• Arve Strandheim, Turid Lingaas Holmen, Lindsey Coombes, and Niels Bentzen.
• Department of Public Health and General Practice, The Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. arve.strandheim@ntnu.no
• Subst Use Misuse. 2010 Jan 1;45(1-2):253-65.

AimsTo investigate the relationship between adolescents' alcohol use and physical health.DesignA total population, cross-sectional survey of adolescents, aged 13-19 years, attending secondary or high school in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway. 8,983 youths (91%) answered the Young-Hunt questionnaire in the 1995-1997 HUNT-survey.MethodSelf-reported data mainly analyzed by logistic regression models. Findings 80% of the respondents had tried alcohol, and 29% reported more than 10 intoxications. Ill health perception was associated with frequent alcohol intoxications. Tension symptoms had the closest relationship to frequency of intoxications in both genders. Girls that frequently used health services had frequent alcohol intoxications.FundingCentral Norway Regional Health and the County Council of Nord-Trøndelag.ConclusionsThere is a close association of physical health complaints and alcohol intoxication frequency in Norwegian teenagers. The study's limitations were noted.

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