Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic | Edmonton Journal                                                            Skip to Content      Oil Spills     Get the latest Oilers news delivered to your inbox every weekday Get the latest Oilers news delivered to your inbox every weekday Sign up now>     Manage Print Subscription/Tax Receipt           Sections           Search    Search edmontonjournal.com         Perform search         Edmonton Journal                              Share             Share this Story: Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic           Copy Link      Email      Facebook      Twitter      Reddit      Pinterest      LinkedIn      Tumblr       Subscribe         Main Menu   Search edmontonjournal.com         Perform search        News      Local News     COVID-19     Groundwork       Politics     Crime     National     COVID-19       PostPandemic     World     Insight     Videos     Weather     Archives     Contact the Newsroom     Send a Letter to the Editor         Sports      Sports Betting     Hockey     Edmonton Oilers     Cult of Hockey     NHL     Edmonton Oil Kings     Junior Hockey       Football     Edmonton Elks     CFL     NFL       Golf     Golf Videos       Baseball     Basketball     NBA     NCAA       Soccer     MLS     International Soccer       Local Sports     Tennis     Curling       Opinion      Editorials     Columnists     Letters     Malcolm Mayes editorial cartoons       Business      Local Business     Open during COVID     Featured Businesses       Real Estate     Commercial Real Estate     Mortgages     Energy     Technology     Gaming     Internet     Personal Tech     Science     Space     Tech-Biz       FP Markets     Small Business     Alberta's Top Employers     MoneyWise Canada     Borrowing Money     Future Money     Growing Money         Arts      Local Arts     Movies     Movie Listings       Television     TV Listings       Theatre     Music     Books     Celebrity     Festivals       Life      Shopping Essentials     Home Living     Style & Beauty     Kitchen & Dining     Personal Care     Entertainment & Hobbies     Gift Guide       Fashion & Beauty     Homes     Buying and Selling     Condos     Decorating     Gardening     Renovating     Vacation Homes       Health     Healthing     Diet & Fitness     Family & Child     Men     Seniors     Sexual Health     Women       Parenting     Relationships     Royals     Food     Local food reviews     Recipes     Taste Alberta       Travel     Ski & Snowboard     Eat Play Stay Alberta       Puzzles     New York Times Crossword     Comics     Advice     Horoscopes     Contests     National Contests       Readers' Choice       Obituaries      Browse Notices     Place an Obituary     Place an In Memoriam       Classifieds      Place an Ad     Business Card Directory     Celebrations     Real Estate Marketplace     Working     Shopping     This Week's Flyers     Auction     Special Sections     Build & Design YEG         Driving     Healthing     The GrowthOp     Podcasts     Newsletters     ePaper     Subscribe      My Account     FAQ          NewsSportsOpinionBusinessArtsLifeDrivingHealthingThe GrowthOpPodcastsNewslettersePaper       Advertisement        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.                                    Share this Story: Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic           Copy Link      Email      Facebook      Twitter      Reddit      Pinterest      LinkedIn      Tumblr          Breadcrumb Trail Links   Local News     Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic    Author of the article:  Blair McBride    Publishing date: Oct 10, 2021  •  October 11, 2021  •  3 minute read  •         5 Comments               Hospitalizations from alcohol-related depression and withdrawal have increased in the pandemic, threatening to worsen mental health issues, said Dr. Eddy Lang, a co-author of a study examining hospital admission rates in the early months of the pandemic.  Photo by supplied     Article content Alberta is seeing a surge in alcohol-related illnesses that can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.    Advertisement     Story continues below        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.         Article content Mental and behavioural disorders resulting from alcohol use as well as alcohol-related depression and withdrawal are among the few non-COVID causes of hospital admission that have increased in the province since March 2020, says Calgary physician Dr. Eddy Lang.                    We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.      Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic Back to video                       An article co-written by Lang that was published in the medical journal PLOS ONE in June revealed alcohol consumption rose from the fifth-highest cause of hospitalization in the province to the third during the first six months of the pandemic. Alcohol-related illnesses accounted for 3.46 per cent of hospital admissions between March and September 2020, up from 2.65 per cent in that timeframe the previous year. “Considering the number of hospitalizations we have in Alberta, that’s a significant increase,” Lang said, attributing the rising drinking rates to heightened feelings of pandemic anxiety.    Advertisement     Story continues below        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.         Article content “There’s been lots of lost employment and family separation. We know that people are managing that with alcohol and cannabis. That’s going to manifest with people going overboard,” he said. “Alcohol is like gasoline on the fire of mental illness. If you’re already depressed you might think alcohol will make you feel better but in the long run it makes things worse because it contributes to suicidal thoughts.” Increased rates of drinking in Alberta are also showing up in liver health. Hospitalizations for alcoholic hepatitis rose by 90.5 per cent in the first wave of the pandemic, according to a study soon to be published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The research covering the March to September 2020 period found the rise in hospitalizations coincided with higher liquor sales, said lead author Dr. Abdel-Aziz Shaheen at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.    Advertisement     Story continues below        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.         Article content Higher drinking rates were driven mainly by changes in personal habits in the lockdown, Shaheen said. “People went from drinking a few times a week with friends in the bar to drinking alone at home and watching Netflix.” And the outcomes have been worsening. “In the second and third waves we noticed people were presenting sicker than in the first wave,” Shaheen said. “Patients wait longer to come to the hospital. They tell us, ‘We’re afraid that if we come then the same (pre-COVID) treatment won’t be available.’ They say they try to manage on their own.”   Shaheen pointed to a case where a 75-year-old man arrived at the hospital with a peptic ulcer in his stomach. “That’s rare in North America. This is something we see in textbooks in developing countries,” Shaheen said. “He died in the ICU because he kept bleeding. He was afraid to come to the hospital because of COVID. We’re seeing this more now because patients aren’t coming to the hospital at the right time.”    Advertisement     Story continues below        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.         Article content Shaheen admits he is fearful about the long-term impacts of rising alcohol consumption because alcohol-related hospitalization rates have continued to be high beyond the scope of his study, with emergency departments seeing patterns in the fourth wave that are similar to March 2020. Shaheen said more needs to be done to support people struggling with alcohol use. “We need to give primary care physicians the tools to help patients lower their consumption. We’re starting to collaborate with partners in mental health. If patients are at high risk, then we need to follow up.” Referring to the Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Sha heen said men shouldn’t consume more than 15 standard drinks per week. Women shouldn’t have more than 10 drinks per week. If Albertans are concerned about their drinking habits, they should first contact their primary care physician or call the Alberta Health Services-operated Addiction Helpline at 1-866-332-2322. Alcoholics Anonymous also has a 24-hour meeting information line at 780-443-6000. bmcbride@postmedia.com twitter.com/blairmcbride       Share this article in your social network                           Share this Story: Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic           Copy Link      Email      Facebook      Twitter      Reddit      Pinterest      LinkedIn      Tumblr                    Latest National Stories        Advertisement     Story continues below        This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.               Edmonton Journal Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.     Email Address      There was an error, please provide a valid email address.     Sign Up   By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. 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