Background and aim The effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on alcohol consumption is currently unclear. This study aimed to provide early estimates of how stress and demographics will interact with shifts in harmful alcohol consumption from before the COVID‐19 outbreak to two months into social distancing. Design Cross‐sectional convenience sample. Setting Australia. Participants 1684 Australians aged 18‐65 who drink at least monthly. Measurements Items from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the stress subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Findings Overall, harmful drinking decreased during social distancing measures in our sample (2019 score = 8.2 (7.9‐8.4 95% confidence interval), during the pandemic = 7.3 (7.1‐7.6)). Younger drinkers, particularly young women, decreased their consumption the most, but there was a small increase in consumption in middle‐aged women. Drinkers experiencing high levels of stress also reported a relatively higher shift in harmful consumption compared with those with low levels of stress (β=0.65, p=.003), despite reporting a small decrease overall. Conclusions The closure of licensed premises and social distancing measures in Australia in response to the COVID‐19 outbreak appear to have reduced harmful alcohol consumption in younger drinkers, particularly young women.

Introduction and Aims Restrictions introduced to reduce the spread of COVID‐19 have had major impacts on the living circumstances of Australians. This paper aims to provide insight into shifts in alcohol consumption and associated factors during the epidemic. Design and Methods A cross‐sectional convenience sample of 2307 Australians aged 18 and over who drank at least monthly was recruited through social media. Respondents were asked about their alcohol consumption and purchasing in 2019 prior to the epidemic plus similar questions about their experiences in the month prior to being surveyed between 29 April and 16 May 2020. Results Reports of average consumption before (3.53 drinks per day [3.36, 3.71 95% confidence interval]) and during (3.52 [3.34, 3.69]) the pandemic were stable. However, young men and those who drank more outside the home in 2019 reported decreased consumption during the pandemic, and people with high levels of stress and those who bulk‐bought alcohol when restrictions were announced reported an increase in consumption relative to those who did not. Discussion and Conclusions A reported increase in consumption among those experiencing more stress suggests that some people may have been drinking to cope during the epidemic. Conversely, the reported decrease in consumption among those who drank more outside of their home in 2019 suggests that closing all on‐trade sales did not result in complete substitution of on‐premise drinking with home drinking in this group. Monitoring of relevant subgroups to assess long‐term changes in consumption in the aftermath of the epidemic is recommended.

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There were higher estimates of alcohol consumption for respondents completing the survey in November (late spring) and lower estimates in August and September (late winter/early spring). Seasonal variations in alcohol consumption have the potential to impact respondents’ accurate recall of alcohol consumption in the last 12 months.

Introduction. Recent trends in Australian national survey data show an increase in alcohol use among middle-aged people, amidst declines in alcohol use among other population groups. There is limited research, however, on middle-aged women's alcohol use. This study aimed to examine patterns in alcohol use among Australian women aged 40-65 and the associated sociodemographic and contextual factors. Methods. Cross-sectional data from six waves of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019). We estimated the prevalence of long-term risky drinking (>2 Australian standard drinks per day) and risky-single occasion drinking (>5 Australian standard drinks on one occasion) among middle-aged women. Logistic regression models were estimated using 2019 data to examine demographic characteristics and contextual factors associated with alcohol use. Results. Since 2001, there has been a statistically significant increase in long-term risky drinking and risky-single occasion drinking amongst middle-aged women in Australia. Educational attainment, marital status and employment status were negatively associated with risky drinking, whereas rurality, age and location of use were positively associated with risky drinking. Beverage type was both positively and negatively associated with risky drinking. Discussion and Conclusions. Given the significant increase in alcohol use amongst middle-aged women in Australia, prevention efforts are needed for this group, which may focus in particular on home drinking and the impact of rurality on alcohol use. [Miller M, Mojica-Perez Y, Livingston M, Kuntsche E, Wright CJC, Kuntsche S. The who and what of women's drinking: Examining risky drinking and associated socio-demographic factors among women aged 40-65 years in Australia.