Relationship Between High-risk Alcohol Consumption and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Seroconversion: a Prospective Sero-epidemiological Cohort Study Among American College Students

Overview

Journal Addiction

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Feb 7

PMID 35129232

Authors

Sina Kianersi

Christina Ludema

Jonathan T Macy

Chen Chen

Molly Rosenberg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aims: To estimate the associations between high-risk alcohol consumption and (1) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroconversion, (2) self-reported new SARS-CoV-2 infection and (3) symptomatic COVID-19.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), IN, USA.

Participants: A total of 1027 IUB undergraduate students (64% female), aged 18 years or older, residing in Monroe County, Indiana, seronegative for SARS-CoV-2 at study baseline.

Measurements: Primary exposure was high-risk alcohol consumption measured with an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire score of 8 or more. Primary outcome was SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion since baseline, assessed with two SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests, at baseline (September 2020) and end-line (November 2020). Secondary outcomes were (a) self-reported new SARS-CoV-2 infection at the study end-line and (b) self-reported symptomatic COVID-19 at baseline.

Findings: Prevalence of high-risk alcohol consumption was 32 %. In models adjusted for demographics, students with high-risk alcohol consumption status had 2.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.35, 4.25] times the risk of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion and 1.84 (95% CI = 1.04, 3.28) times the risk of self-reporting a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared with students with no such risk. We did not identify any association between high-risk alcohol consumption and symptomatic COVID-19 (prevalence ratio = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.93, 1.47). Findings from sensitivity analyses corroborated these results and suggested potential for a dose-response relationship.

Conclusions: Among American college students, high-risk alcohol consumption appears to be associated with higher risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seroconversion/infection.

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