Binge drinking a rural problem, too

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NUREMBERG, Germany, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Binge drinking is often considered an urban problem, but German researchers say binge drinking in rural areas is more of a problem than previously thought.

Dr. Carolin Donath of the Psychiatric University Clinic Erlangen in Nuremberg examined the drinking patterns of more than 44,000 teens ages 15 and 16 in Germany.

The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, found more than 93 percent of the young people from the countryside and more than 86 percent of those from urban areas had tried alcohol.

Of the adolescents who had drunk alcohol in the last month, 78 percent from rural areas and 74 percent from cities said they had five or more drinks at one time.

"Whilst there is awareness of the problems of binge drinking in towns and cities, this study demonstrates that both drinking and binge drinking are as much of a problem for rural teenagers," Donath says in a statement.