ArticleBMC public health2022
Exploring changes in temporary abstinence in increasing and higher risk drinkers in England and Dry January participation in users of the Try Dry app in the UK between 2020 and 2021.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Daily alcohol consumption trajectories and user retention during a national temporary abstinence campaign: real-world data from a smartphone application.BMC medicine · 2026Observational
- A scoping review of Dry January: evidence and future directions.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Article
- "My Health Is More Important than Drinking": A Qualitative Analysis of Alcohol Use During COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Detailed assessment of night shift work aspects and potential mediators of its health effects: the contribution of field studies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Cutting consumption without diluting the experience: Preferences for different tactics for reducing alcohol consumption among increasing-and-higher-risk drinkers based on drinking context.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and characteristics of participants inFrontiers in public health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe looked at changes in the prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence and changes in prevalence of use of the official app accompanying Dry January between 2020 vs 2021, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explored potential shifts in the sociodemographic composition of both groups.
methodsWe analysed data from: i) 1863 increasing and higher risk drinkers (defined as ≥ 8 on the AUDIT) responding to a nationally representative survey of adults in England in January and February 2020 and 2021, and ii) 104,598 users of the 'Try Dry' app, the official aid to those participating in Dry January 2020 and 2021 in the UK. We used logistic regression to examine shifts in the prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence and explored whether there were shifts in the characteristics of this group in terms of AUDIT score, number of last year reduction attempts, smoking status, living alone, living with children, reducing alcohol consumption due to future health motives, age, sex, and occupational social grade between 2020 and 2021. We used t-tests and chi-squared tests to compare the prevalence of users of the 'Try Dry' app in 2020 and 2021 and examine whether the two groups differed in terms of age and sex.
resultsThe proportion of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence increased from 4% in 2020 to 8% in 2021 (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.38-3.11, p < .001) with no changes detected in sociodemographic composition. The number of Try Dry app users in 2021 increased by 34.8% relative to 2020. App users in 2021 were two years older on average [p < .001, d = .02], with a 2% increase in the proportion of female app users [p < .001, vs. < .01].
conclusionsHigher participation in Dry January 2021 relative to 2020 indicates increased engagement with a period of temporary abstinence following the COVID-19 related lockdowns in England and the UK, which is positive in the wider context of increasing alcohol consumption throughout the pandemic.
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