Jul 18, 2014 12:07 AM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Adding alcohol to energy drinks may lead to an increased urge to drink, according to a recent study HealthDay reported.

Researchers found that combining energy drinks with alcohol increases people's desire to keep drinking more than if they drank alcohol alone.

"A number of cross-sectional studies show that young adults who mix alcohol with energy drinks (A+ED) have higher levels of alcohol consumption than their peers who don't mix energy drinks with alcohol, and some studies suggest that this practice increases the risk of 'binge drinking,'" researcher Rebecca McKetin, a fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Well-being, said in a statement. "However, it may simply be the case that people who drink more often are more likely to drink A+EDs among other things. Yet if it is the case that energy drinks increase binge drinking, the popularity of A+EDs could exacerbate alcohol-related harms among young people, particularly harms related to intoxication, such as car accidents and injuries from fights or falls."

For the study, researchers assigned 75 participants (46 women, 29 men) aged 18 to 30 years to an alcohol-only or A+ED condition in a double-blind randomized pre- versus post-test experiment. 

Study participants received a cocktail containing either vodka with Red Bull or Vodka with soda water. The primary outcome measure was the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire that was taken at pre-test and 20 minutes later at post-test. Other measures taken at post-test were the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Questionnaire, the Drug Effects Questionnaire, and breath alcohol concentration.

"We found that when people drink A+EDs that they have a stronger desire to keep drinking than if they drank alcohol on its own," said McKetin. "This would mean that someone who drinks A+EDs would want to keep drinking more than their friends who don't."

McKetin said their results do not prove that this translates into people drinking more.

The findings were recently published in the August 2014 online-only issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

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