Concussion History, Hazardous Drinking, and BrAC Levels Among a Sample of Bar Patrons, 2015

Alcohol consumption and experiencing a concussion are positively correlated. Concussion history has not been examined previously in any alcohol field study (i.e., conducted in a natural setting).

To better understand the relationship between concussion history and alcohol consumption.

We conducted two anonymous field studies among a 2015 sample of bar patrons (N = 544; 62.5% males) in a college town to assess concussion history and two alcohol consumption measures: (1) breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels and (2) hazardous drinking scores (based on the AUDIT-C). Next, we conducted a logistic regression analysis to predict concussion history using the two alcohol consumption measures and other potential covariates (i.e., age, gender, race, college student status).

Among participants in our sample, the average BrAC level was.070 (SD =.053) and the average hazardous drinking score was 4.7 (SD = 2.5). Less than half of participants indicated that they had experienced a concussion in their lifetime (235; 43.2%). The logistic regression model indicated that hazardous drinking scores were significantly, positively associated with having experienced a concussion, whereas other covariates (i.e., BrAC, age, gender, race, college student status) did not significantly predict concussion history. Conclusions/Importance: Hazardous drinkers were more likely to have experienced a concussion. Therefore, the relationship found in this sample, between hazardous drinking behavior and concussion history, points to hazardous drinking as a possible risk factor for having had a concussion in the past.