However, health outcomes in both studies were limited to blood alcohol levels, or to alcohol-attributable mental health conditions such as intoxication, dependence and abuse. These form the minority of alcohol-attributable conditions for which young people are admitted, unintentional and intentional injuries being the most common causes in both males (66%) and females (59%).
Two further studies included a wider range of alcohol-related harms, including trauma and used interrupted time series to adjust for seasonal and secular trends.
Two further studies included a wider range of alcohol-related harms, including trauma and used interrupted time series to adjust for seasonal and secular trends.
However, they also had limitations. One was confined to the Gold Coast, a popular tourist destination in Queensland for end-of-school celebrations, which may affect generalisability to elsewhere in Australia or overseas.
The other used a more representative sample from wider Queensland, including all hospital admissions in the state, as identified by both hospital administrative data and the Queensland Trauma Registry, but only covered 29% of the jurisdiction's EDs.