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Factors associated with drinking behaviour during COVID-19 social distancing and lockdown among adults in the UK

Garnett, C; Jackson, S; Oldham, M; Brown, J; Steptoe, A; Fancourt, D; (2021) Factors associated with drinking behaviour during COVID-19 social distancing and lockdown among adults in the UK. Drug and Alcohol Dependence , 219 , Article 108461. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108461. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: To assess what factors were associated with reported changes to usual alcohol drinking behaviour during the start of lockdown in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: Online cross-sectional survey of 30,375 adults in the UK from 21st March to 4th April 2020 (sample weighted). Logistic regression models were used to examine sociodemographic, drinking and COVID-19 factors associated with i) drinking less and ii) drinking more (versus same as usual). Results: Of 22,113 drinkers, 48.1 % reported drinking about the same, 25.7 % reported drinking less, and 26.2 % reported drinking more than usual over the past week. Drinking less was independently associated with being younger (OR = 0.88, p < .001), male (OR = 0.76, p < .001), BAME (OR = 0.76, p = .028), low income (OR = 0.74, p < .001), having COVID-19 (OR = 2.04, p < .001), adhering to COVID-19 protective behaviours (OR = 1.58, p = .020), stress about becoming ill from COVID-19 (OR = 1.26, p = .004) and not being a key worker (OR = 0.87, p = .030). Drinking more was independently associated with being younger (OR = 0.73, p < .001), female (OR = 1.36, p < .001), post-16 qualifications (OR = 1.21, p = .012), high income (OR = 1.43, p < .001), stress about catching (OR = 1.22, p = .020) or becoming ill from COVID-19 (OR = 1.28, p < .001), stress about finances (OR = 1.43, p < .001), and having an anxiety disorder (OR = 1.24, p = .011). Conclusions: In a large, population sample of adults in the UK, around a quarter of drinkers reported drinking more alcohol and a quarter drinking less than usual during the COVID-19 related lockdown. Certain groups, such as those who are younger, female, of high socioeconomic position, have an anxiety disorder, and are stressed about finances or COVID-19 may need targeted alcohol reduction support during lockdown.

Type: Article
Title: Factors associated with drinking behaviour during COVID-19 social distancing and lockdown among adults in the UK
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108461
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108461
Language: English
Additional information: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10117554
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