Changes in Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Dependent on Initial Consumption Level: Findings from Eight European Countries.

ABSTRACT: Evidence suggests that changes in alcohol consumption during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic were unevenly distributed over consumer groups. We investigated possible inter-country differences in how changes in alcohol consumption are contingent on initial consumption (before or at the start of the pandemic), and how changes in consumption translate into possible changes in the prevalence of heavy drinking. We used data from the European Survey on Alcohol use and COVID-19 (ESAC) conducted in Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the UK (N = 31921). Past-year alcohol consumption and changes in consumption were measured by AUDIT-C. Drinking habits were compared according to percentiles of pre-pandemic consumption levels, below versus above the 90th percentil

SUBMITTER: Rossow I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8508389 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature