The impact of the COVID lockdown on alcohol consumption in the Netherlands. The role of living arrangements and social isolation.
- Authors
- Mangot-Sala, Lluís; Tran, Khoa A; Smidt, Nynke; Liefbroer, Aart C
- Year
- 2022
- Journal
- Drug and alcohol dependence
- PMID
- 35168117
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109349
- PMCID
- PMC8830152
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have a strong impact on health and health behaviours, such as alcohol consumption. Although there is some evidence of an overall decline in alcohol consumption during the lockdown, studies also show an increase in risky drinking patterns, e.g. solitary drinking, and differences between subgroups of individuals, e.g. depending on their living arrangement. Yet most studies rely on cross-sectional designs with retrospective questions, and small samples. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted using 13 waves of the COVID-Questionnaire within the Lifelines cohort from the northern Netherlands (n = 63,194). The outcome was alcohol consumption (glasses per week) between April 2020 and July 2021. Linear fixed-effects models were fitted to analyse trends in alcohol consumption, and these were compared with pre-COVID drinking levels. Moreover, the role of living arrangement and feelings of social isolation as potential moderators was tested. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption during the pandemic was lower than in previous years, and the seasonal pattern differed from the pre-COVID one, with levels being lower when lockdown measures were stricter. Moreover, the seasonal pattern differed by living arrangement: those living alone saw a relative increase in drinking throughout tight lockdown periods, whereas those living with children showed the strongest increase during the summer. Social isolation showed a weaker moderation effect. CONCLUSIONS: Overall alcohol levels were down in the pandemic, and in particular during strict lockdowns. Those living on their own and those who felt more isolated reacted more strongly to the lockdown, the longer it lasted.
Timeline of COVID-19 preventive measures implemented in the Netherlands (March 2020 – July 2021).1
LLM interpretation
This figure is a timeline diagram illustrating COVID-19 preventive measures in the Netherlands from March 2020 to July 2021. A color-coded heat map tracks the strictness of regulations for bars and restaurants (blue), alcohol sales (grey), and social gatherings (green), with darker shades indicating stricter rules. Annotated text boxes detail eight specific policy shifts, including various lockdown phases and reopening plans, mapped to their respective implementation dates.
Alcohol consumption during the COVID lockdown (April 2020 – July 2021). Predictive margins based on fixed-effects linear regression models.
LLM interpretation
This line graph shows the predicted weekly alcohol consumption (measured in glasses/week) from April 2020 to July 2021. The x-axis represents the time period of the lockdown, and the y-axis represents the predicted glasses per week, with a shaded area indicating the confidence interval. Consumption fluctuates over time, peaking in July/August 2020 and June/July 2021, with a low point in January 2021.
Seasonality in alcohol consumption. Comparison between the lockdown period (blue line) and previous observations from the Lifelines cohort (2007–2018) (dashed red line).
LLM interpretation
This line graph compares predicted weekly alcohol consumption (glasses/week) between the Lifelines cohort (2007–2018, dashed red line) and the COVID lockdown period (2020–21, solid blue line) across months of the year. The Lifelines cohort consistently shows higher consumption levels, peaking in July/August, while the lockdown period shows lower overall consumption with a similar peak in July/August. Both groups exhibit a general downward trend in consumption from late summer through winter.
Alcohol consumption during the lockdown, by living arrangement. Predictive margins based on fixed-effect models including the interaction term.
LLM interpretation
This line graph shows the predicted number of glasses of alcohol consumed per week from April 2020 to June/July 2021, categorized by living arrangement. The y-axis represents "Predicted Glasses/Week" and the x-axis denotes the time period. Individuals in a shared household consistently show higher predicted alcohol consumption compared to those who live alone throughout the entire period.
Alcohol consumption during the lockdown by feelings of social isolation. Predictive margins based on fixed-effect models including the interaction term.
LLM interpretation
This line graph shows the predicted number of glasses of alcohol consumed per week from April 2020 to July 2021, categorized by levels of social isolation. The y-axis represents "Predicted Glasses/Week" and the x-axis denotes the timeline. The "No isolation" group (blue diamonds) consistently shows higher predicted alcohol consumption compared to the "Extreme isolation" group (red triangles) across all time points.
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| Adults with children (<18) living at home local | phenotype |
| Adults without children living at home local | phenotype |
| age | phenotype |
| Age >70 local | phenotype |
| Age at baseline | phenotype |
| alcohol | phenotype |
| alcohol abuse | phenotype |
| alcohol dependence | phenotype |
| alcohol-related problems | phenotype |
| Alcohol seasonality local | phenotype |
| Alone local | phenotype |
| anxiety | phenotype |
| binge drinking | phenotype |
| boredom | phenotype |
| cancer | phenotype |
| cardiovascular disease | phenotype |
| children in household local | phenotype |
| Christmas 2020 local | cohort |
| Christmas peak local | phenotype |
| COVID-19 pandemic | cohort |
| COVID cohort local | cohort |
| COVID lockdown local | phenotype |
| Days since first lockdown local | phenotype |
| death | phenotype |
| Disabled local | phenotype |
| drinking | phenotype |
| drinking level | phenotype |
| Early summer 2021 local | cohort |
| educational attainment | phenotype |
| Educational level (high) local | phenotype |
| Educational level (low) local | phenotype |
| Educational level (middle) local | phenotype |
| employed | phenotype |
| employment | phenotype |
| European Union local | cohort |
| family support | phenotype |
| feeling isolated local | phenotype |
| feelings of isolation local | phenotype |
| Feelings of isolation local | phenotype |
| High education local | phenotype |
| higher drinking frequency local | phenotype |
| high isolation local | phenotype |
| High social isolation local | phenotype |
| Individuals who spent strict lockdown periods on their own local | cohort |
| Intelligent lockdown local | cohort |
| January 2021 local | cohort |
| January effect local | phenotype |
| June/July local | cohort |
| Lifelines | cohort |
| Lifelines cohort study | cohort |
| Lifelines COVID-19 cohort local | cohort |
| Lifelines COVID-19 Questionnaire local | cohort |
| Lives alone local | phenotype |
| Lives in a shared household local | phenotype |
| living alone local | phenotype |
| Living alone local | cohort |
| Living alone local | phenotype |
| living arrangement local | phenotype |
| Living arrangement local | phenotype |
| living arrangements | phenotype |
| Living arrangement (shared household) local | phenotype |
| Living with children local | cohort |
| Living with other adults only local | cohort |
| living with others local | phenotype |
| Living with others local | cohort |
| Living with others local | phenotype |
| Living with partner/family local | cohort |
| lockdown local | cohort |
| lockdown local | phenotype |
| Lockdown local | cohort |
| Lockdown local | drug |
| lockdown period local | cohort |
| lockdown period local | phenotype |
| Lockdown period local | cohort |
| Lockdown period local | phenotype |
| Lockdown Period (April 2020) local | cohort |
| lockdown-related stress local | phenotype |
| loneliness | phenotype |
| low isolation local | phenotype |
| Low social isolation local | phenotype |
| mood disorders | phenotype |
| Netherlands | cohort |
| Northern Netherlands cohort local | cohort |
| not isolated local | phenotype |
| older adults | cohort |
| Others local | phenotype |
| Parents with children at home local | cohort |
| positive affect | phenotype |
| Previous years (2007–2018) local | cohort |
| psychological distress | phenotype |
| resilience | phenotype |
| Restricted social interactions local | phenotype |
| Retired local | phenotype |
| Seasonal fluctuation in consumption local | phenotype |
| sex | phenotype |
| shared household local | phenotype |
| Shared household local | cohort |
| Social distancing rules local | phenotype |
| Social gatherings local | phenotype |
| social isolation | phenotype |
| socioeconomic status | phenotype |
| solitary drinking local | phenotype |
| Solitary drinking local | phenotype |
| Spring 2020 local | cohort |
| Spring 2021 local | cohort |
| stress | phenotype |
| stress levels local | phenotype |
| Strict lockdown periods local | cohort |
| Study cohort (n=45,384) local | cohort |
| subgroups local | cohort |
| Traffic accident local | phenotype |
| unemployment | phenotype |
| Violent behaviour local | phenotype |
| Virus variants local | variant |
| voluntary ethanol consumption | phenotype |
| wave 10 local | cohort |
| wave 11 local | cohort |
| Winter 2021 lockdown local | cohort |
| Young men aged 15-29 years local | cohort |
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In this knowledge base
| Title | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 pandemic stressors are associated with reported increases in frequency of drunkenness among individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder. | 2023 | 37803048 |
External
| Title | Authors | Journal | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Pandemic and Sleep Health in Polish Female Students. | Babicki M et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Disparities in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Hospital Encounters Amongst a Texas-Based Cohort of Patients. | Cotter TG et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol Consumption Among the Youths in Kampala, Uganda. A Cross-Sectional Study. | Namiiro AM et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Emerging socioeconomic correlates of loneliness. Evidence from the Barcelona Health Survey 2021. | Mangot-Sala L et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Fluctuations in dispensed out-patient psychotropic medication prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands. | Visser DA et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| In its very early phases, COVID-19 shifts the associations between alcohol consumption and psychological symptoms in young adults. | Janson K et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| The Effect of Lockdown on Physiological Parameters of Sleep, Diet, Bowel Movement, Physical Activity, and Menstrual Cycle of Individuals Residing in Northeast India. | Barooah R et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Trends in Proportion of Delirium Among Older Emergency Department Patients in South Korea, 2017-2022. | Moon J et al. | — | 2025 | → |
| Changes in the frequency and amount of alcohol intake before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Nagahama S et al. | — | 2024 | → |
| Exploring the relationship between solitary drinking and living without other adults on alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Mojica-Perez Y et al. | — | 2024 | → |
| Parental Patterns of Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review. | Ou C et al. | — | 2024 | → |
| Preventing liver disease with policy measures to tackle alcohol consumption and obesity: The HEPAHEALTH II study. | Retat L et al. | — | 2024 | → |
| Work- and mental health-related events and body mass index trajectories during the Covid-19 lockdown. Evidence from the lifelines cohort study in the Netherlands. | Mangot-Sala L et al. | — | 2024 | → |
| Changes in hazardous drinking pre, during and post 70-day alcohol sales ban during COVID-19 pandemic in Botswana. | Maphisa Maphisa J et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| COVID-19 pandemic stressors are associated with reported increases in frequency of drunkenness among individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder. | Meyers JL et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| Epidemiology and Disease Burden of Alcohol Associated Liver Disease. | Aslam A et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| Risky health behaviours and chronic conditions among aged persons: analysis of SAGE selected countries. | Oduro JK et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| When asking 'are you stressed?' is not enough: Hair cortisol, subjective stress, and alcohol use during the first year of the pandemic. | Duplessis-Marcotte F et al. | — | 2023 | → |
| Work- and Health-related Events and Changes in Body Mass Index during the Covid-19 lockdown. Evidence from the Lifelines Cohort Study in the Netherlands. | Mangot-Sala L et al. | — | 2023 | — |
| Use of Alcohol, Cannabinoids, Psychostimulants, and Sedatives before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Students in 40 European Countries. | Babicki M | — | 2022 | → |