Alcohol use and the COVID-19 pandemic: Historical trends in drinking, contexts, and reasons for use among U.S. adults

Patrick, Megan E.; Terry‐McElrath, Yvonne M.; Miech, Richard A.; Keyes, Katherine M.; Jager, Justin; Schulenberg, John E.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114887

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Among participants with a relatively high SES, including those with moderate to high household incomes (between $40,000-$79,999, $80,000-$119,999 or $120,000+), high educational attainment (college or university degree), who reported being employed or had other impacts of COVID-19 on their work, the proportions of individuals who self-reported an increase in alcohol use declined signi cantly across the pandemic waves. This is consistent with evidence showing a similar downward trend in alcohol drinking prevalence among college students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic (70). The reduction of the prevalence of increased alcohol use may be due, in part, to reduced nancial resources (e.g., income loss, and/or reduced work hours) and limited access to alcohol (e.g., restaurants and bars closures and social and physical distancing led to reduced alcohol drinking occasions) (4,52,64).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Socio-economic factors associated with substance use across different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: an intersectional analysis of a repeated cross-sectional survey

Somé

Imtiaz

Wells

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background This study examined trends in cannabis and alcohol use among Canadian adults and across socio-economic subgroups over four waves of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. Interactions between socio-economic status (SES) and gender, ethnicity/race, and age as they are associated with alcohol and cannabis use were examined. Methods Data were obtained from nine successive web-based cross-sectional surveys of adults living in Canada (8,943 participants) performed from May 2020 to January 2022. Substance use measurements included self-reported changes in alcohol and cannabis use compared to before the pandemic, heavy episodic drinking (HED) (i.e., consumption of 4 or 5 standard drinks on one drinking occasion in the past 7 days for men and women respectively), and cannabis use in the past 7 days. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to test for equality of the prevalence of substance use. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of SES and its interactions with gender, ethnicity/race, and age with alcohol and cannabis use. Results The prevalence of increased alcohol and cannabis use differed through the pandemic waves depending on SES. The prevalence of HED and increased cannabis use were similar across SES groups. Having a moderate or high household income, and being unemployed was associated with HED and increased alcohol use. Women with a high household income ($120,000+) and a high household income and aged 40–59 years were associated with increased alcohol use compared to men. Non-White individuals who reported other impacts of COVID-19 on their work had lower odds of reporting increased alcohol use. Protective factors associated with cannabis use included having a university degree, being a senior with a moderate/high household income, being aged 40–59 years with a university degree, being a senior with at least a post-secondary level education, and being a highly educated non-White individual. Conclusions Associations between SES and substance use differ by gender, race and age. To reduce health disparities, public health interventions should account for these interactions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Socio-economic factors associated with substance use across different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: an intersectional analysis of a repeated cross-sectional survey

Somé

Imtiaz

Wells

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…61 While anecdotal information indicated protective effects of smoking tobacco and cannabis (in contrast to cannabidiol 62 ), clinical data overwhelmingly documented that individuals with SUDs were more likely to require hospitalization or die due to COVID-19 (Wang et al, 2021), those with opioid use disorders being particularly at high risk. Despite expectations that pandemic-related stress would promote heavier substance use, results were mixed for substances such as alcohol 63,64 and indicative of escalating use for others, such as opioids and polysubstance use. 65,66 Collectively, these epidemiologic studies have shown robust phenotypic correlations between SUDs and these four medical conditions.…”

Section: Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 98%

Substance use and common contributors to morbidity: A genetics perspective

Sanchez‐Roige¹,

Kember²,

Agrawal³

2022

eBioMedicine

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“…Research also found higher psychological distress among young adults aged 18–24 years and Hispanic/Latino individuals during the pandemic ( 40 , 41 ). Moreover, the national Monitoring the Future study ( 42 ) that examined historical trends and potential 2020 shifts in prevalence and frequency of drinking, also reflected the downward trend in past 30-day alcohol use in young adults that we found in California; however, the authors also noted more binge drinking compared to prior to the pandemic as well as changes in drinking contexts and reasons among drinkers (such as increased boredom, drinking to relax, and drinking while alone).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Research also found higher psychological distress among young adults aged 18-24 years and Hispanic/Latino individuals during the pandemic (40,41). Moreover, the national Monitoring the Future study (42) that examined historical trends and potential 2020 shifts in prevalence and frequency of drinking, also reflected the downward trend in past 30-day alcohol use in young adults that we found in California; however, the authors also noted more binge drinking compared to prior to the pandemic as well as changes in drinking contexts and reasons among drinkers (such as increased boredom, drinking to relax, and drinking while alone). While effect sizes for these changes in prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use were very small, the increases observed among young adult women, adults younger than the U.S. legal drinking age, and Latino/Hispanic young adults in our study reflect national trends (43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48), which are concerning for several reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Alcohol Use Among Young Adults in Northern California During the COVID-19 Pandemic—An Electronic Health Records-Based Study

et al. 2022

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BackgroundIndividuals globally were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in myriad of ways, including social isolation and economic hardship, resulting in negative impacts on mental health and substance use. Young adults have been subjected to extraordinary challenges such as job loss, virtual school, or childcare issues, but have received limited attention from research so far.MethodsUsing electronic health record data from a large integrated healthcare system in Northern California, this longitudinal observational study examined changes in the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use (identified via systematic alcohol screening in adult primary care) from pre- (3/1/2019–12/31/2019) to post-COVID onset (3/1/2020–12/31/2020) among young adults (18–34 years). Among the 663,111 and 627,095 young adults who utilized primary care in the pre- and post-COVID onset periods, 342,889 (51.9%) and 186,711 (29.8%) received alcohol screening, respectively. We fit generalized estimating equation Poisson models to estimate the change in prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use from pre- to post-COVID onset among those who were screened, while using inverse probability weighting to account for potential selection bias of receiving alcohol screening. Heterogeneity in the change of prevalence by patient characteristics was also examined.ResultsOverall, the unadjusted prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use slightly decreased from 9.2% pre-COVID to 9.0% post-COVID onset. After adjusting for patient covariates, the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use decreased by about 2% [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.96, 1.00]. The prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use increased among women by 8% (aPR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.11), patients 18–20 years by 7% (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.15), and Latino/Hispanic patients by 7% (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.11). While the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use decreased among men by 12% (aPR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.86, 0.90), patients 21–34 years by 2% (aPR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.96, 0.99), White patients by 3% (95% CI = 0.95, 1.00), and patients living in neighborhoods with the lowest deprivation indices by 9% (aPR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.88, 0.94), their unadjusted prevalence remained higher than their counterparts post-COVID onset. There was no variation in the change of prevalence by comorbid mental health conditions or drug use disorders.ConclusionsWhile changes in unhealthy alcohol use prevalence among young adults were small, findings raise concerns over increased drinking among women, those younger than the U.S. legal drinking age, and Latino/Hispanic patients.

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Alcohol use and the COVID-19 pandemic: Historical trends in drinking, contexts, and reasons for use among U.S. adults

Cited by 41 publications

References 54 publications

Socio-economic factors associated with substance use across different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: an intersectional analysis of a repeated cross-sectional survey

Socio-economic factors associated with substance use across different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: an intersectional analysis of a repeated cross-sectional survey

Substance use and common contributors to morbidity: A genetics perspective

Alcohol Use Among Young Adults in Northern California During the COVID-19 Pandemic—An Electronic Health Records-Based Study

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