Impact of confinement measures on the covid-19 pandemic on alcohol risk consumption

Abstract

Background: The public health strategies adopted for the containment of COVID-19 have generated psychosocial stressors that act as risk factors for alcohol consumption. The objectives of this study were to establish whether alcohol risk consumption varied during COVID-19 confinement, and how these variations manifested as a function of different sociodemographic variables.

Methods: The study was conducted during confinement with 3,779 participants in Spain. We used an online survey with sociodemographic variables (sex, age and employment situation) and AUDIT-C. Frequency and mean difference analysis were performed (Student t, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis) to establish intra-group variations before the pandemic compared to during confinement, and intergroup for each time period, reporting effect size.

Results: Alcohol risky consumption presented high prevalence rates before confinement (25,9% of alcohol consumers), showing a general decrease during confinement (15,1%), both in men (X²=224,829; p<0,001) and women (X²=214,324; p<0,001). Women had higher risk consumption rates both before the pandemic (X²=13,124; p<0,001; d=1,067) and during confinement (X²=26,316; p<0,001; d=2,85); however, men reported higher score in AUDIT-C before the pandemic (t₍₂₃₄₃₎=-7,887; p<0,001; d=0,322) and during confinement (t₍₂₃₄₃₎=-5,664; p<0,001; d=0,231). Considering  age, significant differences in prevalence among groups were found before the pandemic (X²=22,889; p<0,001) and during confinement (X²=38,302; p<0,001), with the age range 18-24 showing less prevalence. Differences among age groups were also found in the risky consumption scores during confinement (F_(5,2338)=43,849; p=0,001), increasing with age. With regards to the employment situation, differences before the pandemic (KW_(5,2933)=13,467; p=0,019; E²_R=0,44), and during confinement (KW_(5,2933)=149,818; p<0,001; E²_R=0,51) were also found. Self-employed workers showed a higher score in alcohol risky consumption with respect to full-time employees (p=0,047).

Conclusions: The alcohol risky consumption decreased in a generalized way during the confinement by COVID-19, but the changes in prevalence and risk index were dependent on sociodemographic variables. It is recommended that these findings are considered in the design of public health policies and strategies.