Table 1.
Characteristics of U.S. veterans by pre- and 1-year peri-pandemic probable AUD status.
| No AUD N = 2709 (87.2 %) | Incident probable AUD N = 71 (2.7 %) | Remitted probable AUD N = 85 (3.2 %) | Chronic probable AUD N = 183 (6.9 %) | Incident probable AUD vs. No AUD | Chronic probable AUD vs. No AUD | Chronic probable AUD vs. Remitted probable AUD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted Mean (SEM) or N (Weighted%) | Weighted Mean (SEM) or N (Weighted%) | Weighted Mean (SEM) or N (Weighted%) | Weighted Mean (SEM)or N (Weighted%) | p | p | p | |
| Age | 64.1 (14.5) | 56.3 (14.1) | 60.8 (14.1) | 55.8 (14.3) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.01 |
| Male gender | 2394 (91.2) | 67 (95.1) | 79 (94.7) | 167 (94.1) | 0.22 | 0.14 | 0.85 |
| White race/ethnicity | 2239 (79.1) | 60 (80.0) | 72 (83.0) | 149 (80.0) | 0.85 | 0.77 | 0.54 |
| College graduate or higher education | 1250 (34.4) | 24 (21.3) | 39 (38.3) | 81 (35.6) | 0.02 | 0.72 | 0.65 |
| Married/partnered | 1962 (74.4) | 49 (65.0) | 62 (80.9) | 130 (68.8) | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.03 |
| Household income $60 K or higher | 1629 (61.1) | 40 (51.3) | 51 (57.9) | 114 (60.8) | 0.08 | 0.94 | 0.64 |
| Combat veteran | 906 (34.5) | 24 (37.5) | 25 (30.5) | 85 (47.5) | 0.58 | <0.001 | <0.01 |
| Pre-pandemic risk factors | |||||||
| Sum of lifetime traumas | 8.7 (8.2) | 10.0 (8.4) | 10.4 (10.2) | 10.2 (8.1) | 0.17 | 0.02 | 0.83 |
| Adverse childhood experiences | 1.4 (0.0) | 1.3 (0.1) | 1.8 (0.2) | 2.4 (0.2) | 0.61 | <0.001 | 0.03 |
| Lifetime MDD or PTSD | 482 (19.8) | 18 (30.3) | 23 (33.7) | 61 (40.6) | 0.03 | <0.001 | 0.27 |
| Lifetime AUD or DUD | 995 (37.5) | 50 (75.0) | 61 (75.8) | 61 (75.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.06 |
| Psychiatric symptom severity | −0.1 (0.8) | 0.1 (0.8) | 0.3 (1.1) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.07 | <0.001 | 0.21 |
| Alcohol use problem severity | 1.9 (1.9) | 5.3 (2.0) | 10.3 (3.1) | 15.1 (6.9) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Non-prescription drug use days | 11.5 (1.1) | 27.7 (9.2) | 4.6 (3.1) | 47.9 (8.0) | 0.09 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Number of medical conditions | 3.0 (2.2) | 2.8 (2.2) | 2.8 (1.9) | 2.8 (2.0) | 0.53 | 0.19 | 0.81 |
| Loneliness | 4.5 (1.8) | 4.9 (1.4) | 4.9 (1.9) | 5.2 (2.0) | <0.01 | <0.001 | 0.13 |
| Pre-pandemic protective factors | |||||||
| Social support | 19.0 (5.0) | 17.4 (5.0) | 17.1 (5.8) | 17.7 (5.5) | <0.01 | <0.001 | 0.40 |
| Protective psychosocial characteristics | 0.1 (0.9) | −0.2 (1.0) | −0.0 (1.0) | 0.4 (1.2) | <0.01 | <0.001 | 0.49 |
| Pandemic-related variables | |||||||
| Infected with COVID-19 | 189 (7.6) | 6 (11.3) | 11 (9.7) | 24 (13.2) | 0.23 | <0.01 | 0.38 |
| Know someone who died of COVID-19 | 155 (5.6) | 3 (7.5) | 5 (6.3) | 11 (5.4) | 0.46 | 0.90 | 0.74 |
| Hours consume COVID-related media per week | 1.6 (0.0) | 1.9 (0.2) | 1.8 (0.2) | 1.7 (0.2) | 0.02 | 0.35 | 0.79 |
| Positive screen for COVID-related PTSD symptoms | 322 (11.7) | 13 (19.8) | 13 (18.1) | 42 (21.1) | 0.03 | <0.001 | 0.55 |
| COVID-related worries | −0.03 (1.0) | 0.2 (0.8) | 0.12 (1.1) | 0.2 (1.0) | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.56 |
| COVID-related social restriction stress | −0.03 (1.0) | 0.02 (0.7) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.2 (1.2) | 0.53 | <0.01 | 0.10 |
| COVID-related financial stress | −0.02 (1.0) | 0.3 (1.3) | 0.2 (1.2) | −0.02 (1.1) | 0.02 | 0.99 | 0.15 |
| COVID-related worsening relationships | −0.02 (1.0) | 0.3 (0.8) | 0.01 (1. 0) | 0.03 (1.1) | 0.01 | 0.57 | 0.89 |
| Change variables | |||||||
| Social support | −0.3 (4.4) | −0.1 (4.3) | 0.5 (5.2) | 0.1 (4.3) | 0.72 | 0.23 | 0.46 |
| Protective psychosocial characteristics | −0.03 (0.7) | −0.07 (0.7) | −0.05 (0.7) | 0.04 (0.7) | 0.61 | 0.16 | 0.33 |
| Loneliness | −0.9 (1.3) | 0.1 (1.4) | −0.4 (1.4) | −0.03 (1.3) | 0.12 | 0.48 | 0.06 |
AUD = alcohol use disorder, COVID = coronavirus disease, DUD = drug use disorder, MDD = major depressive disorder, PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder, SEM = standard error of the mean, SD = standard deviation.