Alcohol Use and Its Related Psychosocial Effects during the Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Nagisa Sugaya, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Naho Suzuki and Chigusa Uchiumi
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Nagisa Sugaya: Unit of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
Tetsuya Yamamoto: Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8502, Japan
Naho Suzuki: Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8502, Japan
Chigusa Uchiumi: Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8502, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: We conducted a large-scale survey in the Japanese population, about one year after the initial declaration of the state of emergency, to investigate alcohol use under the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its related psychosocial and demographic characteristics. The survey was conducted online between 15 and 20 June 2021. A total of 11,427 participants were included in the analysis (48.5% female, 48.82 ± 13.30 years, range = 20–90 years). Compared with females, males were more prevalent in the hazardous user and the potential alcoholism group and were less prevalent in the no alcohol-related problem group. However, the prevalence of potential alcoholism among the participants in our study was higher than that previously reported. This trend was particularly pronounced in women. The presence of potential alcoholism was related to a deteriorated psychological status, particularly depression and anxiety, and various difficulties in their daily lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the future, intervention methods and systems should be developed to provide optimal assistance to people with psychological problems who are vulnerable to alcohol-related problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, while conducting further long-term follow-up studies.

Keywords: the coronavirus disease 2019; alcohol use; the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; mental health (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 (2)

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