The alcohol intake in Danish young people (15-25 year-olds) is high and characterized by binge drinking implying the consumption of large amount of alcohol per occasion. However, evidence of the nature and magnitude of specific adverse consequences of this drinking behavior is virtually nonexistent. In this project, we will obtain knowledge about the consequences of heavy episodic drinking in young people in that can be used to emphasize the need and direct the implementation of preventive strategies. Specifically, we answer questions concerning how heavy episodic drinking is related to 1) school performance and dropout, 2) accidents 3) use of emergency medical aid (eg. ambulences) and 4) deaths, in young people.
A variety of data sources and methodology will be used. We study death certificates and journal text of emergency records to gain insight into circumstances relating to alcohol-related deaths and acutes events such a poisonings and accidents. We combine information from surveys with school records and national registers covering information on social parameters as well as hospital and other health information to conduct epidemiological analysis of associations between alcohol drinking behavior and outcomes.
First results are expected to be published in May 2023.