People, especially adults, had taken to alcohol to cope up with the stress because of the Covid-19 lockdown. A new study said that one in three adults or 36 per cent of the people consumed more alcohol though consumption lowered during the pandemic.
The study by a group of researchers at the University of Cambridge published in BMJ Open said that the adults had consumed more alcohol to break down stress due to the lockdown.
They analysed the drinking habit of 1346 people between May 14 and 28. The study relied on a survey on their drinking habits before and after Lockdown. The researchers compared the consumption during the period with that of November 2019. The study also looked into the several mental health factors like depression and anxiety.
In the survey, the researchers noted that the units of alcohol consumed per week decreased during lockdown. It came down from a mean average of 8.32 units in November to 8.03 during lockdown. However, the consumption by adults increased from 10.94 to 11.25 units.
Study’s first author Samantha N Sallie said that alcohol consumption decreased in the United States and Canada during the pandemic. However, United Kingdom saw an increase in alcohol consumption, Sallie added.
The researchers pointed out that older people showed an increased consumption than the younger people.
The study also said that consumption among children was also higher. They consumed between 0.54 and 2.02 units even though they had lesser depression and anxiety scores than the others.
The researchers said that essential workers, especially healthcare workers showed an increase in drinking. The consumed between 0.45 and 1.26 units.
The survey found that men consumed more alcohol than women did. They said that when men showed a decrease in drinking amount and severity during the pandemic lockdown, women demonstrated the opposite. Women consumed more units of alcohol a week. This showed that women consumed more alcohol to come out of stress.
Though drinking could give solace to some of the people from depression and stress, it was harmful to others, the researchers said.
