Stress and excessive alcohol consumption among insured and uninsured adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

AIM: This study examined the relationships between stress, excessive drinking, including binge and heavy drinking, and health insurance status among a regionally representative sample of adults living in Northern Larimer County, Colorado, during the COVID-19 pandemic. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Data from 551 adults aged 18 to 64 years (62.98% aged 45 to 65 years; 73.22% female; 92.98% non-Hispanic White) were used. The sample was weighted by age and binary sex. A series of logistic regressions were applied to examine bivariate associations among stress, drinking, and health insurance status, with and without accounting for the effects of sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Stratified analyses were applied to explore differential associations of stress and drinking among individuals with different health insurance coverage. RESULTS: A total of 23.23% of the adult sample reported binge drinking, and 16.15% reported heavy drinking; 10.53% of the sample reported both binge and heavy drinking. Individuals with higher levels of stress were more likely to report binge drinking (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.65, 1.68) and heavy drinking (OR: 2.61; 95% CI: 2.54, 2.67), after adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Relative to individuals with private health insurance coverage, adults enrolled in Medicaid and those without health insurance coverage were more susceptible to the effect of stress on binge and heavy drinking. CONCLUSION: Our results highlighted a need for continuing statewide and/or national efforts in closing the insurance coverage gap and providing affordable marketplace health insurance in the hope of preventing excessive drinking due to high levels of stress during a challenging time.