One in 25 middle school children had consumed five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the preceding year, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Toronto also found that the odds of binge drinking were twice as high among youth with three or more chronic conditions.

Binge drinking is a major public health issue because it is an important risk factor for alcohol-related injuries, accidental death, unsafe sexual behavior, and long-term substance abuse problems.

"We are particularly concerned that the young adolescents most likely to binge drink are those who have substantial physical health challenges" Esme Fuller-Thomson, lead author of the study and Sandra Rotman Chair at the University of Toronto's Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, said in a statement. "Clearly, pediatricians and other health professionals need to be particularly attentive to screening for binge drinking in these vulnerable youth."

For the study, investigators examined a range of factors associated with binge drinking in a sample of more than 6,000 Canadian students aged 12 to 14, using data drawn from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey.

"We also found that youth with mood disorders had three times the odds of binge drinking, Matthew Sheridan, co-author of the study and a manager at a children's mental health center, said in a statement. "This should signal that mental health is an important factor to consider in targeting outreach for binge drinking prevention and cessation programs."

Researchers said there are many promising prevention strategies including life skills training for middle school students, comprehensive community-based interventions addressing children, schools, and the larger community, education of parents about the risk of supplying alcohol to teenagers, and greater enforcement of laws prosecuting those who sell liquor to minors.

The findings were recently published in the journal ISRN Public Health.