Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors Associated With Increased Alcohol Purchase and Consumption in 38 Countries During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Aims: To explore changes in alcohol purchase and consumption during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and assess associations between increased alcohol purchase/use and socioeconomic and environmental factors.

Design: Secondary data from a cross-sectional online survey conducted from 17 April to 25 June 2020.

Setting: Thirty-eight countries from all continents of the world.

Participants: A total of 37,206 adults (mean age:36.7, SD:14.8, 77% female) reporting alcohol purchasing and drinking habit before and during the pandemic.

Measurements: Changes in alcohol stock-up and frequency of alcohol use during the pandemic and increased alcohol stock-up and use were stratified by gender, age, education, household structure, working status, income loss, psychological distress, and country based on alcohol consumption per capita. The associations between increased alcohol stock-up/use and living with children, working from home, income loss and distress were examined using multivariate logistic regression, controlling for demographic factors.

Findings: The majority of respondents reported no change in their alcohol purchasing and drinking habits during the early pandemic period. Increased drinking was reported by 20.2% of respondents, while 17.6% reported decreased alcohol use. More than half (53.3%) of respondents experienced psychological distress, with one in five (20.7%) having severe distress. Female gender, being aged under 50, higher educational attainment, living with children, working from home, and psychological distress were all independently associated with increased alcohol drinking during lockdown. Limitations of the study were the non-representative sample, the data collection early in the pandemic, and the non-standard measurement of alcohol consumption.

Conclusion: Increased psychological distress among people during the early pandemic period, resulted in increased alcohol consumption, especially among women with children working from home during lockdown.