Doctors Perfectly Positioned to Help Prevent Drug and Alcohol Overdoses, Expert Says

Join Together Newsroom, March 27, 2012


"A recent study that found soaring hospitalization rates for combined drug and alcohol overdoses among young adults suggests doctors could play a pivotal role in educating the public about the dangers of combining these substances, says the study's author.
The study found hospitalization rates for combined alcohol and drug overdoses increased 76 percent among adults ages 18 to 24 from 1999 to 2008. During that same period, hospitalizations for alcohol overdoses alone increased 25 percent, and for drug overdoses, 55 percent. There was a 122 percent increase in hospitalizations for narcotic pain medication poisonings, and alcohol overdoses played a role in one in five such hospitalizations." Read More