ArticleAddictive behaviors2021
Changes in alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic among American veterans.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Intertwining of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Alcohol, Tobacco or Nicotine Use, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Changes in alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic and previous pandemics: A systematic review.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Pooled it
- Military sexual trauma, childhood trauma, and combat trauma: Associations with longitudinal posttraumatic growth among U.S. Veterans.Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy · 2025Article
- Functional Relationships of Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in a Pilot Sample of Veterans.Journal of dual diagnosis · 2025Article
- Problematic Alcohol Use Trajectories in U.S. Military Veterans during a Public Health Crisis: Results from a 3-year, Nationally Representative, Longitudinal Study.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2024Article
- Alcohol Use Patterns During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Veterans in the United States.The American journal of medicine · 2024Article
- Pain Trajectories among U.S. Veterans During COVID-19.The journal of pain · 2023Article
- Associations between trauma-related guilt, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, and problematic alcohol use.Psychiatry research · 2023Article
- Cigarette Smoking and Depression Among U.S. Veterans: Longitudinal Associations With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Parenting Competence among Israeli Male Veterans: The Mediating Roles of Experiential Avoidance and Parental Reflective Functioning.Journal of child and family studies · 2023Article
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Self-Reported Substance Use, Well-Being, and Functioning Among United States Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Million Veteran Program's response to COVID-19: Survey development and preliminary findings.PloS one · 2022Article
- Diagnostic Rates of Alcohol Use Disorder, Insomnia Disorder, and Their Co-Occurrence in the Veterans Health Administration From 2018 to 2023.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had considerable behavioral health implications globally. One subgroup that may be of particular concern is U.S. veterans, who are susceptible to mental health and substance use concerns. The current study aimed to investigate changes in alcohol use and binge drinking before and during the first year of the pandemic among U.S. veterans, and how pre-pandemic mental health disorders, namely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and COVID-19-related factors like loneliness, negative reactions to COVID-19, and economic hardship influenced alcohol use trends.
methods1230 veterans were recruited in February 2020 as part of a larger survey study on veteran health behaviors. Veterans were asked to complete follow-up assessments throughout the pandemic at 6, 9, and 12- months.
resultsOverall, veterans reported a significant decrease in alcohol use (IRR = 0.98) and binge drinking (IRR = 0.11) However, women, racial/ethnic minority veterans, and those with pre-existing PTSD exhibited smaller decreases in alcohol use and binge drinking and overall higher rates of use compared to men, White veterans, and those without PTSD. Both economic hardship and negative reactions to COVID-19 were associated with greater alcohol and binge drinking whereas loneliness showed a negative association with alcohol use and binge drinking.
conclusionsVeterans reported decreases in alcohol use and binge drinking throughout the pandemic, with heterogeneity in these outcomes noted for higher risk groups. Special research and clinical attention should be given to the behavioral health care needs of veterans in the post-pandemic period.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.