Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study
Background Excessive drinking among adolescents in Western Europe is prevalent, posing significant health risks and societal costs. Comprehensive data on adolescent drinking patterns is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. Data on alcohol intoxication among adolescents provide val...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-03-01
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| Series: | BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e003241.full |
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| author | Stijn Verhulst Nico van der Lely Andrea Orsi Giancarlo Icardi Guido Van Hal Hanna van Roozendaal Louise Pigeaud Allegra Ferrari Loes de Veld Inge Glazemakers Jozef De Dooy |
| author_facet | Stijn Verhulst Nico van der Lely Andrea Orsi Giancarlo Icardi Guido Van Hal Hanna van Roozendaal Louise Pigeaud Allegra Ferrari Loes de Veld Inge Glazemakers Jozef De Dooy |
| author_sort | Stijn Verhulst |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Excessive drinking among adolescents in Western Europe is prevalent, posing significant health risks and societal costs. Comprehensive data on adolescent drinking patterns is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. Data on alcohol intoxication among adolescents provide valuable insights in this context.Methods To gain insight into the demographic and clinical characteristics of acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) across European countries, we analysed emergency department data on AAI among adolescents (aged 14–17) from 2015 to 2023 in three urban regions: Genoa (Italy), Delft (the Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium).Results Out of 1826 admissions, Belgium had the highest median annual admission rate (51 per 10 000 adolescents), followed by the Netherlands (49 per 10 000) and Italy (37 per 10 000). The median age of patients was 16 years across all countries. Sex was equally distributed among Dutch patients; however, in Italy (not statistically significant, 55.6%) and Belgium (statistically significant, 56.8%), more males were admitted. The median blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was higher in the Netherlands (2.00 g/L) compared with Italy and Belgium (1.84 g/L and 1.97 g/L, respectively). This difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders in a multiple linear regression model on BAC. Finally, the proportion of patients with combined drug use (10.4% of the total population) was similar across the three countries.Conclusions This is the first international study to consolidate data on AAI in minors from multiple countries, emphasising the need for a unified European database on AAI in adolescents to enhance prevention efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-190763a604624b2eb84953b362255caa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-9772 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-190763a604624b2eb84953b362255caa2025-08-20T03:42:26ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Paediatrics Open2399-97722025-03-019110.1136/bmjpo-2024-003241Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison studyStijn Verhulst0Nico van der Lely1Andrea Orsi2Giancarlo Icardi3Guido Van Hal4Hanna van Roozendaal5Louise Pigeaud6Allegra Ferrari7Loes de Veld8Inge Glazemakers9Jozef De Dooy102 Lab of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Antwerp, Belgium4 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium1Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy1Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy1Medical Sociology and Health Policy, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, BelgiumFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Paediatrics, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, Zuid-Holland, NetherlandsFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Paediatrics, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, Zuid-Holland, NetherlandsFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumBackground Excessive drinking among adolescents in Western Europe is prevalent, posing significant health risks and societal costs. Comprehensive data on adolescent drinking patterns is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. Data on alcohol intoxication among adolescents provide valuable insights in this context.Methods To gain insight into the demographic and clinical characteristics of acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) across European countries, we analysed emergency department data on AAI among adolescents (aged 14–17) from 2015 to 2023 in three urban regions: Genoa (Italy), Delft (the Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium).Results Out of 1826 admissions, Belgium had the highest median annual admission rate (51 per 10 000 adolescents), followed by the Netherlands (49 per 10 000) and Italy (37 per 10 000). The median age of patients was 16 years across all countries. Sex was equally distributed among Dutch patients; however, in Italy (not statistically significant, 55.6%) and Belgium (statistically significant, 56.8%), more males were admitted. The median blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was higher in the Netherlands (2.00 g/L) compared with Italy and Belgium (1.84 g/L and 1.97 g/L, respectively). This difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders in a multiple linear regression model on BAC. Finally, the proportion of patients with combined drug use (10.4% of the total population) was similar across the three countries.Conclusions This is the first international study to consolidate data on AAI in minors from multiple countries, emphasising the need for a unified European database on AAI in adolescents to enhance prevention efforts.https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e003241.full |
| spellingShingle | Stijn Verhulst Nico van der Lely Andrea Orsi Giancarlo Icardi Guido Van Hal Hanna van Roozendaal Louise Pigeaud Allegra Ferrari Loes de Veld Inge Glazemakers Jozef De Dooy Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study BMJ Paediatrics Open |
| title | Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study |
| title_full | Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study |
| title_fullStr | Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study |
| title_short | Acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium: a cross-national hospital chart comparison study |
| title_sort | acute alcohol intoxication among adolescents in italy the netherlands and belgium a cross national hospital chart comparison study |
| url | https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e003241.full |
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