Young drinkers are ending up in ED less

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-12 00:01

New Zealand

Megan Simpson via Wikimedia Commons

Since 2017, the demographic of drinker that ends up in the Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department is getting older. People aged 18-24 dropped from 28% to 16% of all alcohol-related intakes, while the 65+ demographic rose from 12% to 24%. The majority of all drinking-related patients had last imbibed at a private residence, purchased their drink from an off-license, and were most likely drinking beer (31%). Over the three waves of the study (2017, 2020 and 2023), the effect of Covid saw increased alcohol purchase rates and scrutiny over a lack of ID-verification, and yet the overall rate of young people drinking is in decline - a pattern the authors note is also seen in other high income countries.

News release

From: NZMJ

Emergency departments (EDs) around the world are increasingly overcrowded, associated with significant patient harm. Alcohol use is a known contributor to ED overcrowding. This was a study run in three waves in 2013, 2017 and 2022 where patients who attended ED after ingesting alcohol were interviewed to determine the amount and source of alcohol. There has been a change in the age profile towards a greater proportion of older patients attending ED with alcohol-related issues. In 2022, a greater proportion of alcohol was purchased from on-licence venues compared to previous years, although off-licence alcohol purchase and consumption in private locations remained the most common.

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Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Otago

Funder: Summer studentships at University of Otago were funded by The Health Promotion Directorate at Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (formerly the Health Promotion Agency).

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