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More than 18 months after the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States, nearly one in five Americans consumes an unhealthy amount of alcohol, according to a new survey.
About 17% of those polled said they had “drunk heavily” in the past 30 days, according to a survey conducted by analytics firm The Harris Poll and commissioned by Alkermes, an Ireland-based biopharmaceutical company.
The survey was conducted online from March 30 to April 7 among 6,006 American adults aged 21 and older. Of these, 1,003 adults reported having “abused alcohol”.
“Heavy drinking” was defined as having had two heavy drinking days in the same week at least twice in the previous 30 days. A “heavy drinking day” was defined as four or more drinks containing alcohol for women and five or more drinks containing alcohol for men.
Dr Neeraj Gandotra, chief medical officer of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said the study’s results were “not surprising”. Almost 90% of people with substance use disorders are not on treatment, and alcohol and drug use typically worsens with isolation, Gandotra said.
Several studies have suggested that Americans buy more alcohol and drink more frequently during the coronavirus pandemic.
A study by the Rand Corp. Last fall revealed that the frequency of alcohol consumption in the United States increased by 14% compared to before the pandemic. Women, in particular, increased the number of days of heavy drinking by 41%, according to the study.
Another study by researchers at the University of Arizona found “a dramatic increase in harmful alcohol consumption” in the first six months of the pandemic. According to the study, greater alcohol consumption was most associated with job loss due to COVID-19.
“While we are still learning how the COVID pandemic is impacting alcohol consumption, it seems clear that some people drink more while others drink less. In many studies, increased consumption during pandemic was linked to increased stress, “National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism director, Dr. George Koob, told USA TODAY.
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Stress from world events and anxiety about the future can increase alcohol consumption and exacerbate symptoms of alcohol use disorders, as seen following previous disasters such as September 11 and Hurricane Katrina, Koob wrote in a blog post last year.
As the world continues to fight COVID-19, it is unclear whether the trend continues.
“Dozens of relatively small survey studies have assessed alcohol use at various times during the pandemic, but these cross-sectional studies do not reveal whether drinking patterns change for people as the pandemic continues. “said Koob. “It’s entirely possible that consumption levels will continue to increase over time for some people while decreasing for others.”
According to the new Harris Poll, many respondents who said they drank excessively said that in the past 12 months they had experienced negative mental, physical and psychosocial impacts.
Three in 10 said they continue to drink despite feeling depressed or anxious or making another health problem worse. About 1 in 4 people report continuing to drink after experiencing memory loss. More than one in five people have experienced withdrawal symptoms when the effects of alcohol wear off. And 23% gave up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to them in order to drink.
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