Loneliness and Increased Hazardous Alcohol Use: Data from a Nationwide Internet Survey with 1-Year Follow-Up

Mami Wakabayashi (), Yoshifumi Sugiyama, Midori Takada, Aya Kinjo, Hiroyasu Iso and Takahiro Tabuchi
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Mami Wakabayashi: Institute for Global Health Policy Research, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1, Toyama Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan
Yoshifumi Sugiyama: Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Research Center for Medical Sciences, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
Midori Takada: Department of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka 536-8588, Japan
Aya Kinjo: Division of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori 683-8503, Japan
Hiroyasu Iso: Institute for Global Health Policy Research, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1, Toyama Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan
Takahiro Tabuchi: Cancer Control Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka 541-8567, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: We aimed to examine the association between loneliness and developing alcohol dependence or hazardous alcohol use. A cohort study was conducted utilizing data from a nationwide internet survey in 2021 and 2022 in Japan. A total of 15,854 follow-up participants (55% men, with a mean age of 52.8 years) were divided based on AUDIT scores: nondrinkers (AUDIT: 0), low-risk drinkers (AUDIT: 1–7), medium-risk drinkers (AUD: 8–14), high-risk drinkers (AUDIT: 15–19), and probable alcohol dependence (AUDIT: 20–40). The University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (Version 3), a short-form three-item scale, was used to assess loneliness (high loneliness score of ≥6). The prevalence of high loneliness was higher in nondrinkers than that in low- and medium-risk drinkers, i.e., 22%, 18%, and 17%, respectively, as well as in high-risk drinkers (32%) and those with probable alcohol dependence (43%) compared to non-high-risk drinkers (19%). After adjusting for various factors (sociodemographic, social isolation, psychological distress, and smoking), non-high-risk drinkers (AUDIT: 0–14) with high loneliness were more likely to become high-or-over-risk drinkers (AUDIT: 15–40) than those without high loneliness, with adjusted risk ratios of 1.45 (95% confidence interval: 1.08–1.96) through multivariable binary logistic regression. Among non-high-risk drinkers, people with high loneliness scores at baseline were associated with increased high-risk drinking patterns with probable alcohol dependence.

Keywords: alcohol use disorders identification test; hazardous alcohol use; alcohol use disorders; loneliness; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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