PARIS -- A quarter of American teenagers have ready access to firearms or alcohol in their home, providing a potent recipe for mayhem, according to a study published Monday in a specialist journal, Injury Prevention.

The research is drawn from interviews with almost 18,500 Americans aged from 12-18.

Nearly 29 percent of respondents said they had easy access to alcohol at home, and more than 24 percent said they could easily get their hands on a shotgun, a rifle or handgun at home.

Ten percent said both alcohol and a gun were available in their home.

"Given the risks associated with the misuse of alcohol and guns among adolescents, efforts to increase public awareness of the availability of alcohol and guns in the home are needed," AFP quoted the journal, published by the British Medical Association (BMA), as saying.

The study was headed by Monica Swahn of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in Atlanta, Georgia.

It said the three leading causes of death among American youths are accidents, homicides and suicides.

Alcohol plays a role in about a third of U.S. car accidents involving the young, while guns are involved in more than 80 percent of youth homicides and in nearly 60 percent of youth suicides, it said.