Alcohol-Related Hospitalizations During the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown in Massachusetts: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis.

Background: The effect of initial COVID-19 pandemic-associated lockdowns on alcohol-related hospitalizations remains uncertain. This study compares alcohol-related hospitalizations at a US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system in Massachusetts before, during, and after the initial COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods: This study is an interrupted time-series analysis at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Participants included all patients hospitalized on the medical, psychiatry, and neurology services at VA Boston Healthcare System from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, excluding those under observation status. The period January 1, 2017, to March 9, 2020, was defined as prelockdown (the reference group); March 10, 2020, to May 18, 2020, was lockdown; and May 19, 2020, to December 31, 2020, was postlockdown. Alcohol-related hospitalizations were determined using International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision primary diagnosis codes.

Results: We identified 27,508 hospitalizations during the study periods. There were 72 alcohol-related hospitalizations per 100,000 patient-months during the prelockdown period, 10 per 100,000 patient-months during the lockdown, and 46 per 100,000 patient-months in the postlockdown period. Compared with the prelockdown period, the adjusted rate ratio for daily alcohol-related hospitalizations during lockdown was 0.20 (95% CI, 0.10-0.39) vs 0.72 (95% CI, 0.57-0.92) after the lockdown. A similar pattern was observed for all-cause hospitalizations.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures were associated with fewer alcohol-related hospitalizations. Proactive outreach for vulnerable populations during lockdowns is needed.