HHS HealthBeat (December 6, 2010)

Worse at 21

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A look at traffic risks related to college drinking indicates things like drunken driving get worse over time. At the University of Maryland School of Public Health, Amelia Arria saw that in survey data on more than 1,200 students from their freshman to senior years.

Arria looked at whether they were driving while intoxicated, driving after having had anything to drink, and riding with someone who had been drinking.

Arria says the risky practices jumped after students hit legal drinking age.

``Twenty-five percent drove while intoxicated, 63 percent drove after drinking, and 49 percent rode with an intoxicated driver.’’ (8 seconds)

The study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011