The Relationship of Alcohol and Other Drug Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic among People with or at Risk of HIV; A Cross-sectional Survey of People Enrolled in Collaborating Consortium of Cohorts Producing NIDA Opportunities (C3PNO) Cohorts
Pytell JD, Shen NM, Keruly JC, Lesko CR, Lau B, Fojo AT, Baum MK, Gorbach PM, Javanbakht M, Kipke M, Kirk GD, Mustanski B, Shoptaw S, Siminski S, Moore RD, Chander G
Background: Alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic increased. People living with HIV or at risk for HIV acquisition often have psycho-social and structural barriers or co-occurring substance use making them vulnerable to the adverse effects of alcohol. We describe factors associated with alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic in this group.
Methods: From May 2020 to February 2021, 1984 people enrolled in 6 existing cohort studies completed surveys about alcohol and other drug use during the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe the past-month prevalence of no alcohol use, low-risk use, and hazardous use. We use multinomial regression to describe factors associated with low-risk or hazardous alcohol use relative to no alcohol use.
Results: Forty-five percent of participants reported no alcohol use, 33% low-risk use, and 22% hazardous use in the past 30 days. Cannabis and stimulant use were associated with a higher prevalence of low-risk use relative to no use. Tobacco, stimulant, cannabis use and recent overdose were associated with a higher prevalence of hazardous use relative to no use. Substance use treatment and living with HIV were associated with a lower prevalence of low-risk or hazardous use relative to no use.
Conclusions: Stimulant use was strongly associated with a higher prevalence of hazardous alcohol use while engagement in substance use treatment or living with HIV was associated with a lower prevalence. Ascertaining hazardous alcohol and other drug use, particularly stimulants, in clinical care could identify people at higher risk for adverse outcome and harm reduction counseling.