Alcohol use continues to be one of the
leading causes of disability in young people ages
10-24 worldwide, accounting for 9% of deaths in young people ages
15-29. To combat this public health problem, most countries have legislated a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) aimed at reducing harm by limiting to alcohol. In view of continuing alcohol abuse, a debate is ongoing in some countries as to whether the MLDA should be lowered or raised from its current age. A
study published in the journal “Addiction” attempts to examine
the effect of MLDA legislation in Canada, where the MLDA is 19 in all provinces except for Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba, where it is 18.
The researchers obtained and analyzed data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information Hospital Morbidity Database for all individuals aged 15-22 admitted to hospital over a ten-year period from 1997-2007. The
universality of the Canadian health-care system provides a unique and important advantage in providing a near complete picture of hospitalizations. Using hospital admissions for Appendicitis as a control, the researchers discovered a significant increase in alcohol-related hospitalizations at the MLDA cut-off: 17.3% for males and 21.1% for females. Additionally, their findings showed a significant increase in motor vehicle accidents (9.2%) and self-inflicted injuries (10%) in males. The data did not show an increase in assault-related hospitalizations, but the researchers admit that a lack of sensitivity in defining and detecting them may have been a shortcoming in their methodology. Another limitation of the study was a possible lack of data on morbidity for young people under the MLDA, as the illegality of using alcohol may cause them to avoid seeking treatment, though the researchers contend that the probability of such a confounding variable is low, given the loose relations between law-enforcement and medical care in Canada.
The findings of this study offer an important contribution to existing research on the relationship between MLDA laws and alcohol-related morbidity in young people, and will be useful in ongoing policy debates in Canada and other countries considering lowering or raising their MLDA.
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