COVID-19 Pandemic-Linked Increase in Alcohol Use Persisting

Prevalence of any and heavy alcohol use was increased in 2020 versus 2018, and the increases were sustained in 2022

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of any alcohol use and heavy alcohol use was higher in 2020 and 2022 compared with 2018, according to a research letter published online Nov. 12 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Divya Ayyala-Somayajula, M.D., from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined whether increased alcohol use during the pandemic (2020 versus 2018) was sustained after the pandemic (2022) using cross-sectional data from serial nationally representative surveys of adults who participated in the National Health Interview Survey. The analyses included 24,965 respondents from 2018, 30,829 from 2020, and 26,806 from 2022.

The researchers observed absolute increases in any alcohol use in 2020 and 2022 compared with 2018 (2.69 and 2.96 percent, respectively). In 2020 and 2022 versus 2018, there were numerical increases seen in any alcohol use among all subgroups. Absolute increases in heavy alcohol use were noted in 2020 and 2022 versus 2018 (1.03 and 1.18 percent, respectively), with numerical increases seen among all subgroups except American Indians and Asians in 2022.

“Our results highlight an alarming public health issue that may require a combination of policy changes,” the authors write. “Increased screening efforts for harmful drinking with systematic integration and rapid linkage to behavioral health treatments by health care professionals, in tandem with community-based interventions for at-risk populations, should be considered to mitigate the public health consequences of the pandemic-related increase in alcohol use.”