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Washington, United States
Harmful alcohol use among adults increases the more time they spend indoors, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
The research, based on a survey of nearly 2,000 over-18s in the U.S., is the first to highlight the nationwide relationship between dangerous alcohol use and life stresses brought on by the Covid pandemic. 19 and associated ‘locks’.
The findings show that the odds of binge drinking among binge drinkers – those who, within two hours, had five or more drinks for men and four or more for women – increased an additional 19 percent for each week of confinement.
The odds of higher overall alcohol intake for binge drinkers were more than twice that of people who did not binge drink (60 percent vs. 28 percent), especially those with depression or a history of the disease.
Conducted by experts from the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Dallas, the study also highlights that:
* During the pandemic, binge drinkers on average drank four drinks per occasion, compared to two drinks among those who did not binge drink.
* Participants who drank at harmful levels during the pandemic would consume a maximum of seven drinks on one occasion. This compares to a maximum of two per session during the pandemic for those who did not.
* Living with confined children minimally reduced the chances (by 26 percent) of using a bottle for people in general.
Researchers are now calling for new intervention and prevention strategies for isolated individuals who are at risk of consuming dangerous beverages. Otherwise, they say there could be lasting health consequences.
“Increased time at home is a life stressor affecting drinking and the Covid-19 pandemic may have exacerbated this stress,” said Sitara Weerakoon, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas.
“Future research should consider the possibility that depressive symptoms act as moderators (a factor that changes the impact) in the relationship between time spent under a shelter-in-place (confinement) mandate and excessive alcohol consumption. Additional research is (also) needed to develop the best treatment for people with substance use disorders who may be more susceptible to adverse health outcomes, ”Weerakoon added.
The aim of the study was to identify a link between stressors related to COVID-19 and changes in alcohol consumption and binge drinking since the pandemic began.
The data comes from an online survey completed by 1,982 adults from mid-March to mid-April, which coincided with the first stay-at-home request in the entire US state on March 19. The average age of the participants was 42, and most were white (89 percent) and female (69 percent).
Based on the survey responses, the researchers classified the participants as binge drinkers, non-binge drinkers, and non-drinkers. Among the factors analyzed are the amount of time they were locked up, how many adults or children they lived with, current or previous episodes of depression, and the work status related to the lockdown, such as the decrease in wages.
On average, all of the respondents had been locked up for four weeks and spent 21 hours a day at home, with the majority (72 percent) not going to work.
Overall, nearly a third (32 percent) of participants reported heavy drinking during the pandemic, and heavy drinkers increased their consumption. However, those who did not drink excessively consumed approximately the same amount of alcohol as before the confinement.
Limitations of the study include that the survey data is self-reported and the fact that the question on binge drinking did not specify a time within which alcohol was consumed.
Furthermore, the majority (70 percent) of the participants had relatively high incomes, a factor already associated with dangerous alcohol use. The authors say that future research is needed in a “more generalizable population.”
(This story was posted from a cable agency feed with no text changes. Only the title has been changed.)
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