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Megan Rowe, (434) 924-5679
E-mail: meganrowe@virginia.edu
New U. Va. Study First to Detail “Other” Risks of High Blood Alcohol Levels in College Students
Campus Distributes New BAC Cards to Measure Blood Alcohol Content
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., January 19, 2005 – The first study on the “other” risks of very high blood alcohol levels among college students—aside from driving accidents and ER visits—has prompted a new, wallet- and purse-ready tool for University of Virginia (U.Va.) students to measure the impact of their alcohol consumption. Now distributing more than 20,000 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) cards on campus, the new guides teach students how to gauge their blood alcohol content and also gives students guidelines on the physical effects at different levels of blood alcohol content.
“We know that very high blood alcohol content (BAC) is a risk factor for emergency room visits for our students, and in particular we know from national data that a BAC above 0.08 increases the risk for having a traffic accident,” said James C. Turner, M.D., U. Va. Health System professor of clinical internal medicine and executive director of U. Va.’s Elson Student Health Center . “However, before our study, no one has ever clearly defined what other risks exist related to BAC levels among college students,” said Turner, who developed the niche study and BAC cards with the study’s co-author, Dr. Jennifer Bauerle.
With drinking on college campuses contributing to national estimates of 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year, [1] Turner’s study [2] demonstrates that BAC is a very accurate predictor of “negative consequences.” Turner’s survey of more than 5,000 U. Va. students about their drinking habits and the resulting negative consequences confirmed an increased risk of 17 different consequences as BAC levels rise, including vomiting, poor performance on a test or in class, trouble with police, fighting, being injured, driving under the influence, unprotected sex and a visit to the emergency room.
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Dr. Turner's study of alcohol and negative consequences has prompted the creation of pocket-sized cards for men and women. Both cards can be downloaded from the links provided below. |
“Over the years, students have told us that the binge drinking and drinks per week indices used in our educational campaigns were difficult to relate to their own personal drinking habits,” said Bauerle. “However, when we shared BAC information with students, they told us it was much more credible and useful, especially when presented on the handy pocket-sized cards. They can translate the information to help develop safer personal drinking boundaries and parameters,” she said.
Bauerle, who coordinates Student Health’s alcohol education campaign, produced and distributed thousands of BAC cards to help students calculate their BAC based on their gender, weight, number of drinks, and time interval of consumption. Already, 20,000 BAC cards have been distributed, including fraternities and bars near the university. Parents also receive copies of the cards during summer orientation and are encouraged to give them to their students.
“We’re also incorporating BAC information into our clinics and the emergency room,” said Turner. “When a doctor sees a student with an alcohol-related problem, that doctor will perform a brief intervention, and help them calculate their own BAC level to determine if it was in the high risk range. We’re trying to teach students within the clinical setting that they can lower their BAC by consuming alcohol more responsibly and therefore minimize risk of consequences,” he said.
During the past four years, Turner’s research group has demonstrated significant decreases in several important negative consequences related to alcohol use among U.Va. students. By incorporating this new BAC information, they are hoping to see even greater reductions in harmful consequences in the years to come.
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Note: For PDF version of BAC cards, please see links below:
BAC Card: Women
BAC Card: Men
Back of Card: Women
Back of Card: Men
[1] Holly VanScoy, “Drinking Increases Co-Ed’s Risk of Sexual Assault,” USA Today, Dec. 31, 2004 .
[2] Dr. Turner’s study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, is titled “Estimated blood Alcohol Concentration Correlation with Self-Reported Negative Consequences among College Students Using Alcohol.”