, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Carolina
C
Blaya
Center for Drug and Alcohol Research, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Lísia Von
LV
Diemen
PROTAIA, HCPA, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Gisele Gus
GG
Manfro