Drinking Until You Forget Leads to Injuries for College Kids
Better screening could reduce dangerous alcohol-induced
blackoutsJuly 11, 2011 | by Erin White CHICAGO --- “I don’t
remember how I got home from the party.” This could be a text
from last night to one hard-partying college student from
another. New research from Northwestern Medicine shows that 50
percent of college drinkers report at least one alcohol-induced
memory blackout -- a period of amnesia -- in the past year
during a drinking binge. Despite being fully conscious during
such blackouts, students could not recall specific events, such
as how they got to a bar, party or their own front door.
Published online in Injury Prevention, June 2011, the study
found college drinkers who reported alcohol-induced memory loss
are at a higher risk of alcohol-related injuries in the next 24
months versus their peers who drank just as much but didn’t
report memory blackouts. It also offers a new tool for doctors
to screen college drinkers for blackouts by ask