A two-month study of injured adults turning up at three medical centres in Dunedin showed 17% of them had been drinking in the six hours before their injury.
Almost two-thirds of those who had been drinking had exceeded intakes recommended for safe drinking.
The University of Otago study is believed to be the first to gather data about patients in the community rather than in a hospital setting.
The research was carried out at the two student health centres and the Dunedin Urgent Doctors and After Hours Centre in March and April last year.
One of the researchers, preventive and social medicine lecturer Dr Rachael McLean, said the survey had been timed to avoid orientation and events such as the Cookathon and university Orientation so it could be regarded as a baseline for possible further research.
The 317 people aged 16 to 84 who took part completed an anonymous survey which sought information about their injury, their alcohol intake and where they had their last drink.
Participants were also asked whether their injury was related to their alcohol intake.
The survey found that of those who had been drinking in the six hours before their injury, almost two-thirds had what would be regarded as a hazardous intake of alcohol.
This was defined as four standard drinks on one occasion for women and six for men.
The mean number of drinks recalled by the injured drinkers was nine.
Those with hazardous intakes were more likely to attribute their injury to their drinking, she said.
Almost two-thirds of the drinkers had their last drink at a house or flat.
Injuries most common among the 53 who had been drinking were sprains, strains and cuts.
Tertiary students and young people were more likely to have had alcohol before injury than other people.
Dr McLean, who undertook the research with Dr Jennie Connor, said she hoped the research might prompt general practitioners to ask patients about their alcohol use.
Doctors had become much better at asking about smoking, but could do more to explore patients' alcohol use.
The information from the study could also contribute to consideration of restrictions on\ the sale of alcohol as part of the current review of the Sale of Liquor Act, she said.
