scholarly journals Increases in Risky Drinking During the COVID-19 Pandemic Assessed via Longitudinal Cohort Design: Associations With Racial Tensions, Financial Distress, Psychological Distress and Virus-Related Fears

Author(s):  
William V Lechner ◽  
Natasha K Sidhu ◽  
Jackson T Jin ◽  
Ahmad A Kittaneh ◽  
Kimberly R Laurene ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has created disruptions to daily life resulting in wide-spread unemployment and psychological distress. Recent studies have reported high rates of alcohol use during this time; however, longitudinal data remain scarce and factors associated with increases in high-risk drinking observed over time are unknown. Aims The current study examined changes in high-risk drinking patterns across four 7-day observation periods, prior to and following a university wide campus closure. Additionally, factors associated with changes in alcohol use patterns were examined including financial distress, psychological distress, impact of racial tensions and virus-related fears. Method Students (N = 1001) in the Midwestern USA completed repeated assessments between March and June 2020. Each survey included a timeline follow-back measure of alcohol use. Pandemic-related distress spanning several factors was assessed at the final follow-up. Results Risky drinking patterns increased significantly over time. Overall, psychological distress and impact of racial tensions were associated with higher rates of risky drinking, whereas COVID-19-related fears were associated with lower rates. However, only financial-related distress was associated with an increase in risky drinking patterns over time. Conclusions Increased risky drinking patterns observed in the current study may signal problems that are likely to persist even after the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life ends. Individuals experiencing financial distress may represent a particularly high-risk group. Interventions targeting the cross-section of job loss, financial stress and problematic alcohol use will be important to identify.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunfei Wang ◽  
Heli Lu ◽  
Maorong Hu ◽  
Shiyou Wu ◽  
Jianhua Chen ◽  
...  

Background: Alcohol is an important aspect of Chinese culture, and alcohol use has been traditionally accepted in China. People with stress, anxiety, and depression may use more alcohol. More people reported symptoms of anxiety and depression during the outbreak of COVID-19. Thus, people may drink more alcohol during the outbreak of COVID-19 than before COVID-19.Methods: An online retrospective survey was conducted on a total sample of 2,229 participants. Drinking behaviors before and during COVID-19, current risky drinking and hazardous drinking, and the association between high-risk drinking and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) were assessed via self-reported measures on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS−21).Results: This study found that, compared with before COVID-19, alcohol consumption was slightly decreased during COVID-19 (from 3.5 drinks to 3.4 drinks, p = 0.035) in the overall sample. Most (78.7%) alcohol drinkers were males. Before and during COVID-19, males consumed more drinks per week (4.2 and 4.0 vs. 1.3 and 1.2 drinks), had a higher percentage of heavy drinking (8.1 and 7.7% vs. 4.4 and 2.7%), and more drinking days per week (2.1 and 2.1 vs. 1.0 and 0.9 days). Males also had more risky drinking (43.2 vs. 9.3%) and hazardous drinking (70.2 vs. 46.6%) than female counterparts. This study also found that high-risk drinking predicted anxiety in females.Conclusions: This study suggests a slight reduction in alcohol consumption during COVID-19. However, hazardous drinking is common, especially among male alcohol drinkers. Males consumed more alcohol, had more risky and hazardous drinking than female counterparts both before and during COVID-19. Public health policy makers should pay more attention to developing effective, population-based strategies to prevent harmful alcohol consumption.


2009 ◽  
pp. 75-90
Author(s):  
Fiorenzo Laghi

- The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of both alcohol expectancies and time perspective on this risky behaviour in order to allow the development of future prevention programs, by evaluating the relationships between these variables. 2075 high school students were asked to fulfil different questionnaires concerning their consumption attitude, their beliefs on alcohol, and their time perspective. According to previous studies, the sample was classified in non drinkers, social, binge and heavy drinkers. Consistent with our hypothesis, statistical analysis showed that both alcohol expectancies and time perspective significantly differ within these groups, thus being powerful predictors of high risk drinking patterns.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9s2 ◽  
pp. SART.S23549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Clausen ◽  
Priscilla Martinez ◽  
Andy Towers ◽  
Thomas Greenfield ◽  
Paul Kowal

Background Alcohol use is a well-known risk factor for injury. However, information is needed about alcohol drinking patterns and the risk of injury among older adults in low- and middle-income countries as this population grows. We aimed to examine the influence of drinking patterns on the burden of injury and investigate factors associated with different types of injury in older populations in six emerging economies. Methods Data from more than 37,0 adults aged 50 years and older were included from the Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave 1 conducted in six emerging economies, namely, China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. We investigated past-year reported injuries from falls, traffic accidents, and being hit or stabbed. Alcohol drinking patterns were measured as lifetime abstinence, ever but not past- week use, and gender-specific past-week low-risk and high-risk use. We stratified by gender and used logistic regression models to observe the association between alcohol drinking pattern and risk of injury by controlling for other factors. Results During the year prior to interview, 627 (2.2%) subjects reported bodily injury resulting from a car accident, 1,156 (4.2%) from a fall, and 339 (.9%) from being hit or stabbed during the past year. For women, only being a high-risk drinker increased the risk of being hit or stabbed, whereas for men, all levels of drinking were associated with an increased risk of being hit or stabbed. We observed a higher risk of being hit or stabbed from past-week high-risk drinking among women (odds ratio [OR] = 6.09, P < 0.01) than among men (OR = 3.57, P < 0.01). We observed no association between alcohol drinking pattern and injury due to car accidents for either women or men. Conclusions The risk of experiencing injury due to violence increased with level of alcohol exposure of the victim. The increase in alcohol use in emerging economies calls for further study into the consequences of alcohol use and for public health initiatives to reduce the risk of violence in older adult populations, with special attention to the experience of older adult women.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1260-1267
Author(s):  
Haruhiko Midorikawa ◽  
Hirokazu Tachikawa ◽  
Miyuki Aiba ◽  
Tetsuaki Arai ◽  
Taeko Watanabe ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 216507992110057
Author(s):  
Carole L. James ◽  
Ross J. Tynan ◽  
Aaron T. Bezzina ◽  
Md Mijanur Rahman ◽  
Brian J. Kelly

Background: Coal miners have been reported to have higher rates of risky/harmful alcohol misuse; however, it is not known if metalliferous mining employees whose working conditions differ in workplace practices, also have increased rates of risky/harmful alcohol misuse. This study aimed to examine alcohol consumption in a sample of Australian metalliferous mining workers and to examine the demographic and workplace factors associated with risky/harmful alcohol use. Methods: All employees from a convenience sample of four Australian mine sites were invited to complete a paper-based cross-sectional survey between June 2015 and May 2017. The survey contained questions relating to social networks, health behaviors, psychological distress, demographic characteristics, and risky/harmful drinking. Current alcohol use was measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a validated measure of risky and/or harmful drinking. Factors associated with risky/harmful drinking were investigated using univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Findings: A total of 1,799 participants completed the survey (average site response rate 95%). Overall, 94.8% of males and 92.1% of females reported using alcohol in the preceding 12 months. The odds of risky/harmful alcohol use were significantly higher in those who were male, younger, and reported higher psychological distress. Conclusions/Application to Practice: This study identified that metalliferous mining employees engage in at-risk levels of alcohol consumption significantly higher than the national average despite workplace policies and practices that restrict alcohol use. Personal and workplace risk factors that may help target specific employee groups and inform the development of tailored, integrated multicomponent intervention strategies for the industry were identified.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Giesbrecht ◽  
Ashley Wettlaufer ◽  
Samantha Cukier ◽  
Gillian Geddie ◽  
André-Henrique Gonçalves ◽  
...  

Giesbrecht, N., Wettlaufer, A., Cukier, S., Geddie, G., Gonçalves, A., & Reisdorfer, E. (2016). Do alcohol pricing and availability policies have differential effects on sub-populations? A commentary. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5(3), 89-99. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.227Aims: Numerous policies have been shown to reduce the harm from alcohol; however, not all sub-populations respond similarly to policy interventions. This paper explores the specific effects of alcohol pricing policies and controls regarding physical availability on different types of harms from alcohol as well as on different sectors of the population, including impacts by gender, age, and drinking patterns.Design, Setting, Participants, and Measures: We focus on two dimensions. The first is alcohol pricing and taxation; the second is alcohol availability, comprising type of alcohol control system, outlet density, and hours/days of sale. We focused on peer-reviewed research and reviews published from 2005–2015, using several databases: PsycINFO, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Cochrane.Findings: Precautionary alcohol prices have substantial harm reduction potential, particularly among youth and high-risk drinkers. Restrictions on outlet densities and hours/days of sale impact the drinking patterns of underage youth, reduce high-risk drinking, and reduce alcohol-related harm. A reduction in prices or an increase in alcohol availability are associated with increase in high-risk drinking or alcohol-related harm.Conclusions: Future work should examine these policy measures in light of socioeconomic status and cultural factors, as well as impacts of policy interventions on evidence of harm to others from alcohol.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 33-33
Author(s):  
Corbin Daniel Ester ◽  
Bethany Stangl ◽  
Aruna Gogineni ◽  
Lauren Blau ◽  
Vatsalya Vatsalya ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The current study examined hangover following IV alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA) using the Computer-Assisted Infusion System. The goal of the study was to identify predictors of hangover, including drinking history, alcohol sensitivity, family history, expectancies, and sex differences in nondependent drinkers. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The study sample included 89 healthy, nondependent drinkers aged 21–45 years. After a screening to exclude any medical illness or psychiatric disorders, participants completed an IV-ASA session. Each session consisted of a 25-minute priming phase, during which participants were prompted to press a button to receive individually standardized alcohol infusions, followed by a 2-hour “open bar” phase, during which they were instructed to recreate a typical drinking experience. Results from the IV-ASA included peak and average BrAC. Drinking patterns were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, which provided 3 subscales: consumption (AUDIT-C), dependence (AUDIT-D), and harmful drinking (AUDIT-H). Subjective response to alcohol was measured using the Drug Effects Questionnaire (DEQ). The Alcohol Hangover Scale (AHS) was used to assess hangover for the period between participants’ departure from the study unit and 10 am the next morning. The Alcohol Effects Questionnaire (AEFQ) is a measure which includes 40 true/false statements about how alcohol typically makes respondents feel, and was used to measure alcohol expectancies. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results showed that 78% of participants endorsed having at least 1 hangover symptom following IV-ASA. The most commonly reported items were tired, thirsty, headache, and hangover. There was no association between hangover scores and the AUDIT-C or IV-ASA. Because alcohol consumption was not related to hangover symptoms, risky drinking behavior was examined. Results indicated that participants endorsing 4 or more items on the AUDIT-D plus AUDIT-H subscales showed significantly higher average hangover scores. Linear regression analyses indicated that alcohol hangover scores were associated with DEQ items feel, high, and intoxicated. Ongoing analyses are examining additional predictors of hangover including family history, alcohol expectancies, sex differences, and other alcohol sensitivity measures. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The results indicated that risky drinking patterns and alcohol response measures were positively associated with hangover symptoms in non-dependent drinks, while no correlation between consumption and hangover symptoms were found. Since previous research has shown than greater subjective response is associated with heavy drinking and predictive of alcohol use disorder, it is possible that hangover symptoms is a marker of this relationship. Since the role of hangover in the transition from heavy drinking to disorder still remains unclear, it will be important to characterize this relationship between alcohol sensitivity and hangover as a function of drinking patterns. This understanding may help to prevent this transition from at-risk drinking to alcohol dependent drinking.


2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwayemisi A Ojo ◽  
Goedele Louwagie ◽  
Neo Morojele ◽  
Kirstie Rendall-Mkosi ◽  
Leslie London ◽  
...  

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