Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #121883

Jacey A. Greece, MPH¹, Alissa Almeida, MPH¹, Donald Allensworth-Davies, MSc², Damaris J. Rohsenow, PhD³, J. Todd Arnedt, PhD⁴, Sara J. Minsky, MPH¹, and Jonathan Howland, PhD, MPH⁵. (1) Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Talbot 2 West, Boston, MA 02118, (617) 414-1894, jabloom@bu.edu, (2) Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany St., 580, Boston, MA 02118, (3) Center for Alcohol and Addictions Studies, Brown University, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI 02912, (4) Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 2101 Commonwealth Boulevard, Suite D, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, (5) Social & Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118

Background: Residual effects of heavy drinking may cause performance deficits the day after intoxication; cognitive and physical impairment could occur in functions critical to safety-sensitive occupations. Methods: We conducted a blinded randomized crossover trial of the effects of heavy drinking on next-day performance using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), a validated measure of fatigue. Participants were randomized to one of two alcoholic beverages (low-congener vodka or high-congener bourbon), mixed with non-caffeinated cola. In the evening, participants were dosed to a blood alcohol concentration of .10 and tested after an 8-hour period for sleep. Each participant performed the PVT test under alcohol and placebo (non-caffeinated cola, with drops of vodka or bourbon) conditions. Results: The 69 participants included in the analysis were dosed with alcohol and placebo, in experimental sessions one week apart. 68.7% of participants were female, mean age 24 (age range 21-31). Under alcohol condition, median reaction time (in milliseconds) was significantly greater than under placebo condition (225.9 ± 24.5 and 218.0 ± 23.5, respectively, p<0.001). The effect was greater for bourbon vs. placebo (231.6 ± 25.2 and 220.6 ± 24.4, p=.0044) than for vodka vs. placebo (220.0 ± 22.6 and 215.2 ± 22.6, p=.0326) Discussion: Heavy drinking effects next-day performance in the absence of blood alcohol and these effects may be related to the congener content of alcoholic beverages. The PVT might serve as a useful impairment fitness-for-duty test for workers in highly safety-sensitive occupations.

Keywords: alcohol after-effects, congeners, sustained attention/reaction time, fitness-for-duty, impairment, safety sensitive occupations

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives

• Understand that heavy drinking can disturb next day surveillance and reaction time;
• Recognize that different types of alcoholic beverages can have different effects on impairment.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.