Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Quality of Life in Persons with Alcohol use Disorder- A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder has a chronic relapsing course. Various biological, psychological, environmental, and psychosocial factors play a major role in maintaining abstinence and determining relapse in patients. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in every person's life. It is important to assess how this situation has determined alcohol use in the patients who had utilized deaddiction services in the past. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the pattern of alcohol use, perceived stress, and quality of life (QOL) during COVID-19 in patients who had utilized deaddiction services for alcohol use disorder in the preceding 1 year. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed in the study. After obtaining consent, telephonic interviewing of patients who had utilized deaddiction services during January-December 2019 was done, and questionnaires including sociodemographic details, Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire, Brief Substance Craving Scale, Perceived Stress Scale-10, and WHOQOL-BREF scale were administered to assess the pattern of alcohol use, stress levels, and QOL. Comparisons were carried out on different variables using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 122 patients were inducted into the study. About 70.5% of the relapsed individuals belonged to joint families. There was a significant association between the poor QOL and relapse status of the individuals. High levels of stress were reported among the individuals who have relapsed compared to nonrelapsed individuals. Conclusion: High rates of relapse and higher stress levels were found in our study. This study has helped us to understand the pattern of alcohol use in individuals during this pandemic. It is important to address the factors contributing to relapse in individuals so as to focus on developing and implementing feasible and accessible interventions to help the individuals.