Mixing alcohol with energy drinks is a popular but dangerous habit among college students, according to new research that found those who combine the two tend to drink more, take more risks and are more likely to get hurt while drinking.
The research, by investigators at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, found students who mix energy drinks with alcohol were twice as likely to be injured during a bout of drinking, to need medical attention or to ride with a driver who was drunk.
They were also twice as likely to take advantage of someone sexually and nearly twice as likely to be taken advantage of sexually by someone else.
The researchers believe the problem is the high caffeine levels in the energy drinks mask the effects of excess alcohol - the stumbling, slurred speech or sleepiness that signal intoxication.
Mixing energy drinks with alcohol appears to be popular among Italian university students
* Energy drinks have become more and more popular in recent years.
* Of particular concern is the increasing, and potentially dangerous, use of energy drinks and alcohol.
* New findings indicate that this practice is significant among university students in Italy.
Energy drinks -- known for their stimulant effects on the central nervous system -- have become more and more popular among young people in recent years. Of particular concern is the growing, and potentially dangerous, use of energy drinks in conjunction with alcohol. New research indicates that this practice exists to an alarming degree among some university students in Italy.
Results are published in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"The main components of energy drinks are caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, glucuronolactone, inositol, niacin, pantenol, and beta complex vitamins," said Gioacchino Calapai, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Messina, Italy. "In 2006, an Italian magazine noted that more and more young people in Italy were consuming energy drinks, and asked me to comment on its combined use with alcohol, which prompted our research." Calapai is also the corresponding author for the study.
Michele Navarra, also an associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Messina, said that despite this growing awareness among the media and researchers that the combined use of energy drinks and alcohol was on the rise, hard data was lacking. The most popular brand of energy drink in Italy, noted Navarra, is Red Bull
"Energy" drinks are all the rage. They are available everywhere, and are often target marketed to college aged students. A new study has found that when these energy drinks are mixed with alcohol, college students are at a much greater risk of suffering an injury or other alcohol-related consequence, according to a recent, press release and energy drinks, without knowing whether or not this combination is safe. Many companies market energy drinks that also contain alcohol, claiming that they are actually healthier than plain alcohol. Combining and energy drinks allows students to consumer greater amounts of alcohol, and drink for longer periods of time. Researchers at Wake Forrest University School of Medicine undertook a study to determine the consequences of mixing alcohol with energy drinks. The study discovered that the combination of and energy drinks could lead to serious and potentially deadly consequences. The research found that those students who mixed alcohol and energy drinks, or consumed a prepackaged version of alcoholic energy drinks were at a much greater risk of being inured, or hurt enough that they needed medical attention. They were also at twice the risk of riding in a car with an intoxicated driver compared to students who didn't mix alcohol with energy drinks Finally, when college students consumed the alcohol energy drink combination, they were twice as likely to engage in or be taken advantage of sexually. Fo
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