Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities

COVID-19 Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities: a Difference-in-difference Analysis

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05069090
• Other study ID #: ANID - COVID0282
• Status: Completed
• Start date: June 3, 2020
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: October 2021
• Source: Universidad de La Frontera
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a longitudinal study of participants from two university communities in Chile. The primary objective is to examine the effect of a regional lockdown on alcohol and tobacco use, using a difference-in-difference analysis to obtain causal estimates of these COVID-19 policies.

Description:

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading worldwide. Countries have adopted public health and social measures that, together with a direct effect of the pandemic, can affect alcohol and tobacco use. The most stringent measures are lockdowns and curfews that include statutory restrictions on people's mobility. Research to date has shown mixed effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on alcohol and tobacco use. Importantly, previous studies have not been able to differentiate the effects of the pandemic itself with those from lockdown and curfew policies. They have also been restricted to countries in Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The study will advance prior knowledge by providing evidence from a country in Latin America, one of the worst-hit regions worldwide. Latin America accounts for 8.4% of the global population, but 20.3% of the total SARS-COV2 cases and 30.2% of the COVID-19 deaths to date. In addition, the study will exploit the variation in lockdown policies in two regions in Chile to disentangle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with those from a lockdown. The aim of the study is to examine the effect of a regional lockdown on alcohol use in two university populations in the Araucanía and Coquimbo regions in Chile. The investigators will use a difference-in-difference analysis to obtain causal estimates of these COVID-19 policies.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 1038
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: April 30, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• People with study rights either at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels by July 27, 2020 at the Universidad de la Frontera or Universidad Católica del Norte; OR
• Workers with a full-time or part-time contract with either University, including academics, administrative and assistant personnel; AND
• Having an email registered in the Human Resource Office of each university

Exclusion Criteria:

• People without valid study rights at either university
• People without a working contract with the university
• Not having an email registered at the Human Resource Office

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Lockdown and other social distancing measures
During the study period, the Chilean Ministry of Health established a five-step process for social distancing measures. These ranged from full lockdown (step 1) to almost no restrictions (step 5). Even under full lockdown, citizens were able to obtain permits for essential activities. Citizens had a maximum of two permits per week and were obtained in a virtual station of the Chilean Police Force (Carabineros de Chile).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Chile	Universidad Católica del Norte	Coquimbo
Chile	Universidad de la Frontera	Temuco	Araucanía

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Universidad de La Frontera	Universidad Católica del Norte

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Chile, 

References & Publications (14)

Bar-Zeev Y, Shauly M, Lee H, Neumark Y. Changes in Smoking Behaviour and Home-Smoking Rules during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Israel. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 17;18(4). pii: 1931. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041931. — View Citation

Bartlett L, Brady JJR, Farrow M, Kim S, Bindoff A, Fair H, Vickers JC, Sinclair D. Change in modifiable dementia risk factors during COVID-19 lockdown: The experience of over 50s in Tasmania, Australia. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2021 May 13;7(1):e12169. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12169. eCollection 2021. — View Citation

Bonadio WA, Carron AC, Nelson DB. Serum theophylline concentration in 82 consecutive asthmatic children receiving preadmission theophylline preparation. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1988 Jun;4(2):165. — View Citation

Callinan S, Smit K, Mojica-Perez Y, D'Aquino S, Moore D, Kuntsche E. Shifts in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: early indications from Australia. Addiction. 2021 Jun;116(6):1381-1388. doi: 10.1111/add.15275. Epub 2020 Oct 18. — View Citation

Clare PJ, Aiken A, Yuen WS, Upton E, Kypri K, Degenhardt L, Bruno R, McCambridge J, McBride N, Hutchinson D, Slade T, Mattick R, Peacock A. Alcohol use among young Australian adults in May-June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study. Addiction. 2021 Jun 9. doi: 10.1111/add.15599. [Epub ahead of print] — View Citation

Daly M, Robinson E. High-Risk Drinking in Midlife Before Versus During the COVID-19 Crisis: Longitudinal Evidence From the United Kingdom. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Feb;60(2):294-297. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.09.004. Epub 2020 Nov 21. — View Citation

Glowacz F, Schmits E. Psychological distress during the COVID-19 lockdown: The young adults most at risk. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Nov;293:113486. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113486. Epub 2020 Sep 25. — View Citation

Guignard R, Andler R, Quatremère G, Pasquereau A, du Roscoät E, Arwidson P, Berlin I, Nguyen-Thanh V. Changes in smoking and alcohol consumption during COVID-19-related lockdown: A cross-sectional study in France. Eur J Public Health. 2021 Apr 7. pii: ckab054. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab054. [Epub ahead of print] — View Citation

Jackson SE, Garnett C, Shahab L, Oldham M, Brown J. Association of the COVID-19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019-20 data. Addiction. 2021 May;116(5):1233-1244. doi: 10.1111/add.15295. Epub 2020 Nov 26. — View Citation

Niedzwiedz CL, Green MJ, Benzeval M, Campbell D, Craig P, Demou E, Leyland A, Pearce A, Thomson R, Whitley E, Katikireddi SV. Mental health and health behaviours before and during the initial phase of the COVID-19 lockdown: longitudinal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2021 Mar;75(3):224-231. doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-215060. Epub 2020 Sep 25. — View Citation

Nordeck CD, Riehm KE, Smail EJ, Holingue C, Kane JC, Johnson RM, Veldhuis CB, Kalb LG, Stuart EA, Kreuter F, Thrul J. Changes in drinking days among United States adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Addiction. 2021 Jun 22. doi: 10.1111/add.15622. [Epub ahead of print] — View Citation

Rossow I, Bye EK, Moan IS, Kilian C, Bramness JG. Changes in Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic-Small Change in Total Consumption, but Increase in Proportion of Heavy Drinkers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 16;18(8). pii: 4231. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084231. — View Citation

Vanderbruggen N, Matthys F, Van Laere S, Zeeuws D, Santermans L, Van den Ameele S, Crunelle CL. Self-Reported Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Use during COVID-19 Lockdown Measures: Results from a Web-Based Survey. Eur Addict Res. 2020;26(6):309-315. doi: 10.1159/000510822. Epub 2020 Sep 22. — View Citation

Winkler P, Formanek T, Mlada K, Kagstrom A, Mohrova Z, Mohr P, Csemy L. Increase in prevalence of current mental disorders in the context of COVID-19: analysis of repeated nationwide cross-sectional surveys. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2020 Sep 29;29:e173. doi: 10.1017/S2045796020000888. — View Citation

* Note: There are 14 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Weekly grams of alcohol use	Consumption of alcohol during the past week measured in grams of pure alcohol	Last week
Primary	Frequency of heavy episodic drinking in the past month	Frequency of consumption of five or more drinks on a single occasion during the past 30 days [response range 0 to 10 and more times]	Last 30 days
Primary	Quantity of cigarettes per day	Average daily consumption of cigarettes during the last week	Last week