Despite the perception that excessive underage drinking leads many students to seek medical attention, a study conducted by University medical researchers released last Wednesday has observed that alcohol use is an uncommon but significant cause of emergency room visits for University students.
Director of Student Health James C. Turner said the impetus for the study was a lack of documentation of the actual incidence of serious health consequences for college students who drink alcohol nationwide.
He added that the research is significant because it is the "first and only study at a public institution that has established the actual incidence" of alcohol-related emergency room visits.
"The patterns that emerged... are helpful for us understanding the kind of medical problems students [have] related to alcohol," he said.
Researchers examined the medical records of 185 University undergraduate students enrolled between July 2000 and June 2002 and who identified Student Health as their primary-care provider.
The results showed that serious health consequences associated with alcohol consumption were relatively low. Thirteen percent of all emergency room visits for those evaluated were related to alcohol. Only .7 percent of all undergraduate students were admitted for alcohol-related medical conditions for both years, Turner said.
"Drinking among students is fairly common, yet fortunately, the most serious consequences appear to be fairly uncommon events," he said.
According to Turner, injuries such as bumps, bruises, lacerations to the head and face, twisted ankles and sprained knees accounted for 53 percent of all alcohol-related emergency room visits. Turner said an interesting finding was that 80 to 85 percent of the injuries were accidental, and about 15 percent were from fights between friends or acquaintances.
He added that a small portion of students who were the most seriously injured or ill had blood alcohol levels around .24 or .26 -- three-times Virginia's legal limit of .08.
Thirty-four percent of visits resulted from what Turner called "acute impairment due to intoxication," which he characterized as an inability to control oneself, confusion, sleepiness and vomiting.
The study also found that students aged 21 and over were 40 percent more likely to be seen in the emergency room for alcohol-related problems than any other undergraduate age group. Turner attributed the greater number of visits among students of legal drinking age to their likelihood to overindulge because alcohol is more readily accessible to them. He also cited a lack of education on responsible drinking.
"What that says is that by the time these students reach the age of 21, they don't have a very good understanding of what safe and responsible use is all about," he said. "I think that that represents a failure of secondary and post-secondary education to teach young people parameters around which they can consume alcohol safely."
Turner said the results of the survey will be useful in helping Student Health officials promote greater alcohol awareness on Grounds.
Jennifer Bauerle, a social norms marketing coordinator in the Office of Health Promotion, said the findings do not surprise her.
"We understand through our own surveys and evaluations that students are acting in safer ways than is perceived by themselves and the public," Bauerle said.
Bauerle added that she is encouraged by the low number of emergency room visits.
"We look to this as something that is very heartening," she said. "We realize that one person going to the emergency room is one person too many."
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