Teenagers who drink heavily are also more likely than their peers to have behavioral problems or symptoms of depression and anxiety, a new study finds.

The study, of nearly 9,000 Norwegian teenagers, found that those who said they had been drunk more than 10 times in their lives were more likely to have attention and conduct problems in school. Meanwhile, heavy-drinking girls showed higher rates of depression and anxiety symptoms.

The findings, published in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, are based on a one-time survey. They do not, therefore, show whether the drinking came before or after the teenagers' other problems.

"We can say that mental health problems （are） closely connected to alcohol drinking and intoxication, but we cannot from these data say anything about which comes first," explained lead researcher Dr. Arve Strandheim, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

That said, conduct and attention problems do tend to develop early in childhood, and would be less likely to arise in adolescence, Strandheim told Reuters Health.

But regardless of whether drinking problems or other issues come first, the bottom line is that parents should be aware that they often go hand-in-hand, according to the researcher.

The findings are based on a survey of 8,983 13- to 19-year-olds. Eighty percent said they had tried drinking, while 57 percent had gotten drunk at least once.

Among teens who said they had attention problems at school, roughly 43 percent had been drunk more than 10 times - versus 25 percent of those with little difficulty concentrating in class.

Similarly, 35 percent of teenagers who acknowledged conduct problems -- getting into fights or clashing with teachers - also admitted to getting drunk frequently. That compared with roughly 27 percent of teens with few conduct problems.

Anxiety and depression symptoms were also linked to more-frequent drinking binges, but only among girls.

It's important to intervene early to keep all teenagers from abusing alcohol, Strandheim stressed. However, the researcher said, it may be particularly important to pay attention to girls with signs of depression or anxiety, and all teens with attention problems or behavior issues.

一项新的研究表明，与同龄人相比，酗酒青少年更易于产生行为问题或出现抑郁和焦虑不安的症状，

此项研究的对象是约九千名挪威青少年，研究发现那些表明已有的醉酒记录不下十次的青少年在上课时更容易出现精神不集中和行为问题。同时，酗酒少女出现抑郁和焦虑不安的症状的几率高于同龄少男。

发布在儿童和青少年精神病学和心理健康的网络日志上的这个研究结果是从以前的一次调查中得出的。因此，这一结果并没有显示是先有酗酒，然后出现了青少年的其他问题还是先有了青少年的其他问题，然后出现了酗酒情况。

在特隆赫姆的挪威科技大学工作的主干研究员Arve Strandheim博士解释'我们可以说心里健康问题与饮酒，中毒密切相关。但是从这些数据中，我们还不清楚究竟谁在谁之前".

Strandheim告知Reuters Health,行为和注意力不集中的问题多出现在儿童早期阶段，不太可能出现在青少年的身上。

根据这个研究员的说法，不管饮酒问题或其他问题谁先谁后，最基本的是父母应该意识到他们总是密切联系到一起。

这一研究结果是对8983名十九岁的青少年进行调查而得出的。其中有80%的青少年说他们已经尝试喝过酒，而其中有57%的青少年至少喝醉过一次。

在那些说在上课时有注意力不集中问题的青少年中，约有43%的青少年喝醉过十次以上，这一数据是与25%的上课无注意力困难问题出现的青少年相比较得出的。

同样的，35%声称有行为问题（与老师打架或有冲突）的青少年也承认经常喝醉。这一数据是与约27%的无行为问题的青少年相比较得出的。

焦虑和忧郁症状也与较频繁的饮酒狂欢有关，但是这只限于少女。

Strandheim 强调，早些介入以阻止所有的青少年饮酒过度是件很重要的事。他还说，注意少女出现忧郁和焦躁的迹象，注意少男少女出现注意力不集中和行为问题就显得尤为重要。