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Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the impact of the stay-at-home orders, especially closing and reopening bars and other drinking establishments, on binge drinking patterns in US populations in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Method(s): Data on binge drinking and heavy binge drinking for this study was extracted from the 2018-2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Data on regulations were collected by National Academy for State Health Policy. We used two staggered differences-in-differences strategies to account for monthly variations in bar regulations. We implemented a strategy that used never treated states as controls via the Stata package CSDID and a strategy that directly imputed counterfactuals for treated states via the Stata package FECT. The outcomes were measured by the number of binge drinkers or heavy binge drinkers per 1000 population. The treatment effect was estimated while controlling for age, income level, race, chronic conditions, gender, MSA fixed effects, and month fixed effects. Stay-at-home orders were coded as 1 in the first full month of implementation and were assumed to impact the entire state equally. Bars were assumed to reopen if the indoor service has been reactivated at any capacity. Result(s): For heavy binge drinking, the average treatment effect on the treated group was 4.86 per 1000 population (p=0.027) using FECT package and 6.74 per 1000 population (p = 0.025) using CSDID package. No significant effect was found for binge drinking. Conclusion(s): We provide suggestive evidence that stay-at-home orders may have increased heavy binge drinking in metropolitan areas. We estimated this led to a 3.38% (FECT) or 4.68% (CSDID) increase in heavy binge drinking during the pandemic. Future work will assess the characteristics of areas that saw the greatest increase in heavy binge drinking, and explore why heavy binge drinkers were more vulnerable than binge drinkers during the Covid.Copyright © 2023
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Stakeholder and consumer participation is generally seen as a critical part of effective alcohol policy making as it has a direct impact on policy implementation. In the advent of COVID-19, the views and experiences of stakeholders and consumers were integral to how countries responded to the virus. The involvement of alcohol stakeholders and consumers raises critical questions about policy making practices. Using Grounded Theory (GT) methods amongst 20 drinkers and six alcohol stakeholders, I examined the views and experiences of stakeholders and alcohol consumers in Botswana during COVID-19. I identified two interrelated core categories of Balancing the Drinking Act and Problematic Youth Drinking that were prominent as the country dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. First, I argue that balancing the drinking act suggests the need for government to balance alcohol regulation with the needs of drinkers. Second, I highlight that problematic youth drinking relates to an emerging yet consistent belief that young people in Botswana are collectively responsible for alcohol "problems." These key themes center consumer and stakeholder participation in alcohol policy development. Moreover, the current analysis demonstrates the interplay between alcohol use and prohibition during COVID-19, and how it might be mediated by cultural scripts used by consumers and stakeholders in Botswana.
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Objective To explore the occurrence and influencing factors of serum uric acid elevation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treated with favipiravir. Methods Medical records of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital between June 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 and treated with the 5- or 10-day regimen of favipiravir were collected and retrospectively analyzed. After favipiravir withdrawal, if the elevation in serum uric acid was >=30% of baseline level, it was defined as serum uric acid elevation. Then patients were divided into serum uric acid elevation group and non-serum uric acid elevation group. The clinical characteristics such as gender, age, body mass index, comorbidities, smoking and drinking behavior, COVID-19 grade, favipiravir regimen, and serum uric acid level and renal function before treatment in patients between the 2 groups were compared. Influencing factors of favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression method. Results A total of 179 patients were included in the analysis, including 104 (58.1%) males and 75 (41.9%) females, aged from 19 to 70 years with a median age of 43 years. The level of serum uric acid in 179 patients after favipiravir treatment was significantly higher than before [(451+/-119) mumol/L vs. (332+/-94) mumol/L, P<0.001]. The change rate of serum uric acid from baseline level ranged from -57.1% to 157.8% with the median of 38.6%. The elevation in serum uric acid of >= 30% of baseline level occurred in 108 (60.3%) patients. The incidences of serum uric acid elevation in patients treated with 5-day and 10-day regi- mens of favipiravir were 46.8% (36/77) and 70.6% (72/102), respectively, and the difference between them was significant (P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index 24.0 to <28.0 kg/m2 (OR=3.109, 95%CI: 1.209-7.994, P=0.019) and 10-day regimen of favipiravir (OR=3.017, 95%CI: 1.526-5.964, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation. Conclusions More than half of COVID-19 patients treated with favipiravir can develop serum uric acid elevation. Overweight and 10-day regimen of favipiravir are independent risk factors for serum uric acid elevation in patients.Copyright © 2022 Adverse Drug Reactions Journal.
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An alcohol care team in an acute hospital in the North East of England had first-hand experience of the documented increase in harmful alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Patients linked this increase in use to anxiety, boredom and isolation, driven by economic pressures and uncertainty about the future. Studies suggest that drinking levels stayed higher after lockdown, with major long-term consequences. Thus, alcohol services should engage with the post-pandemic economic climate, highlight the risks of liver disease and provide alcohol screening at every opportunity to identify those at risk of future alcohol-related harm.
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Aim: To assess the pattern of alcohol consumption in the Chilean adult population in association with depressive symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 quarantine. Method(s): A correlational and transversal study was conducted. Alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms were measured through an online survey, including the PHQ-9 Chilean version and the item banks for alcohol use of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Mediational analysis models were conducted to assess whether the relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic drinking was mediated by drinking to cope with negative emotions. Result(s): 32% of the sample reported depression, 84% acknowledge having been drunk during the previous 30 days and 18% acknowledge an increase in the amount of alcohol use. The presence of depressive symptomatology positively predicts problematic alcohol consumption during the quarantine;however, when it includes analyzing the reasons for drinking alcohol, this relationship becomes negative and shows a significant mediation effect in the relationship between depressive symptomatology and problematic drinking through increased drinking to control negative emotions. Conclusion(s): The findings suggest that during quarantine, the increase in problematic drinking is related to depressive symptoms associated with an increased urge to drink to cope with negative emotions.Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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Background: We aimed to assess whether stress, boredom, drinking motives, and/or inhibitory control were related to alcohol use during a period of social isolation. Method: Analyses were carried out on questionnaire data (N = 337) collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (7 April–3 May 2020). We first assessed changes in drinking behavior, stress and boredom. We then regressed drinking behavior on drinking motives, inhibitory control, stress, and boredom. We also investigated interactions between change in stress/boredom and inhibitory control. Results: A minority of respondents reported increased alcohol use (units = 23.52%, drinking days = 20.73%, heavy days = 7.06%), alcohol-related problems (9.67%), and stress (36.63%). Meanwhile, most respondents reported increased boredom (67.42%). Similarly, boredom significantly increased (B = 21.22, p <.001), on average, while alcohol-related problems decreased (B = −1.43 p <.001). Regarding drinking motives, decreased alcohol-related problems were associated with social drinking motives (B = −0.09, p =.005). Surprisingly, risk-taking was associated with decreased alcohol-related problems (B = −0.02, p =.008) and neither stress nor boredom independently predicted changes in alcohol use. Finally, several significant interactions suggested that those who were more impulsive and less bored were more likely to report increased alcohol use and vice versa. Conclusions: These data provide a nuanced overview of changes in drinking-related behavior during the COVID-19-induced period of social isolation. While most people reduced their drinking, there was evidence of complex interactions between impulsivity and boredom that may be explored in future studies.
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The regular use and dependence on alcohol are referred to as alcoholism, sometimes known as addiction or dependence. Alcoholism is a chronic illness in which people are unable to manage their drinking habits. Alcohol consumption is typically a big emerging problem in developing countries like India, due to differing social norms across the country, differing alcohol rules and processes in different provinces, ignorance of alcohol-related difficulties in society, and a slew of misinformation. Due to increased urbanization across the country, media advertising about alcohol use, varied kinds of alcohol consumption among consumers, and the rise of alcohol use in society as a practice are contributing factors for the rise of alcoholism. Mental and physical dependence are the root causes of alcoholism. It can have devastating consequences for both the body and the mind. COVID-19 has a terrible effect on the human body and implies physical and psychological changes that enhance adverse effects. Copyright © 2022, Medico Legal Society. All rights reserved.
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BackgroundUnrecorded alcohol consumption in Russia is a significant public health problem and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from various causes of death. The substantial share of the Russian population are active online social media users and can be reached by screening and brief interventions, aimed at preventing alcohol-related problems, through social media. The purpose of this analysis was to assess changes in unrecorded alcohol consumption and factors associated with the increase in unrecorded alcohol use among online social media users during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.MethodsBetween June and September 2020, 1518 users of popular in Russia online social networking services participated in online survey investigating changes in alcohol, tobacco, and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions assessing unrecorded alcohol use were adopted from the WHO STEPS-survey instrument and investigated changes in consumption of homemade, falsified, counterfeited, surrogate alcohol, and alcohol brought from abroad during the first months of COVID-19 pandemic. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with increase in consumption of unrecorded alcohol. The analysis was adjusted for age, sex, change in income, restrictions in everyday personal life due to spread of COVID-19, typical (pre-pandemic) one-time volume of alcohol use and typical (pre-pandemic) frequency of heavy episodic drinking (6 or more portions of alcohol per occasion).Results42.2% of the surveyed population consumed unrecorded alcohol in the past year. During the first months of COVID-19 pandemic, 22.5%, 25.9% and 51.6% of all users of unrecorded alcohol increased, decreased and didn’t change their consumption of unrecorded alcohol, respectively. Relative to those who reduced or didn’t change their use of unrecorded alcohol, those who increased consumption of unrecorded alcohol were more likely to: have been residents of rural settlements/small cities (OR = 2.492, 95% CI = 1.246 – 4.985), medium size cities (2.310, 1.314 – 4.062);typically (before pandemic) consumed alcohol more frequently (2–4 times a month: 2.449, 1.131 – 5.302;2–3 times a week: 2.930, 1.190 – 7.217;and more often: 2.920, 1.128 – 7.555);experienced negative work/financial consequences due to pandemic (2.228, 1.270 – 3.909);and increased frequency of heavy episodic drinking during first months of the COVID-19 pandemic (7.249, 4.194 – 12.530).ConclusionOnline social media users at risk to increase their consumption of unrecorded alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic can be considered for various alcohol control policy options, including targeted screening and brief interventions, which can be delivered via online social media.
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GPs can play a pivotal role in the identification and management of alcohol problems at any time, and their role is even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more patients are resorting to alcohol to manage the stress and anxiety created by the pandemic. © 2021 Medicine Today Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
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COVID-19 has changed the social context, but also our ability to act in it. This new normal also influenced the patterns of alcohol consumption. In this sense, the main goal of this paper is a theoretical analysis of COVID-19 context of sociability of alcohol consumption. The paper analyses the ways of establishing the individual meaningfulness of alcohol consumption. The stratification of collective patterns in the context of a pandemic is analysed and the implications of stratification on future drinking patterns, but also on the potential risks of higher alcoholism rates in the future are theo-retically considered. The analysis is based on previous research on the habits of alcohol consumption during quarantine. The rate of alcohol consumption in the studies did not differ significantly from that before quarantine. In some cases, a lower rate of alcohol consumption has been reported. However, the rate of excessive drinking, and socially unregulated drinking, individual drinking, and drinking of a larger number of alcoholic beverages on occasion was on the rise. The theoretical explanation that can be set on the basis of previous research supports the fact that society is responsible for regulating the acceptable alcohol consumption. In the absence of social/cultural influences, an individual consumes alcohol for his own pleasure-it is directed towards himself and not towards society. If this social and value meaningfulness of alcohol consumption is lost, the individual will have a higher risk of developing alcohol dependence. Society is a protec-tive factor in the development of alcohol dependence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most individuals did not consume alcohol because of the social patterns that that consumption implies (or is an integral part of), but they consumed it because of internal anxiety. The use of alcohol for the purpose of calming the anxiety caused by the pandemic, without an individual reflection on the sociability of alcohol consumption, is a potential public health problem of the future.
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Like unthinking loyalists, our only permitted mode is to speak of “getting it done” or “finishing the job,” even when some opinion polls suggest most British people now believe that leaving the European Union, a decision The BMJ opposed (doi:10.1136/bmj.i3302),1 was the wrong decision (https://www.statista.com/statistics/987347/brexit-opinion-poll).2 That negativity might change as the UK’s new prime minister grapples with the cost of living crisis. Health and social care are taboo subjects, even though week after week our columnists and writers detail the NHS and social care crises and their impact on patients, the workforce, and services (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1914, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1904, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1906),345 complicated by the additive burden of covid (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1909, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1887, doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-069868).678 In each round of Britain’s Got Prime Ministerial Talent, otherwise known as the Conservative Party leadership contest, responding to the NHS crisis isn’t an obvious showstopper (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1934, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1883),910 and there is little riffing on the welfare of health and social care staff (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1913, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1929).1112 Empirical studies and data would help, as they do in understanding the fast waning nature of immunity after covid vaccination (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-071249),13 in concluding that the omicron variant is less potent than delta (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070695, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1806),1415 in the World Health Organization proposing that minimum alcohol unit pricing is effective against the harms of excessive drinking (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1810),16 and in advising that routine vitamin D testing is inadvisable (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070270).17 The dangers of rushing down a particular treatment pathway in the absence of sufficient data are evident in the fallout from Hilary Cass’s inquiry into gender identity services (doi:10.1136/bmj.o629, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1916).1819 In the absence of public debate and meaningful data six years after the UK’s Brexit referendum, we asked Richard Vize to examine the effects of Brexit on health and care (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1870).20 The news isn’t all bad, although there isn’t much good. Promises to cut red tape have created new complexities and been tarnished by suspect procurement practices at the height of the pandemic (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1893).21 Perhaps the most damning legacy of Brexit, however, is the state of unreadiness it created for a pandemic that required utmost readiness.
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Alcohol misuse is associated with the development of respiratory failure, including the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with attendant poorer outcomes. Epidemiologic data suggest that alcohol consumption increased during the COVID-19 pandemic;however, consumption habits among critically ill patients are not well-described. We hypothesized that the prevalence of alcohol consumption and misuse among patients with respiratory failure would be greater during the pandemic relative to years prior. Patients with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation in a single academic hospital were enrolled from 2015-19 (pre-pandemic) and 2020-21 (pandemic). Data regarding demographics and alcohol use were obtained from the medical record. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) was measured in a subset of patients in red blood cells collected within 48 hours of intubation. Patients were characterized as follows: (1) likely drinking: patient or proxy endorsed any drinking on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) or in social history;or patient was admitted for an alcohol-related diagnosis;or patient had detectable blood alcohol or PEth;(2) likely alcohol misuse: PEth ≥ 250;or AUDIT-C ≥3 (women) or ≥4 (men);or AUDIT ≥5 (women) or ≥ 8 (men);or patient was admitted for an alcohol-related diagnosis;(3) likely severe alcohol misuse: PEth ≥400. Univariable statistics were utilized as appropriate (Fisher's Exact Test, Kruskal- Wallis Test). The prevalence of likely drinking in the study population (n = 195) varied over time (p <0.0001). When pandemic (n = 67) and pre-pandemic patients (n = 128) were compared, the prevalence of likely drinking (93% vs 58%, p <0.0001), likely alcohol misuse (49% vs 33%, p <0.03) and likely severe alcohol misuse (32% vs 10%, p <0.003) were all greater during the pandemic. Among likely drinking patients with available PEth data (n = 97), median PEth was significantly higher during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic years (251 [135-702] versus 87 [16-374], p = 0.002). Among the subset of patients enrolled during the pandemic, the prevalence of likely current drinking was 100% in those with COVID-19 compared to 76% among non-COVID patients (p = 0.002), but alcohol misuse did not differ. We conclude that alcohol consumption, and alcohol misuse, have increased during the pandemic in this patient cohort. These changes in drinking patterns are concerning and warrant additional research regarding their impact on susceptibility and outcomes for respiratory failure.
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Purpose: The frequency of alcohol use has increased substantially in the United States since the Covid-19 pandemic began. These increases have occurred in parallel with increases in various other psychosocial stressors as well as intimate partner violence (IPV). It is important to understand how these public health issues co-occur, as well as the extent to which these stressors predict drinking frequency longitudinally. Methods: Participants (N = 323) were recruited from MTurk and completed an online survey in April/May 2020 (Time 1) and again one year later (Time 2). Individuals self-reported their alcohol use frequency, Covid-specific stress, general stress, depression symptoms, IPV, and discrimination experiences. Marginalized racial groups were over sampled such that 37.6% identified as Black, 24.9% as Asian, 25.2% White not Hispanic, 8.2% White Hispanic, and 4.0% American Indian or Alaskan Native. 58.5% of participants were women, 39.0% were men, and 2.4% identified another way. Data and results: Covid-19 specific stress, IPV, and discrimination experiences were associated with higher drinking frequency at Time 1 and Time 2. Neither general stress nor depression symptoms were associated with drinking frequency. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicate that only Covid-19 specific stress (p = .044) and IPV (p = .034) were associated with higher drinking frequency at Time 2 when controlling for Time 1 drinking frequency. Drinking frequency did not differ based on race or gender. Among those who reported alcohol use at Time 1, 21.7% reported that their drinking increased since Covid-19 began, 23.2% reported that it decreased, and 55.1% reported that it did not change. At Time 2, 24.3% of reported that their drinking increased since Time 1, 22.8%reported that it decreased, and 51.3%reported that it did not change. Conclusions: Results provide insight into the psychosocial stressors that are associated with drinking frequency during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, findings indicate that Covid-19 specific stress and IPV predict more frequent drinking one year later, after accounting for baseline drinking. Interestingly, general stress and depression symptoms were not associated with drinking frequency. Covid-19 specific stress and IPV are notable public health issues, and also have implications for problem drinking behavior further, highlighting the importance of targeting them in prevention and intervention programming.
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Background: Controlled drinking is an attractive treatment goal among a large proportion of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD), with Behavioral Self-control Training (BSCT) as the most established treatment intervention, for this purpose. Yet, few controlled trials have aimed at investigating the efficacy of interventions with controlled drinking as treatment goal, and the implementation of these treatments in addiction care is scarce. Methods: A multi-site randomized controlled parallel superiority trial compared the efficacy of BSCT (5 sessions) to the active comparator Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) (4 sessions). A sample of 250 patients fulfilling criteria for AUD (DSM 5) with a goal of controlled drinking were included. As a result of the covid pandemic, a total of 76 participants received treatment via video meeting instead of face-to-face. Follow-ups were conducted at 12- and 26 weeks after inclusion. Primary outcome measure was mean weekly alcohol consumption. Treatment effects were analyzed by linear mixed-models. Results: Both treatment arms showed significant treatment effects for the primary outcome as well as binge drinking days (BDD) and measures of alcohol-related harm at 26 weeks after inclusion. There were no significant differences between treatment groups for the primary outcome. A total of 41,6 % of the patients obtained a level of low-risk drinking at the 26-week follow-up (9/14 standard drinks of 12 g of alcohol for women/men). No significant differences based on how the treatment was delivered i.e., between the face-to-face or video based intervention were detected. A subgroup of individuals (n = 25) with 75% or more of BDD before inclusion, reduced their drinking to 29% BDD at the 26-week follow-up. Conclusions: These results suggest that BSCT and MET designed as short-term treatments, are efficacious for a wide range of patients with AUD. This is evident in that a substantial proportion of patients obtained low-risk drinking levels, and individuals with more heavy consumption patterns, also significantly reduced their consumption. These results highlight a need for a more diverse approach within health care services to recovery from AUD with possibility of offering psychological treatments with controlled drinking as a treatment goal.
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As previously reported (Benitez & Goldman, 2019), the associational strength of alcohol expectancies gathered using EMA techniques were shown to ramp up in close anticipation of real-world drinking events. The close temporal linkage between expectancy free associate activation and actual drinking supported the idea that expectancy processes effectively probed/influenced motivational processes leading to drinking. Because the EMA design in Benitez & Goldman (2019) did not manipulate critical variables, however, it remained possible that both expectancy activation and drinking increases were influenced by other variables operating in the natural environment. Among these “third variables” were those related to the known weekly cycle of alcohol expectancies and social drinking. To strengthen the inference that changes in expectancies validly reflect changes in the motivation to drink, the present study experimentally manipulated expectancy activation and measured subsequent changes in expectancy reports. The evening before expectancy monitoring, participants were informed that later the next day-a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday-they would be participating in a solitary taste-test of either alcohol or soft drinks. Alcohol expectancies were then measured across four timepoints in the day that culminated in an in-laboratory taste-test. Alcohol expectancies in the alcohol condition were hypothesized to increase across the day as participants anticipated drinking alcohol, in contrast to the soft drink condition, in which expectancies were predicted to stay relatively unchanged. Unfortunately, data collection had to be prematurely ended due to COVID-19, leaving results underpowered for statistical analysis (multilevel modeling). Graphical representations of the available data did suggest, however, that alcohol expectancies from the alcohol condition were overall more positive across time compared to the soft drinks group. This trend remained after controlling for gender, drinker-type, and affect. Furthermore, the differences increased after removing participants who drank before or planned to drink after participation. Taken together, experimental control over a drinking opportunity (or no drinking opportunity) resulted in differing alcohol expectancies (tentatively) consistent with predictions and our previous EMA work suggesting that alcohol expectancy associates effectively probed motivational processes that lead to drinking.
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Purpose: Chemosensory alteration in excessive alcohol drinkers substantially impacts their quality of life (QoL). Early assessment of chemosensory loss can help in early prediction of disease severity and associated comorbidities in heavy drinkers (HDs). In the present study we examined smell and taste self-reports of individuals with different alcohol drinking behaviors and association with change in overall QoL. Methods: Participants (n = 466;224 females/242 males) were recruited between June 2020 and September 2021 into the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Alcohol Study. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) consumption scores across four time points (at enrollment, and after four, eight and twelve weeks) were analyzed by group based trajectory modeling to stratify participants into three groups (non-drinkers, NDs;moderate drinkers, MDs;and HDs). Results: Linear mixed effects analysis of self-reported taste abd smell data revealed that, in HDs compared to NDs, there was a significant reduction smell ability (F1,224 = 4.40, p = 0.03) after adjusting for age and smoking status, but group differences in taste ability did not reach statistical significance (F1,241 = 3.55, p = 0.06). The smell/taste measures did not significantly differ between the MDs and NDs. Further, the reduced smell and taste ability of HDs was significantly associated with deterioration in several QoL domains, including physical health (smell: coeff = 0.13, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.21, p = 0.003;taste: coeff = 0.13, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.22, p = 0.01), psychological (smell: coeff = 0.15, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.24, p = 0.001;taste: coeff = 0.13, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.24, p = 0.01), social relationships (smell: coeff = 0.20, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.30, p < 0.001;taste: coeff = 0.30, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.41, p < 0.001), and environmental health (smell: coeff = 0.18, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.26, p < 0.001;taste: coeff = 0.21, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.31, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The reduced olfactory and taste function of HDs and association with poorer QoL indicates that early assessment of chemosensory changes may be crucial in identifying the risk for poorer outcomes in heavy drinkers.
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Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states expanded online alcohol sales and directto- consumer home delivery and shipping laws. Given that expanding access to and availability of alcohol in general is harmful to youth and adults, it is important to track these new laws and understand their impacts. This presentation will: (1) discuss the expansion of alcohol home delivery laws across the U.S.;and (2) assess the drinking patterns and behaviors of adults who reported having alcohol delivered to their homes. Method: (1) An inter-disciplinary team studied state alcohol home delivery laws and developed a new policy topic to be tracked by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration under the Sober Truth on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (STOP) Act. (2) Along with colleagues at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a team of researchers conducted a cross-sectional online survey with a convenience sample of U.S. adults over 21 years old in May 2020 to assess the relation between having alcohol delivered and alcohol consumption. Data: Data were obtained from: (1) Analyzing relevant alcohol-related home delivery statutes and regulations for all states and the District of Columbia. (2) The online survey whose sample included 832 participants - 84% female, 85%White, and 72%ages 26-49. Results: (1) Preliminary results demonstrate that more states expanded current laws or enacted new laws to allow manufacturers and retailers to ship or deliver alcohol directly to consumers' homes by the end of 2021 than had such laws in 2009. (2) Participants who had alcohol delivered reported consuming significantly more drinks (p < 0.001) and drinking on a significantly greater number of days (p < 0.001) than participants who obtained their alcohol in other ways. Conclusions: Alcohol home delivery laws have significantly expanded over the last decade, with many changes occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. As these laws change to expand consumers' access to alcohol at home, this may result in increased public health harms, including among the underage population. States should consider these public health findings when deciding on the permanency of their alcohol delivery laws.
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Introduction: Individual stress levels undeniably increased following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not surprisingly, sleep problems, including insomnia, have intensified during the pandemic due to the increase in overall stress levels. The impact that greater insomnia has had on other health outcomes, for example problematic drinking, has yet to be examined. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess whether greater insomnia symptom severity predicted future alcohol use patterns (i.e., frequency and severity). Methods: The study used data from a nationwide sample of 2,979 who were surveyed at two different points during the COVID-19 pandemic (T1 = initial months after the start of the pandemic [April - June 2020];T2 = 10-12 months later). Of those, 1,971 adults (mean age = 46.0 years;80% women) reported having had an alcoholic beverage during the past 3 months and were included in the subsequent analyses. Insomnia symptom severity was assessed at both time points using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Self-reported alcohol frequency (i.e., days per week) and severity (i.e., drinks per day) were assessed at T2. Results: At T2, participants reported drinking alcoholic beverages (mean ± standard deviation) 2.7 ± 2.1 days during a typical week and drinking 1.8 ± 1.1 alcoholic beverages on days they did drink. According to results from separate multiple regression analyses, where T1 ISI scores were entered as the independent variable and alcohol frequency and severity were entered as the dependent variables, total ISI scores at T1 were associated with less frequent (β = -0.075, p = .001) but more severe drinking patterns (β = .088, p < .001). These associations remained significant while controlling for current insomnia symptom severity. Conclusion: Baseline insomnia symptom severity was a predictor of future alcohol use patterns. Specifically, people with greater insomnia at T1 reported, on average, less frequent drinking (i.e., fewer days per week), yet greater consumption on days that they did drink alcohol. These data highlight the importance of assessing the impact that insomnia has had (and continues to have) on other behavioral health outcomes during the ongoing pandemic.
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Maintenance of good health and avoiding a viral infection is the prime focus for an individual during COVID-19 pandemic. Water being a universal solvent is used widely to clean the disinfectants in public places and individual household level. This study was designed to find any change in the water consumption pattern among the households after the emergence of COVID-19. To study this, a questionnaire was prepared and sent to the respondents through Google Forms. Collected data was analysed using suitable statistical methods and the results indicate that there was a significant change in the consumption pattern of drinking water from cold to hot (37.98%) among the respondents and also with respect to the total water usage. As the disease is communicable in nature, more water is needed to clean and disinfect the surface areas, washing hands etc. This eventually has a significant burden on the water resources in countries where water is already deficient, like India. It is recommended to adopt water conservation practices/technologies at the individual level by means of rain water harvesting techniques or use of efficient water aerator taps etc. to reduce water consumption.
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Background: After the first case of COVID-19 being announced in China in December 2019, various diagnostic technologies have been developed at unprecedented pace with the aim of providing a basis for accurate clinical intervention. However, some assays including CRISPR-based diagnostics and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) have been less explored. As new COVID-19 technologies emerge, there is need for them to be assessed, validated and improved upon. Moreover, there is paucity of data on the essential factors governing the selection of an appropriate diagnostic approach within the correct timeframe. Myths and origin of SARS-CoV-2 remain to be controversial. Consequently, this review aims at exploring the current COVID-19 diagnostic technologies, performance evaluation, principles, suitability, specificity, sensitivity, successes and challenges of the technologies for laboratory and bedside testing. Main Body: To date, there exist more publications on COVID-19 diagnostics as compared to the Zika virus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus genome profiles were readily available by 31st of December 2019. This was attributed to the fast-paced sharing of the epidemiological and diagnostics data of COVID-19. Timely profiling of the virus genome accelerated the development of diagnostic technologies. Furthermore, the rapid publication of studies that evaluated several diagnostic methods available provided baseline information on how the various technologies work and paved way for development of novel technologies. Conclusion: Up to date, RT-PCR is the most preferred as compared to the other assays. This is despite the repeated false negatives reported in many of the study findings. Considering that COVID-19 has caused devastating effects on the economy, healthcare systems, agriculture and culture, timely and accurate detection of the virus is paramount in the provision of targeted therapy hence reducing chances of drug resistance, increased treatment costs and morbidity. However, information on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 still remains elusive. Furthermore, knowledge and perception of the patients toward management of SARS-CoV-2 are also paramount to proper diagnosis and management of the pandemic. Future implications of the misperceptions are that they may lead to increased non-compliance to SARS-CoV-2-related World Health Organization (WHO) policies and guidelines.