title: Alcohol-induced impairment in adolescents admitted to inpatient treatment after heavy episodic drinking: effects of age and gender.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In Germany and many other countries, the number of adolescent heavy episodic drinking-induced hospital admissions (HEDHA) in pediatric units markedly increased during the past decade. A low level of response to alcohol in young adults is associated with high risk for later development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective chart review of all 1,123 HEDHA cases in adolescents aged 11-17 years who were admitted to one of the pediatric inpatient units covering the cities of Dresden, Pirna, and Rostock, Germany, between 2000 and 2008. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) measures on admission were documented in 846 cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (SD) BAC was 155 (50) mg/100 ml full blood, and M (SD) GCS was 12.21 (3.02). These parameters were negatively correlated with each other (r = -.256, p < .001), indicating more impairment at higher BACs. To describe a numerical estimate of how severely a subject was compromised relative to his BAC, the GCS scores were inverted (making high scores indicate severe impairment) and divided by BAC. The resulting alcohol-induced impairment index (AIII) was significantly influenced by an interaction between age and gender, decreasing with age in boys but increasing in girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During adolescence, alcohol-induced impairment develops differently in boys and girls, which may be because of the girls' developmental edge. The high variability of observed AIII might help to predict the risk for later AUDs in the emergency department, simply by measuring BAC and GCS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.|Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Science, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.|Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Municipal Hospital Dresden-Neustadt, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lachnit
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Manja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalkbrenner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoppe
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol