A decade-long study concluded college-age youths across the nation are being hospitalized for overdosing on drugs and alcohol with increasing frequency.

Recent reports took the findings of hospitalizations for college-age youth from 1999 to 2008 and discovered an increase in the number of overdoses, according to a Time magazine article published Sept. 23.

Some students at Syracuse University said they feel the survey results relate directly to drug and alcohol use on campus.

The study, conducted by Aaron White, Ralph Hingson, I-Jen Pan and Hsiao-Ye Yi, explored the rate and costs of inpatient hospital stays for alcohol and drug overdoses for those aged 18 to 24, according to the study results, which were posted to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol website.

By collecting data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, drastic increases in hospitalizations due to drug and alcohol abuse were found.

From alcohol alone, hospitalization rates increased by 25 percent, reaching a total of 29,412 cases in 2008, which cost $266 million, according to the study.

Drug overdoses increased by 55 percent, totaling to 113,907 cases in 2008 and costing $737 million. Hospitalizations for combined drug and alcohol use increased to 76 percent, with 29,202 cases in 2008 and a cost of $198 million, according to the study.

All of these hospitalizations combined for a total cost of $1.2 billion a year, according to the study.

Beth Bonarigo, a senior biology major who works for SU Ambulance, said she agrees with these findings.

‘SUA has been responding to an increased number of overdose-related calls in recent years,’ she said. ‘Sometimes students aren’t aware of drug potency, especially when they are taking the drug from an unknown source.’

Joe Raymond, a senior political science major, said drug use on SU’s campus is visible.

‘I have had friends go to the hospital for alcohol and drugs, and I believe drug use is very prevalent on college campuses,’ Raymond said. ‘Most kids I know smoke marijuana on a regular basis and experiment occasionally with harder drugs, and literally everybody I know on campus consumes some degree of alcohol.’

Raymond said he believes drug use has become more socially acceptable.

‘Kids are clearly moving away from the drug paranoia and propaganda of the Reagan administration and the like, so kids are taking a more relaxed standpoint toward social and casual drug use and without proper knowledge of dosage,’ Raymond said. ‘I can understand why today’s youth would be more prone to overindulging.’

Erica Rezuke, a junior communication design major, also said she agrees with the study and thinks drug use on campus is a common sight.

‘There is just so much drug use at Syracuse, maybe it’s because people have the money for it,’ she said. ‘I don’t know, but it’s not uncommon to see people using drugs when out.’

knvanbru@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm