Sexual orientation disparities in longitudinal alcohol use patterns among adolescents: findings from the Growing Up Today Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare sexual orientation group differences in the longitudinal development of alcohol use behaviors during adolescence.

DESIGN: Community-based prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Self-reported questionnaires.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 13,450 Growing Up Today Study participants (79.7% of the original cohort) aged 9 to 14 years at baseline in 1996 were followed up for more than 7 years. Main Exposure Self-reported sexual orientation classified as heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, or gay/lesbian.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at alcohol use initiation, any past-month drinking, number of alcoholic drinks usually consumed, and number of binge drinking episodes in the past year.

RESULTS: Compared with heterosexual participants, youth reporting any minority sexual orientation reported having initiated alcohol use at younger ages. Greater risk of alcohol use was consistently observed for mostly heterosexual males and females and for bisexual females, whereas gay and bisexual males and lesbians reported elevated levels of alcohol use on only some indicators. Gender was an important modifier of alcohol use risk; mostly heterosexual and bisexual females exhibited the highest relative risk. Younger age at alcohol use initiation among participants with minority sexual orientations significantly contributed to their elevated risk of binge drinking.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that disparities in alcohol use among youth with a minority sexual orientation emerge in early adolescence and persist into young adulthood. Health care providers should be aware that adolescents with a minority sexual orientation are at greater risk of alcohol use.