How We Can Help

• Car Accidents
• Nursing Home Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Child Injuries

Energy Drinks + Alcohol or Drugs Leads to Spike in ER Visits

The number of emergency department visits linked to the use of energy drinks has increased nearly tenfold in the nation between 2005 and 2009, according to a new government report.

And nearly half of all those visits involved the additional use of alcohol or other drugs.

A new nationwide report indicates that from 2005 to 2009 (the latest year for which figures are available), there has been a sharp increase in the number of emergency departments visits associated with the use of non-alcohol energy drinks –

The number of emergency department visits tied to the use of non-alcoholic energy drinks spiked from 1,128 visits in 2005 to 13,114 visits in 2009, the latest year for which statistics are available, according to the report by Drug Abuse Warning Network, or DAWN, a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. And the greatest number of these admissions occurred in 2008 with 16,055 visits.

These energy drinks are flavored beverages containing high amounts of stimulants such as caffeine. The popular beverages are often sold in bottles and cans and are available practically everywhere, from vending machines and grocery stores, to bars, convenience stores and other venues.

These energy drinks are marketed to appeal to youth and young adults, and such efforts are working as the drinks are consumed by up to 50 percent of young adults, adolescents and even children.

But it’s not just the energy drinks that are sending young people to hospitals. According to the report, about 44 percent of the emergency department visits associated with these energy drinks were connected to the consumption of an energy drink combined with other substances like alcohol, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs. This combined use was greatest - at 52 percent - among those cases that involved young adults aged 18 to 25.

Young adults aged 18 to 39 actually made up the majority of these emergency department visits at 77 percent. Males made 64 percent or almost two-thirds of all the visits.

The report also showed that the energy drink-related ED visits involving males, as compared to females, were twice as likely to include the use of alcohol at 20 percent compared to 10 percent, and illicit drugs, at 12 percent compared to 5 percent.

However, female visits for this purpose were more likely than male visits to be linked to the mixed use of pharmaceuticals with energy drinks and pharmaceuticals, at 35 percent compared to 23 percent.

Research shows that excessive caffeine intake from energy drinks can cause such adverse reactions as dehydration, hypertension, arrhythmias, and other more serious medical conditions. The use of energy drinks combined with substances of abuse increases the risk of life-threatening injury, along with the likelihood of engaging in such risky and deadly behaviors as driving under the influence.

For more on medical safety issues, see the library or articles by Daytona Beach medical malpractice attorney.

Your Questions Answered