While Dry January is coming to a close, the topic of drinking alcohol is still making headlines.

Heavy drinking habits among adults that started during the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t slowed down, according to a study.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that alcohol use among adults ages 18 and older increased by 4% from 2018 to 2020, with heavy alcohol use increasing by a whopping 20%. Researchers say the increase continued in 2022.

The pandemic caused plenty of stress for people – working from home, remote learning for children and just plain boredom. Experts say alcohol can start as a habit and then become an addiction. It’s also a way to cope with problems and issues that are impacting our daily lives. 

“COVID was a very stressful time for a lot of people,” says Jessy Mathew, MD, a primary care physician for OSF HealthCare. “There was a lot of social isolation, and a lot of emotional turmoil. People lost their friends; they lost family members. There were no outdoor activities, and alcohol became a relief from all these problems.”

The study defined heavy drinking as five drinks a day or 15 drinks a week for men and four drinks a day or eight drinks a week for women. The increase was seen in all age groups, genders, races and regions in the U.S. except for Asian Americans and Native Americans. Adults in their 40s had the biggest increase in consumption.

“It depends on the type of alcohol and your rate of metabolism, which might be different for each person,” says Dr. Mathew. “It also depends on how much you're drinking at the time. Are you binge drinking? Are you mixing it with other drinks? Are you mixing it with other substances or other drugs? There's a variety of reasons.”

There are many risks with heavy drinking. Among the potential health problems include heart disease and cancer, as well as anxiety, depression, the risk of accidents, and social, family, legal and behavioral issues. “Alcohol affects everything, basically, from head to toe, every single organ can be affected by alcohol,” says Dr. Mathew.

The earlier people start drinking, the greater the risk of developing health issues later in life. And women are more prone to get sicker from alcohol, according to Dr. Mathew. “There's a study that says that if you have one extra drink a day, it puts you at a risk of five to nine times more likely of getting breast cancer,” she says. “It also increases your risk of infertility, menstrual problems, osteoporosis or weakening of your bones, which leads to fractures.” 

Dr. Mathew offers several ways to reduce alcohol consumption, including:

·         Avoiding triggers such as people, places or activities that lead to heavy drinking

·         Create ways to deal with stress such as exercise, walking and reading

·         Limit the amount of alcohol you have in your home

·         Find hobbies that don’t involve alcohol

·         Seek support from friends and family or co-workers

Dr. Mathew adds that if you start feeling guilty about drinking, find yourself becoming easily agitated, or drinking at odd times of the day, it might be time to seek professional help. For more information on behavioral health services, visit the OSF HealthCare website. 

 

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The Beverage Information Group reports beer sales have slumped in recent years. Alcohol brands such as Heineken are paying attention to what marketers believe is more than just a passing fad by creating no alcohol beer and spirits. Also called “elective sobriety,” the choice to abstain is not brought on by addiction issues, but rather a desire for a more productive, healthy lifestyle.

The “sober curious” movement includes people drinking less in general and it is qualifying as a movement supported by recent research from the well-known Nielsen research company. It reported 47% of American adults said they wanted to drink less alcohol last year and the company predicts the trend will continue.

OSF HealthCare’s Medical Director for Behavioral Health Dr. Samuel Sears says moving away from alcohol consumption is a positive trend supported by new medical research showing even moderate alcohol use is not good.

“The literature for a long time pointed toward low-and-moderate alcohol use being potentially protective whereas the newer literature is starting to question whether that’s true and that really not using alcohol is probably the healthiest thing available to somebody,” he shared.

Long term drinking also increases the risk of developing diabetes, strokes, hypertension and depression.

Dr. Sears added, “There are increased cancer rates associated with alcohol use, worse for the more you drink so these are very good health choices in terms of making that switch.”

There  are increasingly more options on store shelves and in restaurants for anyone who wants to extend a Dry January into the rest of the year. Dr. Sears is excited about increased options for his patients on antidepressants who should not be drinking alcohol because it depresses the central nervous system.

“When you’re activating that GABA system while you’re on medication for something like depression or anxiety, it’s actually impairing that medication’s ability to work by sending signals further downstream and really negating some of the benefits you’re getting from your medication otherwise. So, from a mental health standpoint, there’s a very good reason to stay away from or minimize alcohol use,” he emphasized.

Whether it’s temporary temperance or a more permanent choice, Dr. Sears says not drinking alcohol helps people avoid other unhealthy behaviors: binge eating unhealthy food, not sticking to an exercise routine, and irregular sleep brought on by alcohol which reduces the all-important rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The more you drink before bed, the more pronounced the effects according to research.

Dr. Sears is also optimistic the culture shift will make it easier for health care providers to talk with their patients about alcohol use.

He stressed, “This is a general health concern and something that really we would encourage primary care providers to be talking with their patients about because it does impact basically every aspect of a person’s health over their lifetime.”

Always check to make sure you are not taking medication that will interact badly with alcohol.

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