Table 5.
Average monthly rates (per 100,000 people) of visits to the emergency department due to alcohol by diagnostic codes for rural- and urban-dwelling individuals in the 3 years prior to COVID-19 compared to during COVID-19.
| Rural rates per 100,000 (95 % CIs) |
Urban rates per 100,000 (95 % CIs) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol-Related Harms (ICD-10 Codes) | Pre-COVID-19 | During COVID-19 | Adj. Percent change (95 % CIs)A | Pre-COVID-19 | During COVID-19 | Adj. Percent change (95 % CIs) |
| Acute intoxication** | 27.9 | 24.8 | −6.2% (-14.5, 2.7)** | 21.6 | 14.8 | −28.2% (-33.6, -22.3) |
| Harmful use* | 13.4 | 12.6 | −3.8% (-12.3, 5.6)* | 12.0 | 10.0 | −14.3% (-19.8, -8.5) |
| Alcohol dependence | 6.3 | 4.9 | −23.9% (-34.3, -11.8) | 4.4 | 3.5 | −22.1% (-29.8, -13.4) |
| Alcohol withdrawal** | 10.6 | 12.0 | +21.1 % (9.7, 33.7)** | 7.8 | 7.2 | −1.3% (-8.2, 6.0) |
| Mental/behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol, other | 0.8 | 1.0 | +40.5 % (5.5, 87.0) | 1.0) | 1.2 | +44.9 % (27.0, 65.3) |
| Alcoholic liver disease | 2.5 | 2.7 | +12.0 % (-6.6, 34.2) | 1.9 | 2.0 | +9.9 % (-1.7, 22.9) |
| Alcoholic gastritis* | 1.3 | 1.5 | +22.2 % (-3.8, 55.2)* | 0.5 | 0.4 | −21.2% (-33.7, - 6.5) |
| Accidental or intentional poisoning by alcohol | 1.4 | 1.2 | −2.8% (-23.6, 23.5) | 1.5 | 1.2 | −9.3% (-18.2, 0.6) |
| Other medical conditions due to alcohol | 2.2 | 2.1 | +4.6 % (-12.6, 25.3) | 2.3 | 2.0 | −5.4% (-12.4, 2.3) |
A
Adjusted percent changes were obtained from rate ratios comparing average monthly counts of visits due to alcohol (per capita) in the first 6 months following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic to the same 6-month periods in 2017−2019. Analyses are adjusted for month and yearly trend. CIs: Confidence Intervals. See Appendix 1 for a full list of ICD-10 codes for alcohol-related harms.
*
P < 0.001.
**
P < 0.05 for subgroup difference (interaction between COVID-19 and urban vs rural home address).