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Mental health and economic stressors associated with high-risk drinking and increased alcohol consumption early in the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

ABSTRACT: Physical distancing measures to curb COVID-19 transmission introduced mental health and economic stressors, possibly impacting problematic drinking. This cross-sectional study examines mental health and economic stressors early in the COVID-19 pandemic which may be associated with heavy alcohol use and increased alcohol use. We administered an online survey of U.S. adults via social media April 5 to May 5, 2020. High-risk drinking was defined by WHO risk drinking levels, a daily average of ≥4 drinks for men and ≥3 drinks for women. Participants reported retrospective assessments of increased alcohol use if their past-week alcohol consumption exceeded their past-year average weekly alcohol consumption. We used logistic regression to assess possible covariates of high-risk drinking and increased alcohol use. Among 2175 participants, 10% (n = 222) reported high-risk drinking, and 36% (n = 775) reported increased alcohol consumption. In multivariable analysis, high-risk drinking was significantly associated with household job loss (OR = 1.41, 95%CI = (1.06, 1.88)) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = (1.02, 1.07)), and women had higher odds of high-risk drinking than men (OR = 2.37, 95% CI = (1.32, 4.69)). Previous mental health diagnosis was not significantly associated with high-risk drinking during the pandemic (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = (0.98, 1.76)) in univariable analysis. High-risk drinkers were almost six times as likely to report retrospective assessments of increased alcohol consumption, controlling for mental health and economic stressors (OR = 5.97, 95% CI = (4.35, 8.32)). Findings suggest a need for targeted interventions to address the complex mental health and economic stressors that may increase alcohol consumption and high-risk drinking during and after the pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Nesoff E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8548050 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background and aimsEmerging evidence suggests that solitary drinking may be an important early risk marker for alcohol use disorder. The current paper is the first meta-analysis and systematic review on adolescent and young adult solitary drinking to examine associations between solitary drinking and increased alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and drinking to cope motives.MethodsPsychINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology and a pre-registered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (no. CRD42020143449). Data from self-report questionnaires regarding negative correlates of solitary drinking (e.g. alcohol problems) and solitary drinking motives (e.g. drinking to cope) were pooled across studies using random-effects models. Studies included adolescents (aged 12-18 years) and young adults (mean age between 18 and 30 years or samples with the majority of participants aged 30 years or younger).ResultsMeta-analytical results from 21 unique samples including 28,372 participants showed significant effects for the associations between solitary drinking and the following factors: increased alcohol consumption, r = 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.12, 0.33; drinking problems, r = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.32; negative affect, r = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.26; social discomfort, r = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.27; negative reinforcement, r = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.31; and positive reinforcement, r = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.17. These associations were not moderated by age group (i.e. adolescent versus young adult), study quality, or differing solitary drinking definitions. Accounting for publication bias increased the effect sizes from r = 0.23 to 0.34 for alcohol consumption and from r = 0.23 to 0.30 for drinking problems, and lowered it from r = 0.10 to 0.06 and r = 0.17 to 0.11 for positive reinforcement and social discomfort, respectively.ConclusionsSolitary drinking among adolescents and young adults appears to be associated with psychosocial/alcohol problems and drinking to cope motives.

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Mental health and economic stressors associated with high-risk drinking and increased alcohol consumption early in the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

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