Children who learn to speak and read at an early age are more likely to become heavy drinkers in later life, a study has found. 

Studies carried out on twins revealed that the sibling who spoke or read first were twice as likely to drink more alcohol than their brother or sister by the time they were 18.

The research was carried out on 3,000 twins from Finland.

It looked at their verbal development and drinking behavior as they grew into adults, and published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Experts found that not only did the early talkers and readers drink more, but they were also four times more likely to get drunk at least once a month compared to with the later developers.