Alcohol Use during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Healthcare and Office Workers in Italy

Fabrizio Cedrone, Giuseppe Buomprisco, Mucci Nicola, Giuseppe La Torre, Hector Nieto, Roberto Perri, Vincenzo Montagna, Emilio Greco and Simone De Sio ()
Additional contact information
Fabrizio Cedrone: Hospital Management, Local Health Authority of Pescara, 65122 Pescara, Italy
Giuseppe Buomprisco: R.U. of Occupational Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Mucci Nicola: Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
Giuseppe La Torre: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Hector Nieto: Occupational Medicine School, University of Business and Social Sciences, Buenos Aires C1061 ABA, Argentina
Roberto Perri: R.U. of Occupational Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Montagna: Section of Hygiene, Department of Biomedical Science and Public Health, School of Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy
Emilio Greco: Faculty of Innovative Technologies for Digital Communication, Link Campus University, Via del Casale di San Pio V 44, 00165 Roma, Italy
Simone De Sio: R.U. of Occupational Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Background: The aim of our study of a sample of Italian healthcare (HCWs) and office workers (OWs) carried out during the pandemic period was to understand alcohol consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey based on Google Forms was developed. Harmful alcohol use was assessed through a validated questionnaire (AUDIT-C). Three multivariate logistic regression models were implemented for the overall sample of HCWs and OWs. The presence of harmful alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C score) was considered as a dependent variable. Results: A total of 1745 workers answered the survey. A lower risk of harmful drinking behavior among men overall and in both working groups was found (aOR 0.42, CI 95% 0.33–0.53), but also for both HCWs (aOR 0.62, CI 95% 0.46–0.84) and OWs (aOR 0.17, CI 95% 0.11–0.27). Comparing OWs and HCWs, we found a higher risk of harmful drinking in the first group (aOR 1.62, CI 95% 1.20–2.18). Conclusions: The results of the survey indicate that unhealthy behaviors were elevated during the pandemic. It is urgent to implement company policies managed by an occupational doctor to raise workers’ awareness of alcohol-related dangers and provide educational tools that have the task of preventing the damage caused by alcohol.

Keywords: alcohol; COVID-19; AUDIT-C; alcohol use disorders; harmful alcohol consumption; lockdown; workers (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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