Alcohol use patterns during and after the COVID-19 pandemic among veterans in the United States
APA Citation:
Wong, R. J., Yang, Z., Ostacher, M., Zhang, W., Satre, D., Monto, A., Khalili, M., Singal, A. K., & Cheung, R. (2024). Alcohol use patterns during and after the COVID-19 pandemic among veterans in the United States. The American Journal of Medicine, 137(3), 236-239.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.11.013
Focus:
Veterans
Substance use
Branch of Service:
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Veteran
Subject Affiliation:
Veteran
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Aged (65 yrs & older)
Authors:
Wong, Robert J., Yang, Zeyuan, Ostacher, Michael, Zhang, Wei, Satre, Derek, Monto, Alexander, Khalili, Mandana, Singal, Ashwani K., Cheung, Ramsey
Abstract:
Background Veterans may be especially susceptible to increased alcohol consumption following the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to evaluate trends in alcohol use among U.S. Veterans before, during, and following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods All U.S. Veterans utilizing Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities in the U.S. from March 1, 2018 to February 28, 2023 with ≥1 AUDIT-C score were categorized into 1) No alcohol use (AUDIT-C = 0), 2) Low-risk alcohol use (AUDIT-C 1-2 for women, 1-3 for men), and 3) High-risk alcohol use (AUDIT-C ≥ 3 for women, ≥ 4 for men). Trends in the proportion of Veterans reporting high-risk alcohol use, stratified by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity were evaluated. Results Among a cohort of 2.15 to 2.60 million Veterans, 15.5% reported high-risk alcohol use during March 2018-February 2019, which declined to 14.6% during the first year of the pandemic, increased to 15.2% in the second year, and then decreased to 14.9% from March 2022-February 2023. Among non-Hispanic whites, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics, the proportion of women reporting high-risk alcohol use surpassed that of men during the onset of the pandemic and beyond. The greatest proportion of high-risk alcohol use was observed among young Veterans aged 18-39 years (17-27%), which was consistent across all race/ethnic groups. Conclusions High-risk alcohol use among U.S. Veterans has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic onset, and in the third year following pandemic onset, 15% of Veterans overall and over 20% of young Veterans aged 18-39 years reported high -risk alcohol use.
Publication Type:
Article
Keywords:
alcohol use disorder, Alcoholism, AUDIT-C, Pandemic, Veterans