Table 2.
Characteristics of studies included in the systematic review: study design, and participants.
| Studies | Country | Focus of the paper | Participants | Study design | Time frame | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmed et al. (2020) | China | Psychosocial problems, including hazardous and harmful alcohol use | Convenience sample of Chinese population aged 14+ | Online survey of 12-month and lifetime prevalence of mental health problems, comparing results from Hubei province to other provinces | Following public health measures in February 2020 | N = 1074 (46.8% women; mean age 33.5) |
| Alomo et al. (2020) | Argentina | Attitudes and fears towards COVID-19, depression and alcohol use | Convenience sample of Argentinian adults aged 18+ | Online survey on the pattern of alcohol use during quarantine | April 23–30, 2020 | N = 759 (76% women; ages 18 and above) |
| Alpers et al. (2021) | Norway | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Norwegian adults 18+ | Online survey of changes in alcohol use | April 15–30, 2020; 5 weeks after COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Norway | N = 25,708 (56% women; median age 50) |
| Ammar et al. (2020) | International (40% Northern Africa, 36% Western Asia, 21% European, 3% other countries) | Eating behaviors and physical activity, including alcohol binge drinking | Convenience sample of multi-country adults aged 18+ | Online survey of mental health and lifestyle behaviors | April 6–11, 2020 | N = 1047 (54% women; 55% 35 years of age or less) |
| Barbosa et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol drinking patterns | Representative sample of U.S. adults aged 21+ | Online survey to compare drinking behaviors in February and April 2020 | May 8–15, 2020 | N = 555 (52.3% women; ages 21 and above) |
| Bartoszek et al. (2020) | Poland | Mental well-being, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish adults 18+ | Online survey examining symptoms of depression, loneliness, insomnia, and fatigue | Two weeks following April 3, 2020; 1.5 weeks after home confinement restrictions were introduced | N = 471 (85.6% women; mean age 25.5) |
| Błaszczyk-Bębenek et al. (2020) | Poland | Eating habits, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish adults 18+ | Online survey examining eating behaviors | April 29- May 19, 2020; 6 weeks after lockdown was introduced in Poland | N = 312 (64.1% women; mean age 41.12) |
| Boschuetz et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of U.S. adults 18+ | Online surveys on alcohol use | April 5–12, 2020; 3.5 weeks after confinement measures were introduced | N = 417 (83% women; 44% between 35 and 44 years of age) |
| Callinan et al. (2020) | Australia | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Australians 18+ who drank at least monthly | Online survey on alcohol use | April 16-May 11, 2020 | N = 1684 (64.6% women; age range 18–65) |
| Callinan et al. (2021) | Australia | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Australians 18+ who drank at least monthly | Online survey on alcohol use in 2019 and during COVID-19 | April 29- May 16, 2020 | N = 2307 (55.1% women; mean age 46.5) |
| Chodkiewicz et al. (2020) | Poland | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish adults 18+ | A two-stage online survey; the results presented are from the baseline in April 2020 | April 10–20, 2020 | N = 443 (78.6% women; mean age 31.9) |
| Constant et al. (2020) | France | Lifestyle changes, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of French adults 18+, stratified to reflect the distribution of the general population | Online survey on lifestyle changes since the start of COVID | April 8–20, 2020; 3 weeks after lockdown measures were introduced | N = 4005 (51.2% women; age distribution representative of French population) |
| Czeisler et al. (2020) | United States | Mental health, substance use (alcohol, legal or illegal drugs or prescription drugs) and suicidal ideation | Representative sample of U.S. adults 18+ | Panel online survey on the impact of physical distancing and stay-at-home order | April 2–8, 2020 | N = 5412 (50.9% women; ages 18 and above) |
| Czeisler et al. (2020) | United States | Mental health, substance use (not defined) and suicidal ideation | Representative sample of U.S. adults 18+ | Panel online survey on the impact of physical distancing and stay-at-home order | August 28-September 6, 2020 | N = 5470 (50.9% women; ages 18 and above) |
| Đogaš et al. (2020) | Croatia | Lifestyle and mood, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Croatian adults aged 18+ | Online survey on the impact of lockdown on lifestyle and mood | April 25-May 5, 2020 | N = 3027 (79.7% women; median age 30) |
| Dozois (2021) | Canada | Anxiety and depression, including measures of alcohol and cannabis | Nationally representative sample of Canadian adults aged 18+ | Online survey on depression, anxiety and changes in alcohol and cannabis use | April 22–28, 2020 | N = 1803 (51.4% women; mean age 47.9) |
| Every-Palmer et al. (2020) | New Zealand | Psychological distress, anxiety, family violence, suicidality, wellbeing and alcohol use | Representative sample of New Zealand adults 18+ | Panel online survey on alcohol use, distress, anxiety, and family violence | April 15–18, 2020, which corresponded with Alert Level 4 lockdown days 19–22 | N = 2010 (53% women; age range 18–90) |
| Ferrante et al. (2020) | Italy | Lifestyle changes, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Italians 14+ | Online survey on alcohol use | April 21- June 7, 2020 | N = 7847 (71% women; mean age 48.6) |
| Gadermann et al. (2021) | Canada | Mental health, including alcohol use | Nationally representative sample of Canadian adults 18+ | Panel online survey comparing mental health, stress, emotional responses, substance use, and suicidality/self-harm among families with children < 18 to those without | May 14–29, 2020; 8.5 weeks after lockdown measures were introduced | N = 618 (52.4% women; mean age 43.0) |
| Garnett et al. (2021) | United Kingdoms | Alcohol use | Representative sample of UK adults aged 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use | March 21-April 4, 2020 | N = 30,375 (49.6% women; mean age 47.8) |
| Glowacz and Schmits (2020) | International (85% Belgium, 14.8% Canada or France) | Psychological distress, including alcohol use | Multi-country convenience sample of adults 18+ | Online surveys about psychological distress | April 17-May 1, 2020 | N = 2871 (79% women; mean age 33.67) |
| Górnicka et al. (2020) | Poland | Dietary changes, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish adults 18+ | Online survey examining dietary changes | April 30- May 23, 2020; 6 weeks after lockdown was implemented in Poland | N = 2381 (89.8% women; largest group aged 30–39 years old) |
| Grossman et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol use | A convenience sample of U.S. adults 21+ | Online survey on alcohol use | May 2020 | N = 832 (84% women; age range 26–49) |
| Huckle et al. (2020) | New Zealand | Alcohol purchasing and drinking behavior | Convenience sample of New Zealand adults 18+ | Online survey examining alcohol purchasing and drinking behavior | April 30- May 28, 2020 | N = 2173 (79% women; median age 43) |
| Jackson et al. (2021) | United Kingdom | Alcohol and tobacco use | Representative sample of England adults aged 16+ | Monthly cross‐sectional telephone surveys on tobacco and alcohol use (Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Studies) | April 2020 | N = 1674 (50.9% women; ages 16 and above) |
| Jacob et al. (2021) | United Kingdoms | Alcohol use and mental health | Convenience sample of UK residents aged 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use | March 2020 | N = 691 (61.1% women; 48.8% aged 35–64) |
| Killgore et al. (2021) | United States | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of U.S. adults aged 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use | Six time points between April–September 2020 | N = 5931 (53.7% women; mean age 36.3) |
| Koopmann et al. (2020) | Germany | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of German adults | Online survey on changes in alcohol use | Date not reported | N = 2102 (sex not reported) |
| Kriaucioniene et al. (2020) | Lithuania | Diet and health behaviors, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Lithuanian adults 18+ | Online survey on changes health behavior | April 14–28, 2020; 1 month after COVID-19 quarantine started in Lithuania | N = 2447 (88% women; majority aged 18–35) |
| López-Bueno et al. (2020) | Spain | Health risk behaviors, including alcohol use | Representative sample of Spanish adults aged 18+ | Online survey on changes health behavior | March 22-April 5, 2020 | N = 2741 (51.8% women; mean age 34.2) |
| McKnight-Eily et al. (2021) | United States | Stress, Mental health and substance use | Representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18+ | Panel online survey on mental health and changes in substance use | April and May 2020 | N = 1004 (gender not reported) |
| Neill et al. (2020) | Australia | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Australian adults aged 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use during the first month of social isolation measures | April 1, 2020 for 72 h | N = 4462 (80.9% women; 67% age 25–49) |
| Newby et al. (2020) | Australia | Mental health impacts and alcohol use | Convenience sample of Australian adults 18+ | Online surveys about alcohol use | March 27-April 7, 2020 | N = 5070 (86% women; ages 18 and above) |
| Niedzwiedz et al. (2021) | United States | Mental health and health behaviors | Representative sample of UK adults aged 16+ | Longitudinal household panel study on mental health and health behaviors | April 24–30, 2020; compared with waves conducted in 2015–2017, 2016–2018, 2017–2019 | N = 9748 (52% women; mean age 49.5) |
| Oksanen et al. (2021) | Finland | Drinking behavior and psychological stressors | Nationally representative sample of Finnish workers 19+ | Longitudinal National Survey Study | Pre-COVID-19: September 16-October 15, 2019 (Timepoint 1). Participants re-contacted during COVID-19: March 16-April 9, 2020 (Timepoint 2). | N = 1042 (48.2% women; mean age 43.1) |
| Pollard et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol use | Nationally representative sample of adults 18+ | Online panel surveys on alcohol use with RAND Corporation American Life Panel | Baseline survey: April 29-June 9, 2019; Wave 2: May 28-June 16, 2020 | N = 1540 (57.3% women; age range 30–59) |
| Rodriguez et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol use as a coping mechanism and psychological distress | Convenience sample of U.S. adults aged 18+ | Online panel survey on the perceived threat, psychological distress and associated drinking behaviors | April 17–23, 2020 | N = 754 (50% women; mean age 41.7) |
| Rodriguez et al. (2020) | Spain | Dietary behavior, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Spanish adults 18+ | Online survey examining changes in food use and weight gain | March 20, 2020 for 3 weeks; 1 week after confinement was introduced | N = 7514 (70.6% women; 92% were aged between 31 and 65 years) |
| Rolland et al. (2020) | France | Eating behaviors, screen use and substance use | A representative sample of French adults 16+ | Online survey on the impact of the first two weeks of containment measures on diet, screen use and substance use | March 25, 2020 | N = 11,391 (52% women; mean age 47.5) |
| Rossinot et al. (2020) | France | Behavioral changes, including alcohol use | Weighted sample of French adults 24+ | Online survey on behavior changes and mental state during confinement | April 23- May 7, 2020 | N = 1454 (63.5% women; age 24–65) |
| Sallie et al. (2020) | International (85 countries, 32% UK, 26% U.S.) | Alcohol and tobacco use and internet use | Multi-country convenience sample of adults 18+ | Online surveys on changes in alcohol and tobacco use and internet use | May 12–28, 2020 | N = 1346 (24% women; mean age 28.9) |
| Scarmozzino and Visioli (2020) | Italy | Food consumption, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Italian adults | Online survey on changes in food consumption | April 3–15, 2020; 3.5 weeks after confinement was introduced | N = 1929 (67% women; 63.1% within 21–35 years of age) |
| Sidor and Rzymski (2020) | Poland | Dietary choices, including alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish adults aged 18+ | Online surveys about the effect of lockdown on diet | April 17-May 1, 2020 | N = 1097 (95.1% women; age range 18–71) |
| Stanton et al. (2020) | Australia | The impact of depression, anxiety and stress on lifestyle changes, including alcohol | Convenience sample of Australian adults aged 18+ | Online surveys about physical activity, sleep, tobacco and alcohol use | April 9-May 19, 2020 | N = 1491 (67% women; mean age 50.5) |
| Szajnoga et al. (2020) | Poland | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Polish individuals 11+ | Online survey examining alcohol use | April 8–18, 2020; 4 weeks after lockdown restrictions introduced | N = 4072 (84.4% women; mean age 29.6) |
| Taylor et al. (2021) | United States and Canada | Alcohol and drug use | Representative sample of Canadian and U.S. adults 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use and COVID-19 related stress | May 6–19, 2020 | N = 3075 (51% women; mean age 51) |
| Tran et al. (2020) | Australia | Alcohol use and mental health | Representative sample of Australian adults 18+ | Online survey on alcohol use and mental health | April 3- May 2, 2020; four days after COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in Australia | N = 10,596 (75% women; ages 18 and above) |
| Vanderbruggen et al. (2020) | Belgium | Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use | Convenience sample of Belgium adults aged 18+ | Online survey on substance use during lockdown measures | April 9–29, 2020 | N = 3632 (70% women; mean age 42.1) |
| Villanueva et al. (2021) | Spain | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of Spanish adults | Online survey on alcohol use | April 14-May 29, 2020 | N = 3779 (70% women; age range 18–64) |
| Wardell et al. (2020) | Canada | Alcohol use as a coping mechanism | Convenience sample of Canadian adults aged 18+ | Online survey on external and internal factors in coping motive pathways to alcohol use, solitary drinking and alcohol problems | April 30-May 4, 2020 following | N = 320 (45.3% women; mean age 32) |
| Weerakoon et al. (2020) | United States | Alcohol use | Convenience sample of U.S. adults aged 18+ | Online surveys about alcohol use | Mid-March to mid-April 2020 | N = 1982 (69% women; mean age 42) |
| Winkler et al. (2020) | Czech Republic | Mental health disorders, including alcohol use | Representative sample of Czech adults aged 18+ | Online surveys about prevalence of mental health disorders | May 6–20, 2020 | N = 3021 (52% women; mean age 46.8) |
| Zajacova et al. (2020) | Canada | Health behaviors including alcohol use, junk food, screen time and cannabis | Representative sample of Canadian adults aged 25+ | Online surveys on health behavior | March 29-April 3, 2020 | N = 4383 (51% women) |