Alcohol consumption under lockdown measures during the Covid-19 pandemic in three Nordic countries

Bibliographic Data

ID19273791
AuthorsOscar Gunnerlind (0000-0003-2856-0192, Umeå University), Robert Lundqvist (0000-0003-4059-3368, Umeå University), Michael Ott (0000-0003-2393-9750, Umeå University), Ursula Werneke (0000-0002-5023-3254, Umeå University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume70
Issue1
Pages48-58
Publication date2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7640 • E-ISSN: 1741-2854
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00207640231194486
PMID37650471
OpenAlexW4386306023
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited26

BACKGROUND: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns arose about a possible rise in alcohol consumption. Early surveys, however, more commonly pointed towards a decrease of alcohol use. But studies based on self-reports may underestimate alcohol use. They also depend on the population sampled. Because of border closures and gastronomy restrictions, countries with centralised alcohol sales provided a unique opportunity to study total domestic consumption during the pandemic without influence of private import or reliance on self-reports. AIMS: We examined the correlation between alcohol sales and national COVID-19 restrictions in three such countries, Finland, Norway and Sweden. METHOD: We conducted this study as a mirror image study, comparing alcohol sales during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic with the two preceding years. We explored hours of daylight/season as potential confounders. RESULTS: We found no relevant change in alcohol sales during the pandemic years for Finland or Sweden. For Norway, there was a level-change in sales, which could be explained by decreased imports. Sales followed a seasonal pattern. In all three countries, the initial pandemic increase in alcohol sales coincided with an underlying annually recurring seasonal variation. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic had less of an impact on alcohol consumption in the three Nordic countries than could intuitively be expected. The increase of alcohol sales at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a seasonal rise following a pre-pandemic pattern. Therefore, caution should be exercised with drawing conclusions from data with a short time perspective to avoid attribution bias

Alcohol · Alcohol consumption · Business · Consumption (sociology) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Demographic economics · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Pandemic · Population · Sociology · Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Demography · Medicine · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

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