Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Portuguese population: Consumption of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Background The measures implemented by governments worldwide to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 have impacted the populations and directly influenced individuals’ quality of life and consumption habits. Objective This work investigates the Portuguese population’s changes in alcohol, stimulants drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceutical consumptions habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods An online questionnaire comprising seven groups of questions–with one group referring to alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals consumption habits–was made available to the general adult population of mainland Portugal from the 26th January through the 31st of March 2021. After applying the inclusion criteria, 1666 questionnaires were selected and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Our results show that 48.9% of the participants have alcohol drinking habits and increased their alcohol consumption by 16% after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Furthermore, 8.7% of the respondents felt the need to increase their consumption of stimulant drinks, especially coffee, the most consumed stimulant drink (77.9%). We also observed that of the 3.1% of respondents who are usual consumers of illegal substances, 26.9% increased their consumption of these substances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning pharmaceuticals, 23.2% of the respondents expressed their need to take a therapeutic drug after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The profile of common consumers of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals in the COVID-19 pandemic context is contrasting and varies according to gender, age, and employment status. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the consumption of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat anxiety, depression, and sleep changes in the Portuguese population. These new consumption patterns have probably aggravated domestic violence, mental diseases, and impairment of family quality of life in the Portuguese population.

Caffeine Intake and Its Sex-Specific Association with General Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Analysis among General Population Adults

“…As caffeine might be the most consumed psycho-stimulant around the world, and due to its likely complex effect on anxiety, further research in this field is needed. Moreover, results from recent studies suggested an increase in coffee, tea, and energy drink consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]; as these beverages are the principal caffeine sources, caffeine intake might have also increased, and have become an additional risk factor for anxiety during this period and possibly beyond. The reported increased anxiety disorder prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 underscores the urgency to strengthen mental illness prevention strategies.…”

Exposure factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: A cross-sectional study

“…The possible indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on general health and lifestyle, for instance provoked by lockdowns, implementation of infection prevention measures and required self-isolation, has to be addressed. Increased alcohol consumption or intake of illegal substances–known to have a detrimental effect on health–have been shown during the second emergency state of the pandemic [ 22 ]. In contrast, the indirect impact of the pandemic could be effectively counteracted by stimulating the intake of a balanced diet, resulting in symbiosis by modulating the gut microbiota [ 23 ].…”

Benzodiazepines and Z-hypnotics consumption in long-COVID-19 patients: Gender differences and associated factors

“…When we compare this level with other countries, a US-cohort showed a rise in prescribed consumption of BZD (5.3%) and Z-hypnotics (1.4%) drugs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic ( 15 ). In Europe, the results by Fernandez et al, using an online questionnaire to assess changes in illegal and legal psychoactive substances consumption habits among the Portuguese population during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicate that use of tranquilizers and anxiolytics increased by 10.8%, and use of sleep-inducing drugs by 7.8% ( 16 ).…”

“…This effect was not observed in women with long-COVID-19. Different researches performed during the pandemic have demonstrated that psychotropic drug consumption rises with age, particularly after 65, in both men and women ( 15 , 16 , 23 ). One possible explanation for our results is that long-COVID-19 subjects in our study was a young population, with only 19% of the sample older than 55.…”