Impact of confinement measures on the Covid-19 pandemic on alcohol risk consumption
Víctor José Villanueva‐Blasco, Patricia Motos, Manuel Isorna Folgar, Verónica Villanueva, P. Blay, Andrea Vázquez‐Martínez
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: 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: =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.