Teen Alcohol Use Affects Brain Development

The American Academy of Pediatrics has been urging physicians to discuss substance abuse with their patients. The AAP issued a 2010 statement on teen alcohol use which was posted on the Pediatrics website last month. According to American Medical News online the statement "indicates that the brain's frontal lobes, essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning and organization, continue to develop through adolescence and young adulthood. At this stage, the brain is more vulnerable to the toxic and addictive actions of alcohol and other drugs." It has been recommended by the Committee on Substance Abuse that physicians discuss the dangers of alcohol and other drugs during medical visits. It has also been suggested that parents should leave the room so that adolescents are able to talk openly and freely with their doctor. The AAP encourages physicians to conduct an annual screening of adolescents for alcohol and drug abuse. Motivational interviewing has been used as a way to help patients "attain the desire and confidence to make necessary behavioral changes." The same study has also discovered that teen girls who drink alcohol have a greater risk of benign breast disease compared to those who do not drink. American Medical News online states, "Researchers examined data on 6,899 girls age 9 to 15 who were enrolled in the Growing up Today Study. They followed the participants from 1996 to 2007. They found females who drank six to seven days a week were 5.5 times more likely to have benign breast disease than were those who didn't drink, or who had less than one drink a week. Participants who reported drinking three to five days a week had three times the risk." For more information on how to talk to your children about drugs and alcohol visit the Marshall County Family Resource Network.