NIAAA Director, Dr. George Koob, liberty bells mushrooms discusses what we know about how alcohol affects our immune and stress systems, along with issues related to treatment access during the pandemic. NIH-funded study identifies managing maternal stress as a possible way to lessen impacts of prenatal infection on infant socioemotional and cognitive development. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every family across the country, and alcohol misuse is complicating the situation in multiple ways. Finally, some jurisdictions loosened alcohol restrictions during the pandemic.
Alcohol consumption, psychological imbalances and COVID-19
It does not reduce the risk of infection or the development of severe illness related to COVID-19. However, if you’re physically dependent on alcohol or drink heavily, stopping drinking without medical supervision may be dangerous. If you’re ready to seek treatment, do so after your infection has cleared. At the same time, people with active alcohol use disorder shouldn’t suddenly stop drinking without medical supervision, as alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. Facing the COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease) pandemic, the countries of the world must take decisive action to stop the spread of the virus.
In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory infections, which can range from a common cold to severe conditions, legal drinking age in russia such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) 2. COVID-19 was first identified in late 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in China, in patients who developed pneumonia without being able to establish a clear cause 4. There are no specific treatments for COVID-19 infection yet, although many candidate therapies are being evaluated in clinical trials 5, 6, 7, 8 and several COVID-19 vaccines are approved or under evaluation for approval by authorities 9, 10, 11.
Other factors that may lead to alcohol intolerance
Ethanol in the form of alcoholic beverages is obtained by fermentation of sugars from cereals and fruits, while ethanol used in the production of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, disinfectants, food additives, preservatives and fuels is obtained mostly by petrochemical processes 18. While hand sanitizers containing 60-95% ethyl alcohol can help destroy the coronavirus on surfaces, drinking alcohol offers no protection from the virus. To cope, many people turned to alcohol despite the risk of developing alcohol-related problems, including problem drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD). For example, some research suggests that poor sleep can make long COVID worse, and difficulty sleeping is a common side effect of drinking alcohol. In the meantime, healthcare providers should take alcohol intolerance into account when evaluating and treating post-COVID symptoms.
Do some people have a higher risk for AUD triggered by events like the pandemic?
- Alcohol can also weaken your immune system and contribute to risk-taking behavior (like not wearing a mask) that could increase your chances of contracting the virus.
- It was really no surprise that during the first year of the pandemic, alcohol sales jumped by nearly 3%, the largest increase in more than 50 years.
- It is possible for high concentrations of alcohol, such as 60–90%, to kill some forms of bacteria and viruses.
- In Australia, lower levels of alcohol were detected in wastewater during the quarantine, comparing with the similar periods of the previous years, suggesting a reduction in drinking among the general population, possibly as a result of missing social events and changes in overall drinking patterns 46.
We spoke with George F. Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), to learn about the pandemic’s effects on alcohol use and related harms. Koob is an expert on the biology of alcohol and drug addiction and has been studying the impact of alcohol on the brain for more than 50 years. He is a national leader in efforts to prevent and treat AUD and to educate people about risky alcohol use. Severe illness, grief, isolation, disrupted schooling, job loss, economic hardship, shortages of food and supplies, mental health problems, and limited access to health care — these are just some of the sources of stress people faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of substantial and unexpected social and economic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people turned to alcohol and other drugs to cope with those stressors. Unfortunately, the pandemic also made accessing substance use disorder treatment more difficult. This research suggests that these issues are reflected in deaths related to alcohol use. Future research can focus on addressing the mental health needs of people with alcoholism or substance use disorders and people prone to it, especially during very stressful events. All the participants drank at home during the lockdown, 20.7 % reported an increased consumption, mainly due to isolation (29.7 %), changes in everyday habits (27.5 %) or for coping with anxiety or depression (13.6 %) 41. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large family of viruses that can infect both humans and animals 1.
Further research is needed to establish a clearer understanding of this phenomenon. While research on alcohol intolerance post-COVID-19 is limited, numerous anecdotal reports suggest that alcohol intolerance could be a symptom of long COVID for some individuals. There’s growing evidence that it may be a unique symptom of long COVID, particularly the post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) type. Apart from the intensively and analyzed trends and motivations of adults’ alcohol consumption, there are several sensitive and less discussed issues, with potential long-term consequences, that would deserve more attention. Another important factor is malnutrition secondary to excessive alcohol intake 62. The harmful effect on the mucosa of the digestive tract consists in decreasing the absorption and metabolism of certain xanax substitute otc nutrients, including B vitamins (B1, B6 and B9 or folic acid), leading to a slowing of leukocyte proliferation and differentiation 63.
Sian Ferguson is a freelance health and cannabis writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information. However, these medications can cause unpleasant side effects, like headaches, which may be worsened with alcohol use. Going “cold turkey” when you have a physical dependence on alcohol can be dangerous.
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