Mixing alcohol with energy drink (AMED) and total alcohol consumption: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Verster, Joris C.; Benson, Sarah; Johnson, Sean J.; Scholey, Andrew; Alford, Chris

Abstract

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. It has been suggested that consuming alcohol mixed with energy drink (AMED) may increase total alcohol consumption. Aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were (i) to compare alcohol consumption of AMED consumers with alcohol only (AO) consumers (between-group comparisons), and (ii) to examine if alcohol consumption of AMED consumers differs on AMED and AO occasions (within-subject comparisons). A literature search identified fourteen studies. Meta-analyses of between-group comparisons of N = 5212 AMED consumers and N = 12 568 AO consumers revealed that on a typical single drinking episode AMED consumers drink significantly more alcohol than AO consumers (p = 0.0001, ES = 0.536, 95%CI: 0.349 to 0.724). Meta-analyses of within-subject comparisons among N = 2871 AMED consumers revealed no significant difference in overall alcohol consumption on a typical drinking episode between AMED and AO occasions (p = 0.465, ES = -0.052, 95%CI: -0.192 to 0.088). In conclusion, between-group comparisons suggest that heavy alcohol consumption is one of the several phenotypical differences between AMED and AO consumers. Within-subject comparisons revealed, however, that AMED consumption does not increase the total amount of alcohol consumed on a single drinking episode.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Nov 16, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 19, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 19, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 7, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 7, 2016
• Journal: Human Psychopharmacology
• Print ISSN: 0885-6222
• Electronic ISSN: 1099-1077
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 2-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2513
• Keywords: alcohol, energy drink, AMED, alcohol consumption
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/924135
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hup.2513
• Contract Date: Apr 7, 2016