Increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic could lead to thousands of additional hospitalisations and deaths in England over the next 20 years, the University of Sheffield noted on Tuesday in research commissioned by the UK National Health Service.
Not everyone started drinking more alcohol during the corona pandemic, the British public broadcaster BBC writes on its website. Light and moderate drinkers have reduced their alcohol consumption. It is mainly people who previously drank high-risk amounts, who increased their drinking during the lockdowns and contact restrictions.
Those strong drinkers are unlikely to return to the levels of alcohol consumption they had maintained before the pandemic.
The researchers identified five different scenarios according to which alcohol consumption can increase.
The best scenario is that all alcohol users will drink the same amount as in 2019: under that scenario, the researchers expect 42,677 additional hospitalisations and 1,830 deaths by 2042.
In their worst-case scenario, the researchers predict 972,382 extra hospitalisations and 25,192 deaths over the next 20 years. This represents an additional cost of £5.2 billion (€6.1 billion) for the NHS.
These numbers underscore the fact that the impact of the pandemic on drinking habits is likely to cast a long shadow over national health in the UK, lead researcher Colin Angus told the PA news agency. At a time when the NHS is under enormous pressure from treatment backlogs, they paint a disturbing picture, he added
Financially disadvantaged areas, where the highest rates of alcohol-related illness are observed, are particularly affected.
In light of the study, experts called for an alcohol strategy. Sadie Boniface of the Institute of Alcohol Studies in London, which found similar results in a previous study, told the BBC the study was a “wake-up call” to take alcohol harm seriously as part of post-pandemic recovery plans.
