Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug/Alcohol Use Prevalence in a Population with Substance Use Disorders

Alessio Gili, Massimo Lancia, Angela Gambelunghe, Luca Tomassini, Alessia Nicoletti, Kyriaki Aroni and Cristiana Gambelunghe ()
Additional contact information
Alessio Gili: Hygiene and Public Health Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Massimo Lancia: Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Angela Gambelunghe: Occupational Medicine, Respiratory Diseases and Toxicology Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Luca Tomassini: Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Alessia Nicoletti: Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Kyriaki Aroni: Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy
Cristiana Gambelunghe: Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, 06132 Perugia, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: As time passes, the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are becoming increasingly apparent. The extreme restrictions imposed during the pandemic have had detrimental impacts on the most vulnerable groups, such as individuals suffering from substance and/or alcohol disorders (SUDs). This study reports quarterly laboratory data on alcohol and drug use in 150 subjects with SUDs that were examined using hair analysis for 2 years before the start of pandemic until after the end of the Italian health emergency. Overall, it was found that the number of subjects who used heroin, cocaine, and MDMA all decreased during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns, increasing during reopening and subsequently stabilizing close to pre-COVID levels. Cannabis use was less impacted, remaining stable throughout the pandemic. Alcohol and benzodiazepine use both increased significantly during the lockdowns, displaying an opposing trend. While benzodiazepine use progressively returned to baseline levels, alcohol remained at significantly increased levels, even in September 2022. Long-term heavy drinking combined with substance use should be seriously considered, since these results in several health and social problems alongside alcohol-related comorbidities. Thus, appropriate response plans should be implemented both during and after the pandemic, whilst focusing on those who are most vulnerable.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; drug abuse; alcohol abuse; addiction; hair analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6261/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6261/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:13:p:6261-:d:1183618

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().