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. 2021 Jan 29;18(3):1220.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031220.

Alcohol Consumption during a Pandemic Lockdown Period and Change in Alcohol Consumption Related to Worries and Pandemic Measures

Silvia Eiken Alpers  1   2 , Jens Christoffer Skogen  3   4   5 , Silje Mæland  6   7 , Ståle Pallesen  8   9 , Åsgeir Kjetland Rabben  10 , Linn-Heidi Lunde  1   2 , Lars Thore Fadnes  1   6
Affiliations

Alcohol Consumption during a Pandemic Lockdown Period and Change in Alcohol Consumption Related to Worries and Pandemic Measures

Silvia Eiken Alpers et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Whether lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic influences alcohol consumption is not well known. This study assesses alcohol consumption and hazardous drinking behavior during the initial phase of pandemic measures in Norway and identifies potential risk factors. A cross-sectional study (N = 25,708) was conducted in Bergen, Norway, following the first six weeks of strict infection control measures. In a model of self-assessed increased alcohol consumption, logistic regression analysis was conducted with independent variables for COVID-19-related worries, joblessness, quarantine, self-reported drinking behavior, age, gender, and occupational situation. These are reported with odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. Fifty-one percent of respondents reported economic or health-related worries due to COVID-19, 16% had been in quarantine, 49% worked/studied from home, 54% reported hazardous drinking behavior, and 13% reported increased alcohol consumption. People aged 30-39 years had elevated odds of increased alcohol consumption during lockdown (OR 3.1, 2.4-3.8) compared to the oldest adults. Increased drinking was more frequent among people reporting economic worries (OR 1.6, 1.4-1.8), those quarantined (OR 1.2, 1.1-1.4), and those studying or working at home (OR 1.4, 1.3-1.6). More than half of respondents reported hazardous drinking behavior. Increased alcohol consumption during lockdown was common among people with economic worries, people in quarantine, and people studying or working at home. These data could be important when adjusting pandemic measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; alcohol consumption; lockdown; pandemic; risk factors; social distancing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of binge drinking, hazardous drinking, and increased alcohol consumption in relation to age and worries (inverse probability-weighted estimates). The differences between those worried and those not worried were significant (p < 0.05 for each of the three outcomes).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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