Alcohol use changed right after COVID-19 lockdown

Date:
October 13, 2020
Source:
Washington State University
Summary:
One in four adults reported a change in alcohol use almost
immediately after stay-at-home orders were issued: 14 percent
reported drinking more alcohol and reported higher levels of
stress and anxiety than those who did not drink and those whose use
stayed the same. The 11 percent who decreased their drinking also
had higher levels of stress and anxiety - - suggesting that any
change in alcohol use may be associated with mental health issues.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
One in four adults reported a change in alcohol use almost immediately
after stay-at-home orders were issued, according to a study of twins
led by Washington State University researchers.


==========================================================================
The study, published recently in Frontiers in Psychiatry, surveyed
more than 900 twin pairs from the Washington State Twin Registry from
March 26 to April 5, 2020, just after stay-at-home orders were issued
in Washington on March 23.

An estimated 14% of survey respondents said they drank more alcohol
than the week prior and reported higher levels of stress and anxiety
than those who did not drink alcohol and those whose use stayed the same.

"We expected that down the road people might turn to alcohol after the
stay-at- home orders were issued, but apparently it happened right off
the bat," said Ally Avery, lead author of the study and a scientific
operations manager at WSU's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. "It shows
the need to make sure there is more mental health support since it had an impact on people right away." Surprisingly, the study showed that the
11% who decreased their drinking also had higher levels of stress and
anxiety than the groups with no change - - suggesting that any change
in alcohol use may be associated with mental health issues.

The study did not examine the reasons behind the link between a decrease
in drinking and increase in stress and anxiety, but Avery said one
possibility is that these were social drinkers who were missing out on after-work happy hours and other occasions where they drank with friends.

The researchers conducted the study with twins so that they could look
at whether changes in alcohol use and mental health were mediated by
genetic or shared environmental factors since twins raised in the same
family share many formative experiences. Twins also have common genetics
with fraternal twins sharing approximately half of their genes while
identical twins share all of their genes.

In this study, the researchers found that the association between
changes in alcohol use, and stress and anxiety were relatively small
and confounded by between-family factors and demographic characteristics.

Still the link between the pandemic, alcohol use, and stress and anxiety
is concerning, Avery said. The researchers are continuing to survey this
group at longer intervals to see if the increased drinking persists and
whether it becomes a bigger problem.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Washington_State_University. Original written by Sara Zaske. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ally R. Avery, Siny Tsang, Edmund Y. W. Seto, Glen
E. Duncan. Stress,
Anxiety, and Change in Alcohol Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Findings Among Adult Twin Pairs. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020;
11 DOI: 10.3389/ fpsyt.2020.571084 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201013124134.htm

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