UWS professor is principle investigator on energy drink and alcohol consumption study

January 9, 2015 — Conrad Woolsey, PhD, an associate professor in the college of graduate and professional studies at the University of Western States (UWS), recently published a new study suggesting that people who combine alcohol and energy drinks drive drunk more frequently than people who consume alcohol only.

The survey, “A Comparison of the Combined-Use of Alcohol & Energy Drinks to Alcohol-Only on High-Risk Drinking and Driving Behaviors,” questioned 355 college students regarding their perceptions of drinking and driving, as well as energy drink consumption patterns. Two hundred and eight-one participants said they drank alcohol within the last month, with 107 from that group acknowledging they used alcohol and energy drinks together.

“Dr. Woolsey is an internationally-recognized expert on the risks associated with energy drinks,” said Will Evans, DC, PhD, provost at UWS and a contributor on the study. “This paper will be another important scientific study showcasing the potential dangers of combined use of those drinks with alcohol.”

Woolsey’s findings include:

• Among combined-users (those who consumed alcohol with energy drinks), 57 percent indicated they had driven while knowing they were too drunk to drive compared to 44 percent of those who consumed alcohol only.

• 56 percent of combined-users said they had chosen to ride as a passenger in a car with a driver who they knew was too drunk to drive safely, compared with 35 percent of the alcohol-only group.

• Combined-users reported episodes of getting drunk and heavy binge-drinking more frequently than those who used alcohol only.

Woolsey recently published another study indicating that an increase in energy drink use was a significant predictor of increased illicit prescription stimulant pill use.

The findings of both studies are important to medical practitioners because of the harmful interactions that can occur when mood-enhancing energy drink ingredients, such as ginseng and yohimbe, are mixed with prescription stimulants and alcohol.

“The mixture of herbal supplements with prescription stimulants is dangerous and can have many harmful psychological and neurological effects,” said Woolsey. “Our findings showed that all participants with and without a valid prescription misused prescription stimulants, as they had mixed energy drinks with their prescriptions which is contraindicated due to potentially dangerous interactions.”

Source: University of Western States