Young men who drink are more likely to be violent, commit suicide or suffer mental health problems because their brains are not fully developed and are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol, a medical expert has warned.
Prof Ian Robertson, dean of research at the Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, said the brains of young men were more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol as they are not fully developed until their early 20s.
"Development does not complete until their early to mid-20s. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that we rely on for forethought, to consider the consequences of our actions, and it also plays a significant role in controlling our emotions.
"Younger men are more likely to be impulsive, which is a natural characteristic of youth, and less likely to think of long-term consequences," Prof Robertson told the fifth Population Health Summer School in Cork.
The school, which is jointly organised by the Department of Public Health, HSE South, department of epidemiology & public health, UCC and the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, also heard about the impact of violence on emergency medicine in Irish hospitals.
The consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital, Dr Chris Luke, said while there was a need for more data on the Irish experience, research showed that violence was a growing problem in Irish emergency departments.
A survey of emergency department nursing staff at St James's Hospital in Dublin found that half of staff had been assaulted, while some 90 per cent were fearful of being assaulted and some 29 per cent had not reported the last assault as they didn't believe anyone cared.
A recent survey carried out by staff at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork over the August bank holiday found assaults accounted for 7 per cent of admissions, with males accounting for 80 per cent of victims and some 83 per cent of victims having consumed alcohol, said Dr Luke.