Alcohol-related Emergency Department Visits in Adolescents

Objectives: This study examines the epidemiologic patterns of alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits in US adolescents aged 12 through 20 years. Method: Alcohol-related ED visit data for adolescents became available for the first time in the recently redesigned Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Using data from DAWN for the year 2004, we calculated annual incidence rates of alcohol-related ED visits in adolescents by age and gender and examined clinical characteristics of these ED visits. Results: There were an estimated total of 142,701 alcohol-related ED visits by adolescents aged 12 through 20 in 2004, yielding an annual incidence rate of 3.87 per 1000 population. Overall, males had a higher rate than females (4.2 vs. 3.4 per 1000). The annual incidence rates increased progressively between ages 12 and 18 and leveled off. There existed an age-gender interaction: females had slightly higher incidence rates than males between age 12 and 15 but far lower rates than males after age 16. After age 18, the incidence rates for female adolescents decreased steadily whereas the rates for males continued to rise. Of all the alcohol-related ED, 32% involved other drugs and 12.5% were admitted to hospitals. Conclusions: Epidemiologic patterns of alcohol-related ED visits during adolescence differ markedly between sexes. Prevention programs should be tailored according to the gender-specific dynamics of drinking behavior and target girls at an earlier age than boys.