Prevalence, risk and protective factors of alcohol use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. military veterans

Na, Peter J.; Norman, Sonya B.; Nichter, Brandon; Hill, Melanie L.; Rosen, Marc I.; Petrakis, Ismene L.; Pietrzak, Robert H.

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108818

Cited by 20 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Furthermore, the prevalence of veterans who were lonely prior to, but not during, the pandemic was 6-fold higher than the prevalence of veterans who developed loneliness during the pandemic (37.9% vs. 6.3%). This finding is consistent with our previous work that reported stable or mildly decreased prevalence of alcohol use disorder and suicidal behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Na et al, 2021 ; Nichter et al, 2021 ). This decrease was significant among female but not male veterans, which is largely driven by female veterans being younger than male veterans.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Loneliness in U.S. military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study

Straus

Tsai

et al. 2022

Journal of Psychiatric Research

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Loneliness in U.S. military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study

Straus

Tsai

et al. 2022

Journal of Psychiatric Research

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“…This reflects the previous findings of high vulnerability, revealing that people infected with COVID-19 were 20%-34% more likely to develop substance use disorders (i.e., opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder) compared to those without infection (Xie et al, 2022). Notably, our results seem to be higher than the rates in COVID-19 survivors (e.g., 15% current smoking; 2.6% to 23% pastyear alcohol and drug use disorders) (Na et al, 2021;Xie et al, 2022) or people living with chronic conditions (13% substance use disorder) (Wu et al, 2018). Specifically, we found that the commonly used substances were tobacco or alcohol products (i.e., 70% -82%, cigarettes/ecigarettes; 81%, alcohol).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Substance use, psychiatric symptoms, personal mastery, and social support among COVID-19 long haulers: A compensatory model

Tam¹,

Qiao²,

Garrett³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: Substance use has become a critical health concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging attention has been paid to people with the persistent symptoms of COVID-19 (COVID-19 long haulers) due to their high vulnerability. However, scant research has investigated their substance use and relevant psychosocial factors. The current study was to (1) examine substance use behaviors (i.e., legal drug use, illicit drug use, and non-medical use of prescription drugs); and (2) assessed their associations with psychiatric symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder) and psychosocial factors (i.e., personal mastery and social support) among COVID-19 long haulers. Methods: In January to March 2022, 460 COVID-19 long haulers (50% female), with an average age of 32, completed online surveys regarding their demographics, substance use, psychiatric symptoms, and psychosocial factors. Results: In the past three months, the most commonly used or non-medically used substances were tobacco (82%) for legal drugs, cocaine (53%) for illicit drugs, and prescription opioids (67%) for prescription drugs. Structural equation modeling suggested that psychiatric symptoms were positively associated with substance use behaviors (bs = .38 to .68, ps < .001), while psychosocial factors were negatively associated with substance use behaviors (bs = -.61 to -.43, ps < .001). Conclusion: Substance use is common in COVID-19 long haulers and psychiatric symptoms are the risk factors. Personal mastery and social support appear to offer protection offsetting the psychiatric influences. Substance use prevention and mental health services for COVID-19 long haulers should attend to personal mastery and social support.

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“…The role of optimism in people with SUDs is less well characterized. Lower optimism levels have been found to be associated with a higher risk of problematic alcohol use disorder in a cohort of military veterans 16 . Studies assessing optimism among individuals in residential treatment programs for SUDs have found that optimism was positively associated with abstinence self‐efficacy (i.e., confidence in one's ability to maintain abstinence); 17 this is consistent with prior research showing that optimism and self‐efficacy were associated with completion of an aftercare treatment program for alcohol use disorders 18 .…”

Section: Background and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of optimism among patients in substance use disorder inpatient treatment

et al. 2022

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Background and Objectives Early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is often characterized by hopelessness and despair about the future. Optimism, or the expectation that good things will happen, may provide a buffer against despair, and motivate adaptive goal engagement and coping. Study objectives were to (1) compare levels of optimism among individuals in substance use disorder inpatient treatment to other populations and (2) examine correlates of optimism. Methods This exploratory study utilized a cross‐sectional survey design. Participants (n = 355) completed self‐report measures assessing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The main variable of interest, optimism, was assessed by Life Orientation Test‐Revised scores. Multivariate regression was used to examine the association among sociodemographic and clinical variables and optimism. Results Our sample (n = 342) scored lower on optimism (mean = 11.7) than general population and SUD patients reported in the literature (range = 13.0–18.5). Optimism was higher for SUD inpatients who were college‐educated and those with higher scores on the recovery protection factor, while greater anxiety severity was associated with lower optimism scores. Conclusions and Scientific Significance This study contributes to emerging research on the association between optimism and SUDs. Optimism has not been previously studied among patients in acute, short‐term inpatient SUD treatment and doing so may be clinically useful in addressing low optimism as an obstacle to motivation for treatment. Bolstering optimism may be a promising target for intervention and future research.

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Prevalence, risk and protective factors of alcohol use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. military veterans

Cited by 20 publications

References 54 publications

Loneliness in U.S. military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study

Loneliness in U.S. military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study

Substance use, psychiatric symptoms, personal mastery, and social support among COVID-19 long haulers: A compensatory model

Correlates of optimism among patients in substance use disorder inpatient treatment

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