Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought about a first stay-at-home order last March, as well as other stressors for adults in the U.S., such as job loss, are associated with changes in heavy drinking.
According to research published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, binge drinking can be defined as having five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women within two hours.
Thus, the study notes that 34 percent of respondents reported binge drinking during the pandemic, while binge drinkers were more likely to increase alcohol consumption compared to pre-pandemic ?60%? than non-binge drinkers ?28%?
After adjusting for sociodemographic data, the report reports that for every one-week increase in the time people spent at home during the pandemic, there was a 1.21 greater likelihood of binge drinking.
Households with children were 0.74 less likely to binge drink during the pandemic compared to households without children.
In addition, those who reported a prior diagnosis of depression or depressive symptoms during the pandemic were more likely to drink heavily compared to those who reported no prior diagnosis or depression during the pandemic.
It should be noted that the study collected data on sociodemographic factors, alcohol consumption, and COVID-19-related stressors - household composition, employment status, length of stay at home, and depression - through a web-based survey in the United States.
The research, conducted on 1,982 participants from March to mid-April 2020, used multivariate multinomial and logistic regression models to assess associations between COVID-19-related stressors and heavy drinking.
As such, the study also notes that the socioeconomic level (SES) of the sample was relatively high, with more than 70 percent of respondents reporting an annual income of more than $80,000, potentially indicating more disposable income.
And hazardous drinking has been associated with higher incomes, as in April 2020, Forbes reported that wine and spirits sales had increased by 55 percent in the United States.
The research concludes that specific COVID-19-related stressors are associated with increased alcohol consumption, so the secondary and unintended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could have long-lasting consequences for population health.
