Altered alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

BACKGROUND Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, many countries around the world have imposed lockdown measures in order to reduce virus spread. Social isolation is known to have a significant psychological impact, potentially triggering alcohol misuse in adults. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown measures on alcohol consumption in adults in Bavaria. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 2067 participants, with 1961 young adults (mean age 23.3 ± 4.1) and 106 mature adults (mean age 66.7 ± 9.7). Participants were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire, semi-quantitatively evaluating the alcohol drinking behaviour before and during the pandemic lockdown. RESULTS After implementation of lockdown, the alteration of alcohol consumption was significantly different between young and mature adults (p 0 to < 5 drinks/week) in both age groups (p< 0.001). Ordinal logistic regression revealed female sex, low BMI and younger age to be associated with a decrease in number of self-reported drinks/week. CONCLUSION The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown significantly affected alcohol drinking behaviour. Further studies exploring long-term effects on potential alcohol misuse and the relevance on public health are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION The study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04361877 ) on April 24, 2020