Unsurprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic has led many people in the United States to drink more alcohol, and that trend doesn’t necessarily seem to be stopping, at least not yet. Americans’ alcohol consumption continues to be influenced by alcohol, and it’s not getting any better, according to a new study.
The onset of the pandemic certainly changed our daily lives, and many people responded by drinking more alcohol, with alcohol consumption in the United States and other regions increasing dramatically through 2021. Thankfully, the worst harm from COVID-19 is now firmly behind us, but this new research suggests it could have a lingering effect on our drinking habits in the first few years, leading to increased risk of liver disease and cancer. This suggests an increased risk of alcohol-related health problems, such as:
Researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative survey conducted in person and by telephone to households across the country. They looked at responses about alcohol use collected between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, just over 66% of Americans consumed alcohol. By 2020, that share had increased to 69% of Americans, an absolute increase of almost 3%. Similarly, about 5% of Americans reported binge drinking in 2018, while more than 6% said the same in 2020. By 2022, both of these numbers were essentially flat.
“Our results provide national data to draw further attention to the potential alcohol-related public health impacts of the pandemic, which may linger,” the researchers wrote in their paper. It is written as follows. published in Tuesday’s diary Annual report of internal medicine.
While these increases may be small in absolute terms, Americans were experiencing increased problem drinking even before the pandemic, and the impact of increased drinking during the pandemic on our collective health was not negligible. . Other studies have shown a significant increase in deaths and injuries directly and indirectly related to alcohol during the early days of the pandemic. For example, a study from early March of this year found that approximately 180,000 deaths a year from excessive alcohol consumption could occur in the United States from 2020 to 2021, significantly higher than the pre-pandemic baseline. It is estimated that there are.
Added to the stress of the pandemic, alcohol consumption in the U.S. may have leveled off in recent days (the number of reported COVID-19 deaths in 2022 will be lower than in the first two years). However, there was a sharp decline in alcohol intake (2023 and 2024). But even if this happens, the effects of this increased drinking could leave a long shadow, as alcohol-related diseases such as cancer and liver damage can take years to become apparent. is high. And researchers say doctors should be more proactive in identifying and helping people who are at risk of unhealthy alcohol use.
“We will provide health care providers with more screening tests for harmful drinking and interventions for at-risk populations,” said lead researcher Brian Lee, a hepatologist and liver transplant expert at the University of Southern California. I encourage them to do so.” statement From university.
