"Overall, high-IQ people are more likely to have healthier lifestyles because they are better informed about diet and exercise," he added.

http://bigbrowser.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/11/15/synapses-les-enfants-a-fort...

15 novembre 2011
SYNAPSES – Les enfants à fort QI risqueraient plus que les autres de tomber dans la drogue

(Zappiste: Il faut utiliser DES enfants et non LES enfants. EX: Les journalistes sont des pourris qui ne cherchent que le sensationalisme sans faire de recherches ni de suivis. Il y a une différence entre"tomber dans "LA" drogue et avoir consommé dans les 12 derniers mois pour des adultes à QI élevé.)

Est-ce le syndrome de l’adolescent en avance, qui s'ennuie en classe, ou brimé par ses camarades et qui se réfugie dans le cannabis ? Des chercheurs anglais ont trouvé une corrélation entre les résultats d'enfants à des tests de QI et leurs chances d'user de drogue dans leur vie future.

Les enfants qui obtenaient, à cinq et dix ans, des résultats les classant dans le tiers supérieur d'un groupe de 8 000 individus en termes de quotient intellectuel, risquent nettement plus que les autres d'expérimenter des substances illégales telles que le cannabis, la cocaïne et l’héroïne, une fois devenus de jeunes adultes, rapporte le quotidien The Independent.

L'étude, réalisée par des scientifiques anglais de l'université de Cardiff et publiée le 15 novembre dans le Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, se base sur un groupe d'enfants soumis à des tests de QI en 1970, lorsqu'ils avaient cinq ans, puis en 1975, à 10 ans, et de nouveau interrogés une fois qu'ils avaient atteint les âges de 16 puis 30 ans. A ce dernier âge, environ un homme sur trois (35,4 %) et une femme sur six (15,9 %) avait fait usage de cannabis, et 8,6 % des hommes et 3,6 % des femmes avaient usé de cocaïne dans les douze derniers mois. "Des tendances similaires ont été découvertes pour d'autres drogues, comme les barbituriques, le LSD et l'héroïne", précise The Independent.

Conclusion : les petits garçons qui se classaient dans le tiers supérieur des tests de QI, à 5 ans, ont 50 % de chances de plus de faire l'expérience des amphétamines et de l'ecstasy avant leurs 30 ans que leurs camarades qui se classaient à l'époque dans le tiers inférieur. Les filles, elles, avaient deux fois plus de chance d'avoir consommé du cannabis ou de l'héroïne dans l'année écoulée.

Selon James White, qui a dirigé cette enquête, l'âge tendre auquel les enfants ont été testés permet de renforcer le lien de causalité. Les enfants n'ayant pas encore subi une longue influence de leurs écoles respectives, James White en conclut que le lien entre QI et risque d'exposition aux drogues pourrait être en partie indépendant de l'éducation.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/...

Clever children 'likelier to take drugs'

Tuesday 15 November 2011

STEVE CONNOR

Intelligent children are more likely than their less intelligent peers to use illegal drugs in later life, according to a study which has found a link between high IQ scores and drug misuse.

Children who were in the top third in terms of IQ when aged five and 10 were found to be at significantly increased risk of having taken illegal drugs such as cannabis and cocaine when they became older.

The study was based on interviews with nearly 8,000 people who were part of the 1970 British Cohort Study, which involved measuring IQ scores when each child was five and 10, and asking them about their drug habits when they were 16 and 30.

By the age of 30, around one in three men (35.4 per cent) and one in six women (15.9 per cent) had used cannabis while 8.6 per cent of men and 3.6 per cent of women had used cocaine in the previous 12 months, the study found. A similar pattern of behaviour was found for other drugs, such as barbiturates, LSD and heroin. Boys in the top third in terms of IQ when aged five were about 50 per cent more likely than the bottom third to have used drugs such as amphetamines and ecstasy when aged 30.

The effect was even stronger among women. High-IQ women were more than twice as likely as low-IQ women to have used cannabis and cocaine in the past year, for instance.

James White of Cardiff University, who led the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, said that because the effect could be picked up at the age of five, before schooling, it may be independent of education.

"The study just looked at whether you had or had not used drugs in the last year. We don't know the level of usage and we don't know the harm of low-level drug use," Dr White said.

One possible explanation is that more intelligent people are more likely to get bored or to suffer at the hands of their peers, either of which could lead to experimenting with drugs, he suggested. Overall, high-IQ people are more likely to have healthier lifestyles because they are better informed about diet and exercise, he added.

http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2011/10/28/jech-2011-200252.short?g=w_...

Epidemiol Community Health doi:10.1136/jech-2011-200252

Research report
Intelligence across childhood in relation to illegal drug use in adulthood: 1970 British Cohort Study
Accepted 18 August 2011
Published Online First 14 November 2011
Abstract
Background Recent reports have linked high childhood IQ scores with excess alcohol intake and alcohol dependency in adult life, but the relationship with illegal drug use in later life is relatively unknown.

Methods The authors used data from a large population-based birth cohort (1970 British Cohort Study) with measures of lifetime cannabis and cocaine use, parental social class and psychological distress at 16 years; cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy and polydrug use (more than three drugs) in the past 12 months; and social class, educational attainment and gross monthly income at 30 years. All members of the cohort with IQ scores at 5 or 10 years were eligible to be included in the analyses.

Results Of the 11?603 (at 5 years) and 11?397 (at 10 years) cohort members eligible, 7904 (68.1%) and 7946 (69.7%) were included in the analyses. IQ scores at 5 years were positively associated with cannabis (OR (bottom vs top tertile) =2.25, 95% CI 1.71 to 2.97) and cocaine use (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.41 to 3.92) in women and with amphetamines (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.06), ecstasy (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.36) and polydrug use (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.26) in men at 30 years. IQ scores at 10 years were positively associated with cannabis, cocaine (only at 30 years), ecstasy, amphetamine and polydrug use. Associations were stronger in women than in men and were independent from psychological distress in adolescence and life-course socioeconomic position.

Conclusion High childhood IQ may increase the risk of illegal drug use in adolescence and adulthood.