A new study has found that mixing alcohol with highly-caffeinated energy drinks may lead to higher risk of injury.

According to the Independent, researchers at the University of Victoria in Canada found that a shot of popular cocktails such as vodka and red bull, espresso martinis and jager bombs dropped into a glass of energy drink, can be more dangerous than drinking alcohol on its own.

Like Us on Facebook

Based on a review of 13 research studies about caffeine, the stimulating effect of this substance can increase the likelihood of people staying out longer and drink more overall. As a result, overdrinking could lead to higher risk of injury through bar brawls, car accidents, and falls.

"Usually when you're drinking alcohol, you get tired and you go home. Energy drinks mask that, so people may underestimate how intoxicated they are, end up staying out later, consume more alcohol, and engage in risky behavior and more hazardous drinking practices," said lead author Audra Roemer.

The study was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

TimeHealth also reported that a paper published last year in the journal Advances in Nutrition warned that the negative consequences of mixing alcohol and energy drinks suggest that they are not just a personal risk but also a public health one.

The paper, authored by an associate professor of psychology at Northern Kentucky University Cecile Marczinki, said that the combination results in an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behavior such as drunk driving.

Marczinki explained that drinkers look and feel more coordinated than their consumption would suggest due to the caffeine rush in energy drinks. This will lead them to believe that they are not drunk.

People who are mixing alcohol and energy drinks, she added, are four times more likely to think they could drive home than their counterparts who drank alcohol alone.