Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 31, 2022
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 31, 2022 - Oct 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 13, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Oct 14, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The effect of the first UK COVID-19 lockdown on users of the ‘Drink Less’ app: An interrupted time series analysis of socio-demographic characteristics, engagement and alcohol reduction
ABSTRACT
Background:
The first UK COVID-19 lockdown had a polarising impact on drinking behaviour and may have impacted engagement with digital interventions to reduce alcohol consumption.
Objective:
We examined the effect of lockdown on engagement, alcohol reduction and the socio-demographic characteristics among users of the popular and widely available alcohol reduction app, Drink Less.
Methods:
A natural experiment. The study period spanned 468 days between 24/03/2019 and 03/07/2020, with the introduction of UK lockdown measures beginning on 24/03/2020. Users were 18+ years, based in the UK and interested in drinking less. Interrupted time series analyses using Generalised Additive Mixed Models were conducted for each outcome variable (i.e., socio-demographic characteristics, app downloads and engagement levels, alcohol consumption, and extent of alcohol reduction) for existing (downloaded the app pre-lockdown) and new (downloaded the app post-lockdown) users of the app.
Results:
Among existing users of the Drink Less app, there were increases in time spent on app (B=.01, P=.012), mean units of alcohol recorded per day (B>.00 P=.022) and mean heavy drinking (>6 units) days (B>.00 P=.019) post-lockdown. Previous declines in new app downloads plateaued post-lockdown (IRR=1.00, P=.182). Among new app users, there was an increase in the proportion of female users (B>.00, P=.037) and those at risk of alcohol dependence (B>.00, P=.006), and a decrease in the proportion of non-manual workers (B>-.00, P=.043). Among new app users, there were step increases in the mean number of alcohol units (B=20.12, P=.032), heavy drinking days (B=1.38, P=.010) and the number of days the app was used (B=2.05, P=.019), alongside a step decrease in the percentage of available screens viewed (B=-0.03, P=.035).
Conclusions:
Following the first UK lockdown, there was evidence of increases in engagement and alcohol consumption among new and existing users of the Drink Less app. Clinical Trial: n/a
Citation
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