What is associated with the increased frequency of heavy episodic drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic? Data from the PAHO regional web-based survey

•PAHO survey results on self-reported alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic.•There is a gradient of association between HED and anxiety during the pandemic.•Higher quarantine practices was associated with increase in HED during the pandemic.•Living with children during the pandemic is inv...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drug and alcohol dependence 2021-04, Vol.221, p.108621-108621, Article 108621
Main Authors: Valente, Juliana Y., Sohi, Ivneet, Garcia-Cerde, Rodrigo, Monteiro, Maristela G., Sanchez, Zila M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol
Alcohol use
Anxiety
Anxiety - psychology
Anxiety disorders
Binge drinking
Binge Drinking - epidemiology
Caribbean Region - epidemiology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drinking
Drinking behavior
Female
Generalized anxiety disorder
Heavy episodic drinking
Humans
Internet
Latin America - epidemiology
Male
Mental disorders
Mental health
Middle Aged
Pan American Health Organization
Pandemics
Polls & surveys
Prevalence
Quarantine
Quarantine - psychology
Self Report
Short Communication
Sociodemographics
Socioeconomic Factors
Unemployment
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•PAHO survey results on self-reported alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic.•There is a gradient of association between HED and anxiety during the pandemic.•Higher quarantine practices was associated with increase in HED during the pandemic.•Living with children during the pandemic is inversely associated with increase in HED. To estimate the prevalence of changes in the frequency of self-reported heavy episodic drinking (HED) among drinkers in Latin America and Caribbean countries on alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to assess self-reported factors associated with the increased frequency of HED. Data from 12,328 adults who responded to the cross-sectional survey conducted in 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean by Pan American Health Organization were used. Logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the effect of the sociodemographic characteristics, quarantine practices, and anxiety symptoms on the increase in frequency of HED among the 2019 drinkers. 65 % of drinkers in 2019 self-reported HED during the COVID-19 pandemic with 13.8 % of the drinkers reporting an increase in HED compared to a 33.38 % decrease in HED. Multivariable analysis indicated that male gender (aOR 1.29, 95 %CI 1.13; 1.49), higher income (aOR 1.64, 95 %CI 1.35; 1.99) and higher level of quarantine practices (aOR 1.10, 95 %CI 1.04; 1.16) were positively associated with increased frequency of HED; unemployment (aOR 0.78, 95 %CI 0.64; 0.96), student status (aOR 0.53, 95 %CI 0.43; 0.64) and living with children (aOR 0.91, 95 %CI 0.84; 0.99) were negatively associated with increased frequency of HED. A gradient of association was found between generalized anxiety disorder and an increase in HED frequency during the pandemic. Along with other measures to decrease the spread of COVID-19, it is important to include measures to reduce alcohol consumption and address mental health conditions in the national response to the pandemic.
ISSN:0376-8716
1879-0046
DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108621