Is dietary intake in early childhood associated with alcohol consumption at the age of 17? Analysis of data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) prospective cohort study

Objective To examine the relationship between dietary intake in early childhood and alcohol consumption in adolescence. Design Data was obtained from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) prospective cohort study. The association between children’s dietary patterns (at ages 3 and 7), including the percentage of overall energy intake provided by sugar, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores and frequency of alcohol consumption at 17years were examined. Adolescents with an AUDIT=>8 were considered to be at increased risk of harm from alcohol. Setting All women who gave birth between 1 April 1991 and 31 December 1992 in the Avon area in southwest England were eligible for the ALSPAC cohort study. Participants 14,541 pregnancies were enrolled in ALSPAC during its initial recruitment phase. For this analysis, complete data was available for between 3148 and 3520 participants. Results No consistent associations were found between early dietary intake and later alcohol consumption. Children aged seven with high “junk” food intake were 1.09 (95% CI 0.79-1.50) times more likely to have an AUDIT=>8 than children with low “junk” food intake. Children aged seven with high sugar intake were 1.04 (95% CI 0.76-1.42) times more likely to have an AUDIT=>8 than children with low sugar intake. Following multiple imputation for missing data, similar results were found. Results were adjusted for ethnicity, maternal level of education, parental social class and maternal AUDIT score. Conclusions Dietary intake in early childhood was not associated with alcohol consumption in adolescence in this population.