Trends and risk markers of student hazardous drinking: a comparative analysis using longitudinally linked datasets in a public university

Abstract

Aims: This study compares the incidence and risk-markers of student alcohol intoxication-related emergency department (ED) visits and alcohol-related incidents reported to student affairs. Methods: Enrollment data were linked to ED visits with alcohol intoxication and to alcohol-related incidents reported to campus authorities within one year following the first (index) annual enrollment. Incidence, annual trends and associated risk markers were analyzed. Results: The cohort consisted of 204,423 students aged 16–49. Incidence rates of first ED visit with alcohol intoxication and alcohol-related incidents were 59/10,000 and 311/10,000 person-years, respectively. Both outcomes shared common risk-markers including age, gender, race/ethnicity, fraternity and sorority (FSL) membership, an existing diagnosis of depression, etc. Being an athlete was associated with a lower risk of alcohol-related ED visits, and transfer students were at lower risk for alcohol-related incidents. Conclusion: Linking enrollment data with hazardous drinking events can help in better monitoring of student hazardous drinking and targeting interventions.

Highlights

• First longitudinal study documenting the incidence of extreme student alcohol misuse.

• There were rising trends in student risky drinking based on two independent datasets.

• Analysis identified a range of risk markers predictive of risky drinking behaviors.

• Linking multiple student datasets can timely identify high risk students.

Keywords:

• Alcohol intoxication
• data linkage
• hazardous drinking
• incidence
• student

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the University of Virginia, Institutional Review Board.

Author’s contributions

CH and SD initiated the dataset. CH, SR, NA conceived the study design, extended data linkages, performed the analyses, and drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to interpretation of the results and writing the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript before submission. None of the original material contained in this manuscript has been submitted for consideration nor will any of it be published elsewhere.

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.