̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - alcohol

Cambridge and London hospitals to pioneer brain implants to combat alcohol and opioid addiction

cjb250 — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 08:00:50 +0000

̽��ֱ��technique – known as deep brain stimulation – is to be trialled at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and King’s College Hospital, London. ̽��ֱ��team behind the Brain-PACER: Brain Pacemaker Addiction Control to End Relapse study will soon be recruiting individuals with severe alcohol or opioid addiction who are interested in taking part.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that delivers ongoing stimulation to the brain. DBS acts as a brain pacemaker to normalise abnormal brain activity. It is well-tolerated, effective and widely used for neurological disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Although there have been several proof-of-concept studies that suggest DBS is effective in addictions, Brain-PACER – a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Kings College London and the ̽��ֱ�� of Oxford – is the first major, multicentre study to use DBS to treat craving and relapse in severe addiction.

Chief Investigator Professor Valerie Voon, from the Department of Psychiatry at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “While many people who experience alcohol or drug addiction can, with the right support, control their impulses, for some people, their addiction is so severe that no treatments are effective. Their addiction is hugely harmful to their health and wellbeing, to their relationships and their everyday lives.

“Initial evidence suggests that deep brain stimulation may be able to help these individuals manage their conditions. We’ve seen how effective it can be for other neurological disorders from Parkinson’s to OCD to depression. We want to see if it can also transform the lives of people with intractable alcohol and opioid addiction.”

̽��ֱ��primary aim of the Brain-PACER study is to assess the effects of DBS to treat alcohol and opioid addiction in a randomised controlled trial study. Its mission is twofold: to develop effective treatments for addiction and to understand the brain mechanisms that drive addiction disorders.

DBS is a neurosurgical treatment that involves implanting a slender electrode in the brain and a pacemaker under general anaesthesia. These electrodes deliver electrical impulses to modulate neural activity, which can help alleviate symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Keyoumars Ashkan, Professor of Neurosurgery at King’s College Hospital and the lead surgeon for the study, said: “Deep brain stimulation is a powerful surgical technique that can transform lives. It will be a major leap forward if we can show efficacy in this very difficult disease with huge burden to the patients and society.”

During surgery, thin electrodes are carefully placed in precise locations of the brain. These locations are chosen based on the condition being treated. For addiction, the electrodes are placed in areas involved in reward, motivation, and decision-making.

Harry Bulstrode, Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Lecturer at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: "We see first-hand how deep brain stimulation surgery can be life-changing for patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. Thanks to this trial, I am now hopeful that we can help patients and their families – who have often struggled for years – by targeting the parts of the brain linked to addiction."

Dr David Okai, Visiting Senior Lecturer from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, added: “DBS is safe, reversible and adjustable, so it offers a flexible option for managing chronic conditions. We hope it will offer a lifeline to help improve the quality of life for patients whose treatment until now has been unsuccessful.”

Details on the trial, including criteria for participation, can be found on the Brain-PACER website.

̽��ֱ��research is supported by the Medical Research Council, UK Research & Innovation.

People suffering from severe alcohol and opioid addiction are to be offered a revolutionary new technique involving planting electrodes in the brain to modulate brain activity and cravings and improve self-control.

We’ve seen how effective deep brain stimulation can be for neurological disorders from Parkinson’s to OCD to depression. We want to see if it can also transform the lives of people with intractable alcohol and opioid addiction

Valerie Voon

Shamir R, Noecker A and McIntyre C

Graphic demonstrating deep brain stimulation

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Boost your life in 2025: Top tips for a healthier body and mind from Cambridge experts

jg533 — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 09:16:07 +0000

Five Cambridge experts share their top tips on ways to boost your body and mind, backed up by their own research

Removing pint glasses could reduce beer sales by almost 10%

cjb250 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:08:32 +0000

Alcohol consumption is the fifth largest contributor to premature death and disease worldwide. In 2016 it was estimated to have caused approximately 3 million deaths worldwide.

Professor Dame Theresa Marteau and colleagues at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit have shown previously that serving wine in smaller glasses is associated with a decrease in sales.

To see if this effect was seen with other alcoholic drinks, they approached venues in England and asked them to remove the pint serving size and instead offer two-thirds as the largest option for four weeks, with four-week non-intervention periods before and after as a comparison.

In a study published in PLOS Medicine, the team found that removing the pint reduced the daily mean volume of beer, lager and cider sold by 9.7%, although there was a slight increase in the amount of wine purchased, with one pub contributing to half of the increase of wine sales. They report that although customers did not complain, fewer than 1% of venues approached agreed to participate and the intervention involved only 12 establishments.

Professor Marteau said: “Alcohol harms our health, increasing the risk of injury and many diseases including heart disease, bowel, breast and liver cancers. While we may all enjoy a drink, the less we drink the better our health.

“As we’ve shown is the case with wine, removing the largest serving size for beer, lager and cider – in this case, the pint – could encourage people to drink less. This could be beneficial both to the nation’s health and the health of individuals.”

Further assessment is needed, particularly into whether people fully compensated for reduced beer consumption by drinking other alcoholic drinks, but the intervention merits consideration for inclusion in alcohol control policies. Smaller serving sizes could contribute towards reducing alcohol consumption across populations and thereby decrease the risk of seven cancers and other diseases.

Reference
Mantzari, E et al. Impact on beer sales of removing the pint serving size: An A-B-A reversal trial in pubs, bars, and restaurants in England. PLOS Medicine; 17 Sept 2024; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004442

Adapted from a press release by PLOS Medicine

Cambridge researchers have shown that reducing the serving size for beer, lager and cider reduces the volume of those drinks consumed in pubs, bars and restaurants, which could have wider public health benefits.

While we may all enjoy a drink, the less we drink the better our health

Theresa Marteau

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Barman handing a customer a pint of beer

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Increasing availability of non-alcoholic drinks may reduce amount of alcohol purchased online

cjb250 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:00:42 +0000

̽��ֱ��team used a simulated supermarket that presented shoppers with varying proportions of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and asked them to select drinks to purchase for their next online shop. They found that shoppers who were exposed to more non-alcoholic drinks selected and purchased fewer units of alcohol. ̽��ֱ��findings are published in PLOS Medicine.

Excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for a number of diseases, including cancer, heart disease and stroke. Encouraging people to change their behaviour could therefore have significant health benefits at both an individual and population level.

There is increasing evidence that people can be ‘nudged’ towards reducing their alcohol consumption by making small adjustments to their environment. For example, scientists at Cambridge’s Behaviour and Health Research Unit have previously shown that serving wine in smaller glasses – even while keeping the amount of wine in the glasses the same – led to people consuming less alcohol.

A recent analysis found that reducing the proportion of unhealthy snacks available can reduce how much of these food products people consume, though the evidence included was limited in both quality and quantity. ̽��ֱ��Cambridge team wanted to see if a similar approach might work to nudge people towards consuming fewer alcoholic drinks.

̽��ֱ��researchers recruited 737 adults living in England and Wales, all of whom regularly purchased alcohol online, to take part in the study. Of these, just over 600 completed the study and were included in the final analysis – 60% were female and the average (mean) age was 38.

Participants selected drinks from 64 options in a simulated online supermarket designed to look and function like a real online supermarket. Options included a range of beers, ciders, alcohol-free beer and cider alternatives, and soft drinks.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, each of which was presented with a different proportion of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. 25% of the drinks seen by Group 1 were non-alcoholic. For Group 2, this increased to 50%, and for Group 3 the proportion of non-alcoholic drinks seen rose to 75%.

Those exposed to the highest proportion of non-alcoholic drinks (Group 3) selected fewer alcohol units, 17.5 units, compared to 29.4 units in those exposed to the lowest proportion of non-alcoholic drinks (Group 1) – equivalent to a reduction of about 41%.

Participants were then asked to actually purchase the same drinks in an online supermarket, Tesco, the largest national supermarket in the UK. Around two-thirds of participants completed this second stage, with 422 participants going on to purchase drinks. ̽��ֱ��researchers point out that ‘cart abandonment’ – where people do not purchase items they put in their shopping cart – is common in online shopping contexts.

̽��ֱ��researchers found that amongst participants exposed to the highest proportion of non-alcoholic drinks, 52% of the drinks purchased were alcoholic, compared to 70% of drinks that were purchased by those exposed to the lowest proportion of non-alcoholic drinks.

Lead author Dr Natasha Clarke said: “We created our simulated supermarket to be as close as possible to an actual online supermarket and found that increasing the proportion of non-alcoholic drinks that shoppers were exposed to made a meaningful difference to their alcohol selection. Though we’d need to confirm these findings using only a real online supermarket, they are very promising.”

While the current market for alcohol-free beer, wine and spirits represents only a small share of the global alcohol industry, it is rapidly growing. For example, low and no-alcohol beer currently accounts for 3% of the total beer market, but this is forecast to increase by nearly 13% per year over the next 3 years and is the fastest growing drinks segment in the UK.

Senior author Dr Gareth Hollands said: “Supermarkets typically stock a wider range of alcoholic drinks than non-alcoholic alternatives aimed at adults, but this is slowly changing. Our results suggest that if non-alcoholic options were to become the majority instead, we might expect to see substantial reductions in alcohol purchasing.”

Importantly, the overall number of drinks that participants selected and purchased remained similar between groups, suggesting that effects were a result of shifting people’s choices. This implies overall drink sales and potentially revenues may be relatively unchanged, dependent on the pricing of non-alcoholic drinks.

Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit and a Bye-Fellow at Christ's College, said: “We all know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us, but we’re often unaware of how much we are influenced by the environment around us. Making changes to this environment – from exposing people to a greater proportion of healthier options through to changing the sizes of the utensils we eat and drink from – can help us cut down on potentially unhealthy habits. Even relatively small changes can make a difference both to individuals and at a population level.”

Although some of the non-alcoholic drink options in the current study contained no sugar and were generally lower in calories than the alcoholic options – an average of 64 calories per non-alcoholic drink versus 233 calories per alcoholic drink – many soft drinks and alcohol-free alternatives still contain large amounts of sugar and calories. ̽��ֱ��researchers argue that, given the health risks associated with sugary drink consumption, continued regulation and policies to reduce sugar content and consumption from both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks is needed to mitigate these risks.

̽��ֱ��research was funded by Wellcome and carried out at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. Dr Clarke is now a Lecturer in Psychology at Bath Spa ̽��ֱ��. Dr Hollands is a Principal Research Fellow at UCL.

Reference
Clarke, N et al. Impact on alcohol selection and online purchasing of changing the proportion of available non-alcoholic versus alcoholic drinks: A randomised controlled trial. PLOS Med; 30 Mar 2023; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004193

Increasing the proportion of non-alcoholic drinks on sale in online supermarkets could reduce the amount of alcohol people purchase, suggests a study published today led by researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

We all know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us, but we’re often unaware of how much we are influenced by the environment around us

Theresa Marteau

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Hand holding a smartphone inside a cafeteria with an app to buy in the supermarket

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Substance use disorders linked to poor health outcomes in wide range of physical health conditions

cjb250 — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:13:39 +0000

In a study published today in ̽��ֱ��Lancet Psychiatry, researchers looked at the risk of mortality and loss of life-years among people who developed 28 different physical health conditions, comparing those who had previously been hospitalised with substance use disorder against those who had not.

They found that patients with most of the health conditions were more likely than their counterparts to die during the study period if they had been hospitalised with substance use disorder prior to the development of these conditions. For most subsequent health conditions, people with substance use disorders also had shorter life-expectancies than did individuals without substance use disorders.

One in twenty people worldwide aged 15 years or older lives with alcohol use disorder, while around one in 100 people have psychoactive drug use disorders. Although substance use disorders have considerable direct effects on health, they are also linked to a number of physical and mental health conditions. Consequently, the presence of these contributes to higher risk of mortality and shorter lifespan in people with substance use disorders.

To explore this link further, researchers analysed patient records from Czech nationwide registers of all-cause hospitalisations and deaths during the period from 1994-2017. They used a novel design, estimating the risk of death and life-years lost after the onset of multiple specific physical health conditions in individuals with a history of hospitalisation for substance use disorders, when compared with matched counterparts without substance use disorder but with the same physical health condition.

Although the study only looked at people living in Czechia, the researchers believe the results are likely to be similar in other countries, too.

They found that people with pre-existing substance use disorders were more likely than their counterparts to have died during the study following the development of 26 out of 28 physical health conditions. For seven of these conditions – including atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and ischaemic heart disease – the risk was more than doubled. In most cases, people with substance use disorders have shorter life-expectancies than their counterparts.

Lead author Tomáš Formánek, a PhD student at the National Institute of Mental Health, Czechia, and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “Substance use disorders seem to have a profound negative impact on prognosis following the development of various subsequent physical health conditions, in some cases dramatically affecting the life expectancy of the affected people.”

It is not clear why this should be the case, though the researchers say there are a number of possible reasons. It is already known that substance use has a direct negative impact on physical health and is associated with lifestyle factors that affect our health, such as smoking, lack of exercise, and poor diet. Similarly, people with substance use disorders are less likely to take part in screening and prevention programmes for diseases such as cancer and diabetes and are less likely to use preventive medication, such as drugs to prevent hypertension. There are also some factors not directly related to substance use, such as diagnostic overshadowing, meaning the misattribution of physical symptoms to mental disorders. Such misattribution can subsequently contribute to under-diagnosis, late diagnosis, and delayed treatment in affected individuals.

Senior author Professor Peter Jones from the Department of Psychiatry, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, added: “These results show how important it is not to compartmentalise health conditions into mind, brain or body. All interact leading here to the dramatic increases in mortality from subsequent physical illnesses in people with substance use disorders. There are clear implications for preventive action by clinicians, health services and policy developers that all need to recognise these intersections.”

Co-author Dr Petr Winkler from the National Institute of Mental Health, Czechia, said: “It is also important to consider that the majority of people with substance use disorders go undetected. They often do not seek a professional help and hospitalisations for these conditions usually come only at very advanced stages of illness. Alongside actions focused on physical health of people with substance use disorders, we need to equally focus on early detection and early intervention in substance use disorders.”

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East of England at Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

Reference
Formánek, T et al. Mortality and life-years lost following subsequent physical comorbidity in people with pre-existing substance use disorders: a national registry-based retrospective cohort study of hospitalised individuals in Czechia. ̽��ֱ��Lancet Psychiatry; 3 Nov 2022; DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00335-2

People who have a past history of hospitalisation because of substance use disorders have much worse outcomes following the onset of a wide range of physical health conditions, according to researchers in the UK and Czechia.

Substance use disorders seem to have a profound negative impact on prognosis following the development of various subsequent physical health conditions, in some cases dramatically affecting the life expectancy of the affected people

Tomáš Formánek

aire images (Getty Images)

Woman holding a glass of whisky

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Drinkers risk exceeding legal driving limit by underestimating how drunk they are

cjb250 — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 00:01:27 +0000

Worldwide, drunk driving is a major problem, despite decades of health promotion activities. Road traffic injuries have become the leading killer of people aged five to 29 years, and recently, the World Health Organization has said that alcohol-related traffic accidents are one of the major causes. In 2019, between 210 and 250 people were killed in accidents in Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, the highest level since 2009.

Drinking alcohol causes significant impairment to our motor function, and the more we drink, the worse this becomes. Drunk drivers may struggle to keep their vehicle in lane and have slow reaction times, as well as being more likely to take risks.

In research published today in the Harm Reduction Journal, a team of researchers from Witten/Herdecke ̽��ֱ�� and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge studied how accurately participants were able to estimate their fitness to drive after drinking alcohol.

Ninety students (average age 24 years old) took part in an experiment on two separate days. Participants were split into two groups: a study group and a control group. Both groups consumed either beer or wine or both until they reached a maximum breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of 0.11%.

̽��ֱ��research was carried out in Germany, where the legal driving limit is a BrAC of 0.05% (in England and Wales, the level is 0.08%).

In the study group, participants were told at the start that when they reached a BrAC of 0.05%, they would be switched from beer to wine or vice versa, though it was not explicitly explained that this was the legal driving limit.

̽��ֱ��researchers monitored each participant’s breath alcohol concentration using breathalysers. With each measurement, they asked the participants to estimate their own breath alcohol concentration. All participants were asked to come forward when they thought they had reached the legal driving limit.

̽��ֱ��team found that on the first study day, more than a third (39%) of participants who believed they had reached the legal driving limit had in fact already exceeded this threshold. On the second day this proportion increased to more than half (53%).

Dr Kai Hensel from Witten/Herdecke ̽��ֱ�� and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who led the study, said: “In countries with legal alcohol limits, it’s usually the driver who makes a judgement about how much they’ve drunk and how fit they are to drive. But as we’ve shown, we are not always good at making this judgement. As many as one in two people in our study underestimated how drunk they were – and this can have devastating consequences.”

̽��ֱ��researchers also noticed that participants became poorer at estimating their BrAC level the drunker they became. “This could have serious consequences in England and Wales, where the legal driving limit is higher, as it suggests that a significant number of people might misjudge how drunk they are and consider themselves fit to drive when in fact they have a potentially dangerously high level of alcohol in their blood,” added Dr Hensel.

To see whether people were able to improve their ability to estimate how drunk they are, the researchers compared the volunteers’ self-estimation of having reached the legal driving limit between the two study days. For the study group participants were better able to estimate how drink they were on the second day, but this was not the case for the control group.

Dr Hensel added: “Drinking and driving is a major risk fact for road traffic accidents. Anything that can be done to reduce these numbers is worth trying. With guidance, our participants were able to improve their judgement. It could be that pop-up stalls set up around drinking establishments to help people understand their breath alcohol concentration might help.

“Really, the best advice is that if you’re driving, just don’t drink. But if you really do feel like a drink, then look into your own alcohol tolerance. This differs from one person to the next, depending on your sex, weight and age, and there are some reliable apps out there that can help guide you.”

Carlsberg donated 420 litres of beer to be utilised for research purposes only, but had no role in the design, conduct, or analyses of the study.

Reference
Köchling, J et al. ̽��ֱ��hazardous (mis)perception of Self-estimated Alcohol intoxication and Fitness to drivE – an avoidable health risk: the SAFE randomised trial. Harm Reduction Journal; 7 Dec 2021; DOI: 10.1186/s12954-021-00567-4

As many as a half of all drinkers underestimated how drunk they were, judging themselves still safe to drive despite having exceeded the legal driving limit, in new research published today.

In countries with legal alcohol limits, it’s usually the driver who makes a judgement about how much they’ve drunk and how fit they are to drive. But as we’ve shown, we are not always good at making this judgement

Kai Hensel

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One in three adults drank more alcohol during first lockdown

cjb250 — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 11:44:53 +0000

In early March, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and many countries put in place drastic safety measures to control the spread of the virus, including an extended lockdown period.

In the UK, the first nationwide lockdown started on 23 March 2020 and lasted until 1 June, when restrictions began to be eased. Since then more localised lockdowns have been implemented where necessary.

A team of researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has explored whether the stress of the pandemic and lockdown measures affected people’s alcohol consumption. Between 14 and 28 May 2020, 1,346 people around the world completed an online survey about their drinking habits before and during lockdown. ̽��ֱ��researchers used their responses to compare the amount of alcohol consumed during lockdown against that in November 2019, as well as their drinking severity (occurrences of problem drinking such as drinking to the point of memory loss or neglecting personal responsibilities due to drinking). They also assessed mental health factors such as depression and anxiety.

̽��ֱ��survey revealed that while the units of alcohol consumed per week decreased during lockdown – down from a mean average of 8.32 units in November to 8.03 during lockdown – a substantial percentage of individuals (36%) increased their drinking during lockdown. In the UK, the units of alcohol consumed per week increased from 10.94 to 11.25 units.

Samantha N Sallie, the study’s first author and a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry, said: “While in countries such as Canada and the USA people drank less during lockdown, in the UK there was a small increase in alcohol consumption.”

Older individuals tended to increase their alcohol consumption more than younger people during lockdown, from 10 to 11 units weekly. Age may play a particularly unique role in the context of COVID-19 due to the greater need for older people to have more stringent isolation, with potentially fewer support mechanisms, and hence a risk of greater isolation and loneliness, as well as concern about the impact of COVID-19 on their personal health.

Respondents with children reported a greater increase in alcohol consumption during lockdown, of between 0.54 and 2.02 units, though their depression and anxiety scores were lower than for those without children. ̽��ֱ��researchers say this suggests the additional burden of childcare and home schooling contributed to the tendency towards drinking, possibly in the context of stress relief, but the presence of children may also be protective against depression and anxiety.

“For parents having to take on extra childcare responsibilities during lockdown, possibly at the same time as having to manage changes to their work routine, it’s possible that the extra stress increased their tendency to drink,” said Sallie. “On the other hand, having children may mitigate against loneliness that has been highlighted as a major issue during the isolation of lockdown.”

̽��ֱ��team found that essential workers – specifically healthcare workers responsible for taking care of individuals with COVID-19 – showed an increase in drinking amount of between 0.45 and 1.26 units, while those whose loved ones became severely ill or died from COVID-19 showed an increase in problem drinking during the lockdown.

“This demonstrates how the virus itself has affected alcohol consumption in those who have had close contact with the very real and devastating effects of COVID-19,” added Sallie.

Although men consumed more alcohol than women, they showed a decrease in both drinking amount and severity during lockdown, while women demonstrated the opposite trend, with women consuming an extra unit of alcohol a week during lockdown. This finding corroborates evidence that indicates women are more likely than men to consume alcohol in order to cope with stress.

Individuals who reported a change in their employment status or were isolating alone were more likely to have higher depression scores, but showed no change in their drinking behaviour. Those individuals isolating with others but reporting a poor relationship were more likely to have higher depression and anxiety scores.

Dr Valerie Voon, senior author of the study from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “As COVID-19 remains part of daily life, many of us are turning to alcohol to cope with stress. For many people, drinking in moderation can be help with stress relief, but for others it can be more problematic.

“Alcohol misuse is a major public health issue in the United Kingdom, costing £21-52 billion with NHS costs of £3.5 billion per year. Our findings highlight a need to identify those individuals who are at risk for problem drinking so we can offer them greater support during the ongoing pandemic.”

̽��ֱ��researchers say there may be a number of reasons for the overall decrease in alcohol use and problematic use, including stringent lockdown measures leading to a decrease in the availability of alcoholic drinks within the immediate household and because people tend to consume alcohol in social situations, such as at the pub or when eating out.

Reference
Sallie, S N et al Assessing International Alcohol Consumption Patterns During Isolation from the COVID-19 Pandemic Using an Online Survey: Highlighting Negative Emotionality Mechanisms. BMJ Open; 26 Nov 2020; DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044276

COVID-19 and lockdown measures drove some individuals more than others to use alcohol to cope with stress, a new study has revealed. While overall alcohol consumption appeared to fall, a study published in BMJ Open found that more than one in three adults (36%) increased their consumption during the first lockdown.

As COVID-19 remains part of daily life, many of us are turning to alcohol to cope with stress. For many people, drinking in moderation can be help with stress relief, but for others it can be more problematic

Valerie Voon

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Researchers to track impact of lockdown on alcohol, gambling and pornography use

cjb250 — Mon, 11 May 2020 23:16:03 +0000

̽��ֱ��UK was first placed on lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic on 23 March. Only essential businesses were allowed to remain open and everyone was told to stay at home, only to venture out for exercise and shopping.

Almost overnight, people’s lives were up-ended, with some people working from home while others have lost their jobs or been furloughed. People who live by themselves have suddenly found themselves with no social contact other than virtual.

To find out what impact this has had on people’s behaviour, Dr Valerie Voon from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, London, have launched an online survey, HabiT – Habit Tracker – asking about changes in habits during lockdown, specifically quantifying alcohol, smoking, and online use of gambling, gaming and pornography. ̽��ֱ��habit tracker survey is available online. All responses will be anonymous.

̽��ֱ��survey is short, only taking 10 minutes to complete. ̽��ֱ��researchers are keen to hear from both those people who do not consider themselves to be vulnerable or exhibit problem behaviours and those who have struggled in the past or are struggling now.

“We expect to see an increase in these behaviours across the UK in response to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in,” says Dr Voon. “In many cases, these changes will be people’s strategies for coping with the anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic and lockdown and, we hope, won’t have a long term impact if the behaviour can be controlled.

“For some people who might already have been struggling with or have a history of addiction these increased habits could prove problematic. ̽��ֱ��same goes for those people who find themselves in difficult circumstances, for example having lost their job or facing financial difficulties, or are struggling to cope with the lockdown. These more vulnerable individuals may find their behaviour has a more marked longer lasting effect, triggering an alcohol relapse, for instance, or reigniting a gambling addiction.”

Survey respondents may also take part in CrusH, an alcohol avoidance online training game for smartphones being developed which can be accessed as part of the survey.

Five tips for coping during the lockdown

Keep active: exercise outdoors and take part in online exercise workouts
Keep in touch with people socially online – try FaceTime, Skype or Zoom so that you see people
Maintain some regular structure: sleep, wake, work
Don't spend too much time looking at news
Use this as an opportunity to try something new – try baking, learning a new language, writing that novel you always dreamed of writing

Is the lockdown leading us to drink more alcohol or spend more time gambling online or watching pornography? Researchers today launch a survey aimed at tracking how our habits have changed in response to our forced isolation.

We expect to see an increase in these behaviours across the UK in response to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in... For some people who might already have been struggling with or have a history of addiction these increased habits could prove problematic

Valerie Voon

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