Alcohol Consumption during COVID

CHDS Faculty Eve Wittenberg‘s ongoing study of health-related quality of life of alcohol consumption has been awarded additional funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to expand the focus to changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with investigators at the Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and RTI International, the expanded study will collect survey data on Americans’ alcohol consumption, how their lives have been affected by the pandemic, and their health related quality of life during these times, to assess how changing alcohol consumption is affecting quality of life. While research has shown that alcohol consumption has increased in the US since the start of the pandemic, it’s unknown whether these changes have led to better or worse quality of life—meaning whether alcohol consumption has been a benign coping mechanism or a harmful response to the pandemic, and for whom. Study results will inform alcohol policy and interventions in future disasters, such as hurricanes, disease outbreaks, and national emergencies.

Learn more about quality of life research at CHDS.