(Press-News.org) TUCSON, Ariz. -- The ongoing pandemic has had a significant and alarming trend of increased alcohol use and abuse - especially among younger adults, males and those who have lost their jobs - according to a new study by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers.
Research led by William "Scott" Killgore, PhD, professor of psychiatry in the UArizona College of Medicine - Tucson and director of the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, found that hazardous alcohol use and likely dependence increased every month for those under lockdowns compared to those not under restrictions.
"Being under lockdown during a worldwide pandemic has been hard on everyone, and many people are relying on greater quantities of alcohol to ease their distress," said Dr. Killgore. "We found that younger people were the most susceptible to increased alcohol use during the pandemic, which could set them on the dangerous path toward long-term alcohol dependence."
The paper, "Alcohol dependence during COVID-19 lockdowns," was recently published in the journal Psychiatry Research.
Between April and September 2020, Dr. Killgore and UArizona co-authors Sara Cloonan, Emily Taylor, Daniel Lucas and Natalie Dailey, PhD, surveyed 5,931 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each month, roughly 1,000 participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a 10-item questionnaire that is used to detect hazardous drinking in adults.
The questions assess the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed, behaviors associated with dependence, and harm resulting from alcohol use, and provide scores that range from 0 to 40. Scores from 8 to 14 suggest hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption, a score of 15 or more indicates the likelihood of alcohol dependence, and a score of 20 or more implies severe alcohol use disorder.
People under lockdown posted increases for all three thresholds, with hazardous alcohol use rising from 21.0% in April to 40.7% in September and probable alcohol dependence rising from 7.9% to 29.1%. For those scoring 20 or higher, usage that is considered severe alcohol dependence, percentages for those under lockdown increased from 3.9% in April to 17.4% by September.
For all three thresholds, the percentages for those not under lockdown restrictions were essentially unchanged.
Dr. Killgore says the surge in alcohol use comes with several risks, not only to the individual, but also to the family.
"Being cooped up with family for weeks and months without a break can be difficult, but when excess alcohol gets mixed in, it can become a recipe for increased aggressive behavior and domestic violence," Dr. Killgore said. "I worry about the effect on families and children."
For the individual, there are numerous health problems associated with alcohol dependence, including risks of cancer, liver disease, injury, mental health problems and early death. Additionally, employers may also be affected by an individual's excessive alcohol use.
"Many of us are working from home, but this is not the same thing as being productive from home. The use of alcohol while 'on the job' at home is likely to reduce productivity at a time when the country needs us to be doing everything we can to sustain the economy," he added. "Having a few drinks while 'on the clock' at home can lead to a situation of 'presenteeism,' which means that a person may be sitting through Zoom meetings and responding to a few emails, but may not actually be contributing productively to their job. This could severely hamper our ability to pull out of this crisis quickly and on a strong economic footing."
INFORMATION:
Photos available upon request.
Media contact:
Jamie Manser
520-270-3213
jlmanser@email.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona Department of Psychiatry
The Department of Psychiatry, founded in 1967 as one of the original departments in the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson, excels in enhancing behavioral health through scientific research, education, training, community leadership, and service. Dedicated to compassionate, community-based mental health services, the department is leading efforts to comprehensively approach psychiatric disorders, prepare future clinicians, prevent psychiatric disorders, help guide community efforts for improving behavioral health, and provide state-of-the-art care that meets the needs of our communities and promotes social justice. Through the University's partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the department is leading the way in psychiatric medicine. For more information, visit psychiatry.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube).
About the University of Arizona College of Medicine -Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson is shaping the future of medicine through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research and advancements in patient care in Arizona and beyond. Founded in 1967, the college boasts more than 50 years of innovation, ranking among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care. Through the university's partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the college is leading the way in academic medicine. For more information, visit medicine.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn).
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn).
Shoe shops sell a variety of shoe sizes to accommodate a variety of foot sizes -- but what if both the shoe and foot size depended on how it was measured? Recent developments in quantum theory suggest that the available values of a physical quantity, such as a foot size, can depend on the type of measurement used to determine them. If feet were governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, foot size would depend on the markings on a foot measure to find the best fit -- at the time of measurement -- and even if the markings were changed, the measurement could still be precise.
In quantum mechanics, the "size" of a physical ...
Because cancers in children are rare, many details about their biology remain unknown. In the field of cancer genetics, there's a limited understanding of how inherited genetic changes may contribute to the formation and growth of tumors. Making connections between particular gene mutations and disease requires a lot of data, which until recently has been largely unavailable for pediatric cancers.
Now, tests like MSK-IMPACTTM can screen tumors for mutations in more than 500 genes as well as analyze patients' normal (germline) cells. In the largest study of its kind so far, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering's pediatric program, MSK Kids, are reporting germline genomic sequencing details for 751 pediatric patients treated for solid tumors.
The paper, ...
Astronomers have tested a method for reconstructing the state of the early Universe by applying it to 4000 simulated universes using the ATERUI II supercomputer at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). They found that together with new observations the method can set better constraints on inflation, one of the most enigmatic events in the history of the Universe. The method can shorten the observation time required to distinguish between various inflation theories.
Just after the Universe came into existence 13.8 billion years ago, it suddenly increased more than a trillion, trillion times in size, in less than a trillionth of a trillionth of a microsecond; but no one knows how or why. This sudden "inflation," is one of the ...
Human health and ecosystems could be affected by microbes including cyanobacteria and algae that hitch rides in clouds and enter soil, lakes, oceans and other environments when it rains, according to a Rutgers co-authored study.
"Some of the organisms we detected in clouds and rain are known to have possible impacts on human health and could also affect microbial populations at rainfall locations," said lead author Kevin Dillon, a doctoral student in the lab of co-author Donna E. Fennell, a professor who chairs the Department of Environmental Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "More work is needed to confirm that and to ...
BETHESDA, Md. -- ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) today announced the publication of two landmark reports that articulate a futuristic vision for pharmacy practice, including expanded roles for the pharmacy enterprise in healthcare organizations. The 2021 ASHP/ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Forecast Report and the Vizient Pharmacy Network High-Value Pharmacy Enterprise (HVPE) framework, published in AJHP, outline opportunities for pharmacy leaders to advance patient-centered care, population health, and the overall well-being of their organizations.
"During these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever for pharmacy leaders to demonstrate the value pharmacy services contribute ...
The short message service Twitter has played a prominent role in US politics in recent weeks and months and attracted a lot of attention. Even in business, Twitter users' tweets are being closely followed and used as a basis for decision-making. A new study shows that venture capitalists can also be influenced by Twitter sentiment when valuing start-up companies from the high-tech sector. "However, the sentiment signals on Twitter say nothing about the long-term investment success of such a start-up. Patent applications, for example, are much better suited for this," said Professor Andranik Tumasjan from Johannes Gutenberg ...
Since the 1980s, the physical and mental health of Swedish children and young people has been measured by way of surveys. One of these is the international "Health Behavior in School-aged Children Survey" (HBSC), which is taken by 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds every fourth year during a class in school.
Researchers Anette Wickström and Kristin Zeiler at Linköping University wanted to study the survey to see which norms can be conveyed in health surveys, something that has rarely been studied. The results have been published in the journal Children & Society.
"The study shows that survey questions on parents' occupation and financial situation create norms about how you should ...
A subtype of asthma in adults may cause higher susceptibility to influenza and could result in dangerous flu mutations.
University of Queensland-led animal studies have found that paucigranulocytic asthma (PGA) - a non-allergic form of the condition - allows the flu virus to flourish in greater numbers in sufferers.
UQ PhD candidate Ms Katina Hulme said this was due to the asthma's suppression of the immune system.
"We were first tipped off about this during the 2009 swine flu pandemic," Ms Hulme said.
"Asthma was identified as the most common underlying medical condition in ...
These observations might be useful for the future development of new antibacterial strategies. The team reports in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology on 12 February 2021.
Bacterial groups in search of food
We commonly know predator-prey relationships from the animal kingdom, but they are also a survival strategy of certain bacteria: bacterial predators actively kill bacteria of other species in order to feed on them. The predatory species include many myxobacteria, which are widespread in the soil and display unique behavioural patterns: many cells assemble into large groups and go in search of food together or, in the event of nutrient ...
Scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden presents evidence that hospital wastewater, containing elevated levels of antibiotics, rapidly kills antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, while multi-resistant bacteria continue to grow. Hospital sewers may therefore provide conditions that promote the evolution of new forms of antibiotic resistance.
It is hardly news that hospital wastewater contains antibiotics from patients. It has been assumed that hospital sewers could be a place where multi-resistant bacteria develop and thrive due to continuous low-level antibiotic exposure. However, direct evidence for selection of resistant bacteria from this type of wastewater has been lacking, until now.
A research group at ...
