Alcohol consumption in state public school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemics

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate alcohol consumption among state public elementary school teachers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors associated with who increased their alcohol consumption during the pandemic. Methods: Websurvey-type epidemiological survey, carried out with primary education teachers from public schools in Minas Gerais. A probabilistic sample with proportionality for state teachers was estimated. The collection took place from August to September 2020 via digital form and had the support of the State Department of Education. The dependent variable adopted was the increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages by teachers during the pandemic. Poisson Regression was used, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: 15,641 teachers from 795 Minas Gerais municipalities participated in the study. Regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages, before the pandemic 46.9% of teachers consumed at least once a week and during the pandemic 7.1% reported that they were drinking more than they used to. Higher consumption of alcoholic beverages was observed during the pandemic among men, with a lower age group, higher family income, those who had great difficulty to carry out school activities, those dissatisfied with work, those who started having sleep problems and in those where a family member or friend developed symptoms serious problems of COVID-19. Conclusions: The results showed that most participants maintained their consumption or decreased it during the pandemic. This increase was associated with sociodemographic and economic factors, working conditions during the pandemic, behaviors/life habits and health conditions.