Mood and Changes in Alcohol Consumption in Young Adults during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Model Explaining Associations with Perceived Immune Fitness and Experiencing COVID-19 Symptoms

Agnese Merlo, Noortje R Severeijns, Sarah Benson, Andrew Scholey, Johan Garssen, Gillian Bruce and Joris C Verster
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Agnese Merlo: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Noortje R Severeijns: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Sarah Benson: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia
Andrew Scholey: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia
Johan Garssen: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
Gillian Bruce: Division of Psychology and Social Work, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, UK
Joris C Verster: Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown on mood states, stress, alcohol consumption and perceived immune fitness in a Dutch sample. Analysis included a subsample from the “Corona Lockdown: how fit are you?” (CLOFIT) study, comprising N = 761 participants who reported consuming alcohol in 2020. Results show that, compared to pre-lockdown, the first COVID-19 lockdown (March 2020) was associated with experiencing poorer mood (e.g., anxiety, depression, loneliness, fatigue) and increased stress levels. Among younger participants (18 to 35 years old), a significant decrease in weekly alcohol consumption was found during COVID-19 lockdown, which was not significant in older individuals. For the younger age cohort (18 to 35 years old), increased stress significantly correlated to increased weekly alcohol consumption (r = 0.163, p = 0.003), which in turn, correlated significantly to reporting a poorer perceived immune fitness (r = ?0.165, p = 0.002). Poorer perceived immune fitness correlated significantly with increases in the presence and severity of COVID-19 symptoms (r = ?0.313, p < 0.001, and r = ?0.325, p < 0.001, respectively). The data provides evidence for significant relationships between changes in mood, stress and alcohol consumption during COVID-19 lockdown, and supports a model that links these changes to perceived immune fitness and susceptibility to experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Keywords: COVID-19; alcohol consumption; immune fitness; stress; mood; social isolation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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