Pandemic's Legacy: America's Growing Dependence on Alcohol

Americans started drinking more as the Covid-19 pandemic got underway.  They were stressed, isolated, uncertain — the world as they had known it had changed overnight.  Two years into the disaster, the trend had not abated, researchers reported recently.  The surge in alcohol consumption was one of several lingering legacies of the pandemic, along with school absenteeism, lags in educational attainment, a rise in overdose deaths and a surge in mental health problems, especially among young people.  The new study showed that increases in alcohol use were found in both sexes; in every age, racial and ethnic group; and in every geographic region.  The number of Americans who reported consuming alcohol at levels defined as heavy drinking increased to 6.29 percent in 2022, up from 6.13 percent in 2020 and 5.1 percent in 2018.  (Heavy drinking for men is consuming at least five drinks in a day or at least 15 drinks per week, and for women at least four drinks a day and at least eight per week. Binge drinking is defined as having four to five drinks in a roughly two-hour period.)  The uptick in heavy drinking was especially notable in two groups. Adults in their 40s reported the highest levels. A total of 8.23 percent of Americans ages 40 to 49 said they had drunk heavily in 2022, up from 6.49 percent in 2020 and 5.14 percent in 2018.  Adults ages 50 to 64 were not far behind, with 7.15 percent reporting heavy drinking, up from 5.65 in 2018 and 6.95 in 2020.  And among women of all ages, 6.45 percent said they had drunk heavily — exceeding the rate among men, 6.12 percent.  While it may be seen as socially acceptable, drinking is a “maladaptive” and harmful way to deal with stress, said a co-author of the study.  In addition to the social toll of excessive alcohol use, prolonged or heavy alcohol consumption damages the liver, leading to alcoholic hepatitis and to cirrhosis.  Excessive alcohol affects the heart muscle, leading to arrhythmias, strokes and high blood pressure, and can cause inflammation of the pancreas, or pancreatitis.  It weakens the immune system and has been associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, such as cancers of the head and neck, the esophagus, the liver, the breast and the colorectum.  But many of these effects will take years to emerge.
Here's the link:  As the Pandemic Deepened, Americans Kept Drinking More - The New York Times