Highly caffeinated energy drinks are commonly consumed and are often highly appealing to college-aged individuals. One trend among college students is the consumption of energy drinks with alcohol, either mixed as a cocktail or consumed during the same session. A typical reason a student may mix energy drinks with alcohol is to combat the sedative effects of alcohol or to extend the duration of a drinking session. Studying energy drink usage is important because of its association with risk-taking behaviors and alcohol related problems such as increased risk for alcohol dependence among college students. The consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) and general energy drink consumption have been linked to drunk driving. The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of energy drink (ED) consumption with and without alcohol among college students and to examine those in relation to drunk driving. This study included 969 students that completed the sixth-year assessment of a 10-year prospective longitudinal study and reported consuming alcohol during the past year. ED consumption patterns were measured, as well as drunk driving frequency, alcohol use patterns, caffeine consumption, and demographic characteristics. Of the students that participated, 57% consumed ED at least once during the past year. Of those, 56% drank alcohol mixed with ED (AmED) and also drank ED alone, 27% drank alcohol and ED alone but not mixed and 15% drank alcohol mixed with ED but not ED alone. Drunk driving was significantly associated with the consumption of ED both with and without alcohol.

Take away: In this study, more frequent AmED use lead to heavier alcohol use which lead to more frequent drunk driving. Also, more frequent ED use without alcohol still contributed directly to more frequent drunk driving. These findings suggest that college students who consume energy drinks may be an audience for targeted drunk driving prevention interventions. Further research is needed, but ED consumption could be viewed as a marker for such high-risk behaviors.

Arria, A.M., Caldeira, K.M., Bugbee, B.A., Vincent, K.B., O’Grady, K.E. (2016) Energy Drink Use Patterns Among Young Adults: Associations with Drunk Driving. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.