According to a report published in the journal Addiction, it’s now official that alcohol consumption fuels the desire of having unprotected sex, increasing the risk of sexually transmitted infections, reports Fox News.

Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review of 12 experiments for testing the relationship between alcohol and intentions to have unsafe sex, learns the US-based channel.

The study authors judged the intention of participants to have sex without a condom after categorising them into drinking and non-drinking groups, observing that willingness to have unsafe sex increased with the amount of alcohol consumed by participants, the news channel notes.

As reported by Fox News, the analysis found that with every 0.1 mg/mL increase in blood alcohol level, the chances of participants engaging in risky sex increased by 5%. Citing the findings of the research, investigators explain that this study examines the intentions to use condoms, not the actual condom use.

"Alcohol influences the decision processes", said Jürgen Rehm, the lead researcher, adding that authorities must consider drinking as a factor for preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HIV and genital herpes from spreading. Fox News notes that drinking not only increases the chance of engaging in unsafe sex but also affects the immune system.

Emphasising the importance of reducing heavy drinking, the director of the Social and Epidemiological Research at Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Jürgen Rehm, told Fox News that the findings of the research can be used for understanding public health issues.