Please read Dr. Salvatore’s article in Behavior Genetics titled, “Alcohol use in Early Midlife: Findings from the Age 37 Follow-Up Assessment of the FinnTwin12 Cohort.“
Early midlife, defined as ages 30 to 40, is an understudied but important period in the developmental course of an individual’s alcohol use. Most longitudinal studies of alcohol use and problems focus on adolescence through young adulthood, perhaps driven by the idea that many individuals “mature out” of problematic alcohol use during the transition to adulthood. Nonetheless, alcohol misuse is common in early midlife, with nearly one-third of individuals in their 30s and 40s reporting past-month binge drinking in the U.S. In Finland, 35% of men and 18% of women aged 35–44 reported excessive alcohol consumption in 2020. Many individuals have established long-term drinking patterns by this age, and yet many experience new onset of alcohol use disorder (AUD) or a persistent course. Early midlife is also a pivotal time for AUD treatment seeking, and individuals in remission from AUD are at particularly high risk for relapse during this period. Despite the importance of this developmental period for changes in alcohol-related outcomes, the etiology of early midlife alcohol problems and the influence of alcohol misuse trajectories on health and well-being are not well-characterized. To read the full article.
Alcohol use in Early Midlife: Findings from the Age 37 Follow-Up Assessment of the FinnTwin12 Cohort. Cooke ME, Lumpe E, Stephenson M, Urjansson M, Aliev F, Palviainen T, Brislin SJ, Piirtola M, Rabinowitz J, Latvala A, Barr PB, Vuoksimaa E, Maes HHM, Viken R, Rose RJ, Kaprio J, Dick DM, Aaltonen S, Salvatore JE. Behav Genet. 2025 Mar;55(2):124-140. PMID: 39920525 PMCID: PMC11882652 DOI: 1007/s10519-024-10212-y