The lockdowns and state of emergency that accompanied the global coronavirus pandemic have ended, but one effect has lingered. The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in alcohol use and alcohol-related deaths.

At the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, there was a four percent relative increase in the use of any alcohol and a 20 percent increase in heavy alcohol use compared to levels in 2018 before the pandemic began, as researchers at the University of Southern California and Thomas Jefferson University found when they analyzed the responses of almost 85,000 people who participated in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 National Health Interview Survey of adults 18 years of age or older.

These increases in alcohol consumption have persisted. The study found that in 2022 they were highest among those 40 to 49 years old.

Problematic alcohol use can start as a habit, and habits can't necessarily be broken, even if what triggered them is over. With alcohol, a habit can become addiction, and addiction can be especially hard to treat.

“Alcohol use, and problematic alcohol use, really became normalized during the pandemic,” Brian Lee, corresponding author of the study, told TheDoctor.

Problematic alcohol use can start as a habit, and habits can't necessarily be broken, he explained, even if what triggered them is over. With alcohol, a habit can become addiction, and addiction can be especially hard to treat.

At this point what is really needed is a plan of action, Lee said. Policymakers should put out messaging about what level of alcohol use is safe and how people can cut back on their drinking.

Providers should screen patients for alcohol use and health conditions related to heavy alcohol use such as liver disease, heart disease and mental health issues.

In addition to the stigma connected to alcoholism, people have a lot of misconceptions about alcohol use and don't realize that even relatively moderate amounts can be harmful to their health. They may also be in denial about how much alcohol they actually consume.

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines heavy drinking as having five or more drinks a day or 15 or more drinks a week for men and four or more drinks per day or eight or more drinks a week for women.

People who qualify as heavy drinkers should speak to their doctor about their habit. “It is important to talk about alcohol use with your doctor, so you can make your own decisions about how much alcohol you are consuming and what it is doing to your body,” said Lee, an assistant professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.