Premium
Differences between early‐onset pathological gambling and later‐onset pathological gambling: data from the N ational E pidemiologic S urvey on A lcohol and R elated C onditions ( NESARC )
Author(s) -
Verdura Vizcaíno Ernesto José,
FernándezNavarro Pablo,
Petry Nancy,
Rubio Gabriel,
Blanco Carlos
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12461
Subject(s) - age of onset , alcohol use disorder , odds ratio , pathological , confidence interval , psychiatry , antisocial personality disorder , psychology , young adult , mood , demography , alcohol dependence , medicine , injury prevention , poison control , alcohol , disease , medical emergency , biochemistry , chemistry , sociology
Aims To examine differences between early‐onset versus later‐onset pathological gamblers in socio‐demographic characteristics, rates of Axis I and II disorders, preferred type of gambling and rates of treatment‐seeking in a large nationally representative survey of adults in the U nited S tates. Design Data were collected from face‐to‐face interviews using the A lcohol U se D isorder and A ssociated D isabilities I nterview S chedule DSM ‐ IV version IV ( AUDADIS ‐ IV ). Setting and Measurement The study drew on data from the U nited S tates’ N ational E pidemiologic S urvey on A lcohol and R elated C onditions ( NESARC ). Participants All individuals with a DSM ‐ IV diagnosis of pathological gambling ( PG ). To be consistent with prior studies, age of onset of PG was dichotomized as 25 years and younger (early‐onset) versus 26 years and older (later‐onset). Findings Individuals with early‐onset PG were more likely than individuals with later‐onset PG to be male [odds ratio ( OR) = 2.86; 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 1.20, 6.82], never married ( OR = 3.51; 95% CI = 1.39, 8.84), to have income below US $70 000 ( OR = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.61), to belong to younger cohorts ( OR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.89, 0.97) and to have a cluster B personality disorder ( OR = 4.11; 95% CI = 1.77, 9.55), but less likely to have a mood disorder ( OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.19, 0.94). There were no differences between individuals with early‐ and later‐onset PG regarding rates of treatment‐seeking ( OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.20, 2.43) or preferred type of gambling ( OR = 2.00; 95% CI = 0.55, 7.3). All results remained significant after adjusting for age, sex and race, except the difference in the prevalence for mood disorders, which was no longer significant. Conclusions Individuals with early‐onset versus later‐onset pathological gambling differ in several socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics, but not in their preferred types of game. Individuals from more recent cohorts appear to be at significantly increased risk for developing early‐onset pathological gambling.