Ngo DA, Rege SV, Ait-Daoud N, Holstege CP. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018; 188: 341-347.
Affiliation
Department of Student Health, Division of Student Affairs, University of Virginia, 400 Brandon Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908, United States; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, PO BOX 800699, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0699, United States.
BACKGROUND: To examine the trends in incidence and socio-demographic, organizational, academic, and clinical risk markers of student alcohol intoxication associated with emergency department (ED) visits.
METHODS: Student admission data from 2009 to 2015 were linked to primary healthcare data and subsequent ED visits with alcohol intoxication identified using ICD-9 codes within one year following the first (index) enrollment each year. Incidence rate per 10,000 person-years was calculated. Cox proportional hazard regression provided adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95 % CIs) for the association between student characteristics and subsequent ED visits with alcohol intoxication.
RESULTS: Of 177,128 students aged 16-49 enrolled, 889 had at least one ED visit with alcohol intoxication, resulting in an incidence rate of 59/10,000 person-years. Incidence increased linearly from 45/10,000 person-years in 2009-10 to 71/10,000 person-years in the 2014-15 academic year (p < 0.001). HRs (95%CIs) of student characteristics associated with this outcome were: males (versus females): 1.38 (1.21-1.58); below 20 years of age (versus 25-30 years): 3.36 (1.99-5.65); Hispanic (versus Asian) students: 1.61 (1.16-2.25); parental tax dependency: 1.49 (1.16-1.91); Greek life member: 1.96 (1.69-2.26); member of an athletic team: 0.51 (0.36-0.72); undergraduate (versus graduate) students: 2.65 (1.88-3.74). Past year alcohol use or having been diagnosed with depression or anxiety were also significant predictors. Adjustments for campus-related factors strongly attenuated the associations between student socio-demographic characteristics with this outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: Linking student admission data with ED clinical data can help monitor student alcohol intoxication associated with ED visits and identify student groups at higher risk who subsequently can be targeted for intervention efforts.