Early Adolescent Binge Drinking Increases Risk of Psychopathology in Post-9/11 Veterans and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Exacerbates Symptom Severity

Aims To demonstrate that early adolescent binge drinking (BD) increases the risk for and/or severity of psychopathology in post-9/11 Veterans and determine if mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) modifies risk. Methods Post-9/11 Veterans (n = 375) were classified into two groups: 57 Veterans with a history of early adolescent BD (E-BD; age of onset <15) and 318 who did not BD until age 15 or older (late-BD or L-BD; age of onset ≥15). History of military mTBI and mental health disorders were also assessed following military service. Results Logistic regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses revealed that the E-BD’s had significantly higher prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and more severe symptoms of AUD, substance use disorder (SUD), depression and stress. Two-way ANOVAs showed that history of military mTBI was differentially associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) incidence and severity among Veterans who had engaged in early adolescent BD. Specifically, Veterans with a history of both early adolescent BD and military mTBI were at greater risk for a PTSD diagnosis and had more severe symptoms of PTSD than those with only a history of adolescent BD. The greater PTSD symptom severity in the comorbid group was driven by hyperarousal symptoms. Conclusions A history of BD during early adolescence is prevalent among Veterans and is related to higher risk for AUD and more severe AUD, SUD, mood and stress symptoms later in life. Veterans with early BD and military mTBI showed greater incidence and severity of PTSD, indicating that mTBI, a common comorbidity among post-9/11 Veterans, exacerbates risk.