Heavy drinking leads to alcohol-related injuries
Heavy drinking leads to an increase in alcohol-related injuries among Spanish students.
In Spain, consumption of alcoholic beverages is part of the culture and traditionally, alcoholic beverages are consumed regularly with meals, family celebrations and social events. However, such a drinking pattern is increasingly replaced among young people by periodic weekend consumption, with episodes of binge drinking (“botellon”). Such heavy drinking is generally practiced outdoors, in public spaces where large numbers of young people meet. Destruction of public property, hospital admissions due to alcohol poisoning are among the negative consequences of this drinking pattern.
The effects of heavy drinking on the incidence of alcohol-related injuries were evaluated in the current study. Questionnaires were administered to a total of 1382 university students at the ages of 18, 20, 22 and 24 to assess heavy drinking and alcohol-related injuries. Based on their results, the authors concluded that heavy episodic drinking leads to an increase of alcohol-related injuries. Furthermore, their results suggested that about half of alcohol-related injuries could be avoided by removing this consumption pattern.
Moure-Rodríguez L, Caamaño-Isorna F, Doallo S, et al. Heavy drinking and alcohol-related injuries in college students. Gac Sanit. 2014 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print]
For more information about this article, read the scientific abstract here.