Alcohol misuse ‘linked to higher risk of injury in young people’

Young people who drink too much alcohol are much more likely to sustain injuries, according to a new study.

The University of Nottingham research examined the medical data of 120,000 young people aged between ten and 24 in the 15-year period between 1998 and 2013, finding that just over 11,000 had been admitted to hospital because of alcohol.

Of those that had, 18.9 percent were subsequently admitted to hospital for an injury during a follow-up period of six months, compared to just 2.6 percent of the others. The most common types of injury were poisoning, damage from an object or contact with another person.

It means that young people admitted to hospital because of alcohol are seven times more likely to have an injury that needs a hospital stay in the following six months and 15 times more likely to end up back in hospital within a month.

Dr Elizabeth Orton, public health consultant and associate professor at the University of Nottingham, said: "Our study raises a red flag for public health research and we hope will lead to better public and professional awareness of the potential subsequent injury risk of alcohol misuse in young people."

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