Table 1.
Percent (and N) distribution of health behaviours and changes during the pandemic by study
| MCS | NS | BCS | NCDS | GS | USOC | ELSA | ALSPAC G0 | ALSPAC G1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N participants | 2057 | 1579 | 3151 | 4358 | 2604 | 8328 | 2417 | 2072 | 1275 |
| Age/age range of participants | 18–20 | 29–31 | 50 | 62 | 27–66 | 17–66 | 52–66 | 50–65 | 27–29 |
| % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | |
| Smoking and vaping | |||||||||
| Pre-pandemic current smoker | NA | NA | NA | NA | 12.2 (317) | 15.5 (834) | 14.7 (271) | NA | NA |
| Current smoker (during pandemic) | 17.3 (292) | 18.0 (189) | 16.7 (366) | 11.3 (356) | 6.2 (162) | 14.7 (793) | 13.3 (240) | NA | NA |
| Smoking more -including relapse and initiation | 5.4 (78) | 8.5 (76) | 6.5 (136) | 2.9 (85) | 2.7 (71) | 6.3 (356) | 4.4 (77) | NA | NA |
| Smoking less -including cessation | 6.9 (137) | 4.0 (46) | 2.5 (57) | 1.0 (41) | 1.0 (24) | 6.8 (339) | 4.2 (83) | NA | NA |
| Pre-pandemic current vaping | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 7.5 (490) | NA | NA | NA |
| Current vaping (during pandemic) | 7.4 (122) | 10.2 (106) | 9.5 (228) | 5.7 (189) | 3.3 (87) | 6.6 (423) | NA | NA | NA |
| Vaping more—including relapse and initiation | 3.0 (51) | 5.0 (52) | 2.5 (67) | 1.0 (41) | 1.0 (26) | 2.3 (124) | NA | NA | NA |
| Vaping less—including cessation | 1.4 (27) | 1.2 (13) | 0.5 (15) | 0.4 (16) | < 1.0 (< 10) | 3.3 (188) | NA | NA | NA |
| Alcohol consumption | |||||||||
| Drinks 4+ days a week (pre-pandemic) | 8.6 (143) | 6.2 (72) | 15 (496) | 24 (1,145) | NA | 28.2 (2314) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks 4+ days a week (during the pandemic) | 9.6 (151) | 13.8 (197) | 27.0 (911) | 29.7 (1,405) | NA | 51.7 (4272) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks more frequently | 17.4 (351) | 30.5 (492) | 25.3 (883) | 15.4 (707) | NA | 34.6 (3009) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks less frequently | 36.2 (786) | 14.1 (222) | 8.0 (242) | 12.4 (519) | NA | 24.4 (1904) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks 5+ drinks per occasion (pre-pandemic) | 30.8 (687) | 12 (180) | 12 (329) | 9.3 (372) | NA | 16.8 (1040) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks 5+ drinks per occasion (during the pandemic) | 10.6 (171) | 8.6 (102) | 11.7 (325) | 9.0 (333) | NA | 6.9 (485) | NA | NA | NA |
| More drinks per occasion | 17.4 (351) | 30.5 (492) | 25.3 (883) | 15.4 (707) | NA | 9.4 (743) | NA | NA | NA |
| Fewer drinks per occasion | 46.5 (782) | 20.2 (239) | 10.4 (242) | 9.8 (297) | NA | 36.6 (2695) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks 4+ days/week or 5+ drinks per occasion (pre-pandemic) | 35 (748) | 17.9 (247) | 24.4 (742) | 28.9 (1325) | NA | 42.8 (3200) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks 4+ days/week or 5+ drinks per occasion (during the pandemic) | 18.2 (282) | 21.0 (273) | 33.4 (1054) | 34.8 (1507) | NA | 55.8 (4536) | NA | NA | NA |
| Drinks more/more frequently | 23.7 (396) | 36.7 (541) | 31.7 (1025) | 21.1 (889) | 26.3 (685) | 38.4 (3329) | 18.1 (455) | 38.1 (789) | 13.7 (175) |
| Drinks less/less frequently | 58.4 (921) | 26.9 (314) | 14.2 (343) | 15.3 (497) | 15.2 (394) | 42.3 (3217) | 14.3 (318) | 35.1 (730) | 38.9 (496) |
MCS Millennium Cohort Study, NS Next Steps, BCS 1970 British Cohort Study, NCDS National Child Development Study, GS Generation Scotland, USOC Understanding Society, ELSA English Longitudinal Study of Aging, ALSPAC Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (G0 = parents, G1 = children). For more information about the questions asked in each dataset, and how the change variables were coded, please see Additional file 2. Percentages are weighted (except GS). Note: Analysis for GS, USOC, and ELSA restricted to participants aged 66 and younger. NA not available