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Prevalence, risk and protective factors of alcohol use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. military veterans

BACKGROUND: There have been reports of increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population. However, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD), especially in high-risk samples such as U.S. military veterans. METH...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Na, Peter J., Norman, Sonya B., Nichter, Brandon, Hill, Melanie L., Rosen, Marc I., Petrakis, Ismene L., Pietrzak, Robert H.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier B.V. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9758576/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34171825
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108818
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: There have been reports of increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population. However, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD), especially in high-risk samples such as U.S. military veterans. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative, prospective cohort of 3078 U.S. veterans. Pre-pandemic and 1-year peri-pandemic risk and protective factors associated with incident and chronic probable AUD were examined. RESULTS: A total of 6.9 % (n = 183) of veterans were classified as chronic probable AUD, 3.2 % (n = 85) as remitted from AUD, and 2.7 % (n = 71) as incident probable AUD during the pandemic; the prevalence of probable AUD in the full sample remained stable —10.1 % pre-pandemic and 9.6 % peri-pandemic. Younger age, greater pre-pandemic alcohol use severity, and COVID-related stressors were associated with incident AUD during the pandemic, whereas higher pre-pandemic household income was associated with lower risk of this outcome. Younger age, combat experience, lifetime substance use disorder, greater drug use severity, lower dispositional optimism, and more COVID-related worries and social restriction stress were associated with higher risk of chronic AUD. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 1-in-10 US veterans screened positive for AUD 1-year into the pandemic; however, the pre- and 1-year peri-pandemic prevalence of probable AUD remained stable. Veterans who are younger, have served in combat roles, endorse more COVID-related stressors, and have fewer socioeconomic resources may be at higher risk for AUD during the pandemic.