The aim of this study was to estimate, among college students ages 18-24, the numbers of alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths and other problems over the period from 1998 through 2005.
The ...analysis integrated data on 18- to 24-year-olds and college students from each of the following data sources: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Injury Mortality Data, National Coroner Studies, census and college enrollment data, the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the College Alcohol Study.
Among college students ages 18-24, alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths increased 3% per 100,000 from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005. From 1999 to 2005, the proportions of college students ages 18-24 who reported consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past month increased from 41.7% to 44.7%, and the proportions who drove under the influence of alcohol in the past year increased from 26.5% to 28.9%-7% and 9% proportional increases, respectively. The increases occurred among college students ages 21-24, not 18-20. In 2001, 599,000 (10.5%) full-time 4-year college students were injured because of drinking, 696,000 (12%) were hit or assaulted by another drinking college student, and 97,000 (2%) were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. A 2005 follow-up of students in schools with the highest proportions of heavy drinkers found no significant changes in the proportions experiencing these events.
The persistence of college drinking problems underscores an urgent need to implement prevention and counseling approaches identified through research to reduce alcohol-related harms among college students and other young adults.
In 1997, unintentional injury was the leading cause of death for persons aged 1 to 34 years. Approximately one third of deaths due to unintentional injury in the United States are estimated to be ...alcohol related. Onset of drinking at an early age has been found to be associated with alcohol dependence, but whether early-onset drinking increases risk for unintentional injury while drinking is unknown.
To explore whether persons who started drinking at an early age are more likely to have experienced unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.
The National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiology Survey, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 1992 of a representative sample of the US population.
A total of 42,862 randomly selected adults (response rate, 90%; mean age, 44 years).
Unintentional injury involvement while under the influence of alcohol by age of drinking onset (categorized as <14 years, each age from 14-20 years, or >/=21 years).
Relative to respondents who began drinking at age 21 years or older, those who started before age 14 years as well as those who started at each intervening age up to 21 years were significantly more likely to have been injured while under the influence of alcohol, even after controlling for history of alcohol dependence, heavy drinking frequency during the period that they drank most, family history of alcoholism, and other characteristics associated with earlier onset of drinking. After adjusting for these variables, odds ratios for having been injured while under the influence of alcohol were as follows: for younger than 14 years, 2.98 (95% confidence interval CI, 2.29-3.89); age 14 years, 2.96 (95% CI, 2.26-3.88); age 15 years, 3.14 (95% CI, 2.48-3.97); age 16 years, 2.38 (95% CI, 1.90-2.98); age 17 years, 2.12 (95% CI, 1.66-2.71); age 18 years, 1. 33 (95% CI, 1.08-1.64); age 19 years, 1.42 (95% CI, 1.07-1.89); and age 20 years, 1.39 (95% CI, 1.01-1.91).
Drinking onset at ages younger than 21 years is associated with having experienced alcohol-related injuries. JAMA. 2000;284:1527-1533
Integrating data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, national coroner studies, census and college enrollment data for ...18-24-year-olds, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, and the Harvard College Alcohol Survey, we calculated the alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths and other health problems among college students ages 18-24 in 1998 and 2001. Among college students ages 18-24 from 1998 to 2001, alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths increased from nearly 1600 to more than 1700, an increase of 6% per college population. The proportion of 18-24-year-old college students who reported driving under the influence of alcohol increased from 26.5% to 31.4%, an increase from 2.3 million students to 2.8 million. During both years more than 500,000 students were unintentionally injured because of drinking and more than 600,000 were hit/assaulted by another drinking student. Greater enforcement of the legal drinking age of 21 and zero tolerance laws, increases in alcohol taxes, and wider implementation of screening and counseling programs and comprehensive community interventions can reduce college drinking and associated harm to students and others.
In August 1988, 1,773 Massachusetts 16-19-year-olds were surveyed by telephone using anonymous random digit dialing; response rate 82 percent. Logistic regression tested whether alcohol and drug use, ...perceived susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), severity of HIV if infected, effectiveness of condoms in preventing infection, barriers to condom use, and behavioral cues such as exposure to media or personal communication about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were independently related to condom use. Among sexually active respondents, (61 percent of those interviewed) 31 percent reported always using condoms. Respondents who believed condoms are effective in preventing HIV transmission and worried they can get AIDS were 3.1 and 1.8 times, respectively, more likely to use condoms all the time. Respondents who carried condoms and who had discussed AIDS with a physician were 2.7 and 1.7 times, respectively, more likely to use them. Those who believed condoms do not reduce sexual pleasure and would not be embarrassed if asked to use them were 3.1 and 2.4 times, respectively, more likely to use condoms. Teens who averaged five or more drinks daily or used marijuana in the previous month were 2.8 and 1.9 times, respectively, less likely to use condoms. Among respondents who drink and use drugs, 16 percent used condoms less often after drinking and 25 percent after drug use. Those counseling adolescents about HIV should assess and discuss beliefs outlined in the Health Belief Model, as well as their alcohol and drug use.
Objective: This analysis tested whether comprehensive community interventions that focus on reducing alcohol availability and increasing substance abuse treatment can reduce alcohol related fatal ...traffic crashes. Intervention: Five of 14 communities awarded Fighting Back grants by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to reduce substance abuse and related problems attempted to reduce availability of alcohol and expand substance abuse treatment programs (FBAT communities). Program implementation began on 1 January 1992. Design: A quasi-experimental design matched each program community to two or three other communities of similar demographic composition in the same state. Main outcome measures: The ratio of fatal crashes involving a driver or pedestrian with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01% or higher, 0.08% or higher, or 0.15% or higher were examined relative to fatal crashes where no alcohol was involved for 10 years preceding and 10 years following program initiation. Results: Relative to their comparison communities, the five FBAT communities experienced significant declines of 22% in alcohol related fatal crashes at 0.01% BAC or higher, 20% at 0.08% or higher, and 17% at 0.15% or higher relative to fatal crashes not involving alcohol. Conclusions: Community interventions to reduce alcohol availability and increase substance abuse treatment can reduce alcohol related fatal traffic crashes.
Recent reports indicate an increase in rates of hospitalizations for drug overdoses in the United States. The role of alcohol in hospitalizations for drug overdoses remains unclear. Excessive ...consumption of alcohol and drugs is prevalent in young adults ages 18-24. The present study explores rates and costs of inpatient hospital stays for alcohol overdoses, drug overdoses, and their co-occurrence in young adults ages 18-24 and changes in these rates between 1999 and 2008.
Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to estimate numbers, rates, and costs of inpatient hospital stays stemming from alcohol overdoses (and their subcategories, alcohol poisonings and excessive consumption of alcohol), drug overdoses (and their subcategories, drug poisonings and nondependent abuse of drugs), and their co-occurrence in 18- to 24-year-olds.
Hospitalization rates for alcohol overdoses alone increased 25% from 1999 to 2008, reaching 29,412 cases in 2008 at a cost of $266 million. Hospitalization rates for drug overdoses alone increased 55%, totaling 113,907 cases in 2008 at a cost of $737 million. Hospitalization rates for combined alcohol and drug overdoses increased 76%, with 29,202 cases in 2008 at a cost of $198 million.
Rates of hospitalizations for alcohol overdoses, drug overdoses, and their combination all increased from 1999 to 2008 among 18- to 24-year-olds. The cost of such hospitalizations now exceeds $1.2 billion annually. The steepest increase occurred among cases of combined alcohol and drug overdoses. Stronger efforts are needed to educate medical practitioners and the public about the risk of overdoses, particularly when alcohol is combined with other drugs.
The authors determined whether lifetime prescription drug misuse (PDM) associated with increased risks for alcohol-related problems among 18- to 34-year-old, NESARC respondents. Among 8222 ..."ever-drinkers," 15.4% reported ever "misusing sedatives, tranquilizers, painkillers or stimulants ... as prescriptions or from indirect sources." Outcomes were within two alcohol-related problem domains, "risk-taking behaviors," including driving while drinking, fights, injuries, and arrests, and "interpersonal troubles," including problems with jobs, family, or friends. Among all drinkers and among alcohol-dependent and cannabis-using subsamples, those reporting PDM were significantly more likely to report alcohol-related "risk-taking behaviors" or "interpersonal troubles" than were those without PDM. In adjusted analysis, young age drinking onsets, and heavy and dependent drinking independently increased these risks. Results of this cross-sectional analysis support the need for longitudinal data to more clearly define the association between drinking problems and PDM, and which can support prevention, treatment, and harm-reduction efforts for younger, multisubstance users.
Driving while impaired (DWI) increases the risk of a motor vehicle crash by impairing performance. Few studies have examined the prevalence and predictors of marijuana, alcohol, and drug-specific DWI ...among emerging adults.
The data from wave 3 (W3, high school seniors, 2012, N=2407) and wave 4 (W4, one year after high school, N=2178) of the NEXT Generation Health Study with a nationally representative cohort. W4 DWI (≥1day of past 30days) was specified for alcohol-specific, marijuana-specific, alcohol/marijuana-combined, illicit drug-related DWI. Multinomial logistic regression models estimated the association of W4 DWI with W3 covariates (perceived peer/parent influence, drinking/binge drinking, marijuana/illicit drug use), and W4 environmental status variables (work/school/residence) adjusting for W3 overall DWI, demographic, and complex survey variables.
Overall DWI prevalence from W3 to W4 changed slightly (14% to 15%). W4 DWI consisted of 4.34% drinking-specific, 5.02% marijuana-specific, 2.41% drinking/marijuana combined, and 3.37% illicit drug-related DWI. W3 DWI was significantly associated with W4 alcohol-related and alcohol/marijuana-combined DWI, but not other DWI. W3 marijuana use, binge drinking, and illicit drug use were positively associated with W4 marijuana-specific, alcohol/marijuana-combined, and illicit drug-related DWI, respectively. W3 friend drunkenness and marijuana use were positively associated with W4 alcohol-specific and marijuana-related DWI, respectively. W3 peer marijuana use was negatively associated with W4 alcohol-specific DWI.
Driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs is a persistent, threatening public health concern among emerging U.S. adults. High school seniors' binge drinking as well as regular alcohol drinking and marijuana/illicit drug use were independently associated with respective DWI one year after high school. Peer drunkenness and marijuana use in high school may be related to subsequent DWI of emerging adults.
The results support the use of injunctive peer norms about getting drunk and smoking marijuana in guiding the development of prevention programs to reduce youth DWI.
•The nationally representative prevalence of overall and substance-specific driving while impaired (DWI) was reported.•High school seniors' drinking and marijuana/illicit drug use were independently associated with respective DWI one year after high school.•Peer drunkenness and marijuana use in high school may be related to subsequent DWI of emerging adults.
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