The early impact of COVID-19 on the incidence, prevalence, and severity of alcohol use and other drugs: A systematic review
Related Research units
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper was to examine the early impact of COVID-19 on substance use to assess implications for planning substance use treatment and support systems.
METHOD: A systematic review of literature published up to March 2021 was conducted to summarize changes in prevalence, incidence, and severity of substance use associated with COVID-19 and the accompanying public health measures, including lockdown, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing.
RESULTS: We identified 53 papers describing changes to substance use at the population level. The majority of papers described changes related to alcohol use and most relied on self-reported measures of consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with pre-pandemic use. There was less evidence to support changes in non-alcohol substance use. In general, risky pre-pandemic alcohol use, caregiving responsibilities, stress, depression, anxiety, and current treatment for a mental disorder were found to be associated with increased substance use.
CONCLUSION: This review provides preliminary data on changes in substance use, indicating that certain segments of the population increased their alcohol use early on in the COVID-19 pandemic and may be at greater risk of harm and in need of additional services. There is a need for additional population-level information on substance use to inform evidence-based rapid responses from a treatment system perspective.
Bibliographical data
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 109065 |
ISSN | 0376-8716 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01.11.2021 |
Comment Deanary
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PubMed | 34600257 |
---|