Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34749198›Full record

SynthesisDrug and alcohol dependence2021

Alcohol and other substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.

Amanda Roberts, Jim Rogers, Rachael Mason, Aloysius Niroshan Siriwardena, Todd Hogue, Gregory Adam Whitley, Graham R Law

Open access · greenAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 241 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
241citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
49.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

241 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 416 citations in OpenAlex.

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181 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Amanda RobertsSchool of Psychology, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK. Electronic address: aroberts@lincoln.ac.uk.
Jim RogersCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
Rachael MasonCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
Aloysius Niroshan SiriwardenaCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
Todd HogueSchool of Psychology, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
Gregory Adam WhitleyCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
Graham R LawCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7TS, UK.
University of Lincoln · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough evidence suggests substance and alcohol use may change during the Covid-19 pandemic there has been no full review of the evidence around this.

methodsA systematic review of all available evidence was carried out to document and interpret the frequency and severity of alcohol and other substance use during the Covid-19 pandemic and their relationship to demographic and mental health variables that may suggest further clinical implications. Peer reviewed articles in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL complete and Sociological Abstracts were searched from December 2019 until November 2020.

resultsThe search and screening identified 45 articles from 513 deduplicated records. The evidence suggests a mixed picture for alcohol use. Overall, there was a trend towards increased alcohol consumption. The proportion of people consuming alcohol during the pandemic ranged from 21.7% to 72.9% in general population samples. Unlike alcohol use, there was a clear trend towards increased use of other substances use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of people consuming other substances during the pandemic ranged from 3.6% to 17.5% in the general population. Mental health factors were the most common correlates or triggers for increased use of both alcohol and other substances.

conclusionThere is an increased need for treatment for alcohol and other substance use related problems during the pandemic. Increased targeting and evidence-based interventions will also be important in the period which follows this pandemic, to improve the quality of life for individuals and families, but also to prevent additional costs to society and health systems.

Indexed as

COVID-19Substance-Related DisordersHumansPandemicsQuality of LifeSARS-CoV-2Alcohol useCovid-19Mental healthPandemicSubstance useSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID34749198
PMCPMC8559994
OpenAlexW3209664063

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.