After previous studies found an increase in alcohol consumption between 2018 and 2020, the new research sought to determine if people were drinking more or less in 2022 than in prior years. Among patients with alcohol-related liver disease, caution is warranted related to use of medications, and outcomes appear to be worse. It has also been observed that alcohol increased the risk of COVID-19 infection. Alcohol users may not adhere to social distancing norms, increasing their risk of COVID-19.
Women, alcohol, and COVID-19
Although the increases in alcohol sales did not remain at these levels, overall data for that time period showed that in-store purchases were up by 21% and online alcohol sales by 234% compared to 2019. It is unclear, however, whether individuals had been increasing their alcohol consumption or only stockpiling alcoholic beverages. Although some nations banned alcohol sales completely others declared it as an essential product, resulting in varied problems across countries, including unintended messaging that alcohol is ‘essential’ 120.
3. Participants
These symptoms can occur when mixing alcohol with many common over-the-counter pain relievers, as well as certain cold and allergy medications. It can also increase the risk of certain infectious diseases, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. This review looks at alcohol-related policies during the COVID-19 pandemic across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every family across the country, and alcohol misuse is complicating the situation in multiple ways.
Links to NCBI Databases
The proportion of people consuming alcohol during the pandemic ranged from 21.7% to 72.9% in general population samples. Unlike alcohol use, there was a clear trend towards increased use of other substances use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of people consuming other substances during the pandemic ranged from 3.6% to 17.5% in the general population.
Consultation-Liaison services across UK saw a sharp decline in alcohol-related and mental health referrals, during the lockdown, followed by a surge post lockdown for all disorders 65. Immediately post lockdown, a significant increase in the number of alcohol intoxication cases presenting to the emergency department (11.3%) compared to lockdown (0.8%) and in the previous year (2.9%), were reported from Italy 15. Peer reviewed articles in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL complete and Sociological Abstracts were searched from December 2019 until November 2020.
- Alcohol use and alcohol-related deaths increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- However, if you’re physically dependent on alcohol or drink heavily, stopping drinking without medical supervision may be dangerous.
- Some evidence suggests that post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome may share characteristics with ME/CFS, a condition where approximately 4 out of 5 people exhibit alcohol intolerance.
Sian Ferguson is a freelance health and cannabis writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information. While one preprint study suggests that alcohol intolerance is a common symptom of long COVID, there’s very little research on the topic. Because drinking alcohol and being hungover can lead to digestive upset, headaches, mood changes, and difficulty thinking clearly — all symptoms of long COVID — it may worsen these symptoms. Some research suggests that alcohol intolerance is common for people with long COVID. The National Health Interview Survey, which looked at data from tens of thousands of people in between 2018 and 2022, found that the COVID-related spike in alcohol consumption in 2020 continued to rise both in 2021 and 2022.
This could influence their future risk for problem drinking, AUD, and health problems related to alcohol use. However, if you’re physically dependent on alcohol or drink heavily, stopping drinking without medical supervision may be dangerous. For example, some research suggests that poor sleep can make long COVID worse, and difficulty sleeping is a common side effect of drinking alcohol. When stress exceeds a can drug dogs smell nicotine certain limit, it might trigger brain inflammation, resulting in symptoms like those seen in ME/CFS, including alcohol intolerance. Ongoing research, including advanced brain scans, aims to further investigate these connections.
There is a need for a rethinking about policy changes like online alcohol delivery, which can be difficult to roll back 121. Evidence based restriction of alcohol pricing, availability and marketing are required for the future 122. Governments should refrain from abrupt and knee-jerk alcohol policy changes (either a sudden ‘ban’, ‘online sale of alcohol’, declaring alcohol as ‘essential’) and instead adopt evidence-based decision making. Adequate information to the public in the event of anticipated limitations of access and information on treatment services should be provided on priority. Further, governments should adopt adequate measures to protect vulnerable populations. Importantly, posthoc research on impact of such decisions need to be undertaken.
Mental health factors were the most common correlates or triggers for increased use of both alcohol and other substances. Most of the participants (91.7%) had consumed alcohol within the past year, with 80% having consumed it within the past 30 days. Participants reported consuming alcohol on a mean (standard deviation) of 12.2 (10.3) days and consuming a mean of 26.8 (24.7) alcohol drinks over the past 30 days (Table 2). Of those who consumed alcohol over the past 30 days, 34.1% reported binge drinking at least once and 7.0% reported extreme binge drinking over the past 30 days. During the seven weeks between 1 March and 18 April 2020, there were large increases in alcohol sales in the U.S. 17. Data from the week ending 21 March indicated that alcohol sales for off-premise locations (e.g., liquor stores) had increased by 54% and online alcohol sales had increased by 262% compared to sales data from the same week in 2019.