Longitudinal associations between alcohol use, occupational stressors, and mental health among healthcare and ancillary workers in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic (UK-REACH)

Irizar, P ORCID: 0000-0003-0078-1372, Martin, CA, Woolf, K, Nellums, LB, Qureshi, I, Masood, A, Bryant, L, Goodwin, L, Pareek, M and The UK-REACH Study Collaborative Group (2025) Longitudinal associations between alcohol use, occupational stressors, and mental health among healthcare and ancillary workers in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic (UK-REACH). BMC Medicine, 23 (1). p. 665. ISSN 1741-7015

Preview

Text Longitudinal associations between alcohol use occupational stressors and mental health among healthcare and ancillary workers.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (808kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated exposure to trauma and demands for healthcare workers (HCWs), which are known risks for heavy alcohol use and common mental disorders (CMD). We investigated the longitudinal associations between alcohol use and wider stressors with symptoms of CMD among HCWs. METHODS: Data were obtained from the UK-REACH prospective cohort study of HCWs, collected between Dec 2020 and Feb 2021 (N = 12,821), and 6 months (N = 5164, 40% response rate) and 10 months later (N = 5454, 43% response rate). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), changes in frequency of alcohol use, COVID-19 stressors, occupational stressors, and discrimination were self-reported at each time point. Multilevel models analysed changes in symptoms of CMD over time and explored the associations with changes in alcohol use and wider stressors, for those who completed two or more surveys (N = 6973). RESULTS: Mean symptoms of depression declined from baseline (1.07 ± 0.02) to 6-month (0.96 ± 0.02) and 10-month follow up (0.97 ± 0.02), as did mean symptoms of anxiety (baseline, 1.45 ± 0.02; 6-month, 1.35 ± 0.02; 10-month, 1.39 ± 0.02). Symptoms of PTSD only declined from baseline (3.36 ± 0.02) to 10-month follow-up (3.31 ± 0.02). More frequent alcohol use over time was associated with increased symptoms of depression (β = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.44), anxiety (β = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.45), and PTSD (β = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.46), as was bereavement due to COVID-19, and discrimination from patients and other staff. Occupational stressors were positively associated with symptoms of CMD, though this association was not as pronounced for those who drank less often (β = - 0.08; 95% CI, - 0.14 to - 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: We identified several mechanisms which contributed to worsened CMD, demonstrating that organisational changes are required to support HCWs to reduce their alcohol use, tackle discrimination, and to create a work environment where staff feel secure raising concerns.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	UK-REACH Study Collaborative Group; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Prospective Studies; Depression; Alcohol Drinking; Anxiety; Mental Health; Mental Disorders; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Adult; Middle Aged; Health Personnel; Female; Male; Pandemics; United Kingdom; Occupational Stress; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Alcohol; COVID-19; Healthcare; Multilevel modelling; Prospective cohort; Humans; COVID-19; Male; Female; United Kingdom; Health Personnel; Adult; Occupational Stress; Alcohol Drinking; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Mental Health; SARS-CoV-2; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Depression; Pandemics; Anxiety; Mental Disorders; 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; 42 Health Sciences; Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Health; Coronaviruses; Anxiety Disorders; Mental Health; Substance Misuse; Brain Disorders; Emerging Infectious Diseases; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Infectious Diseases; Social Determinants of Health; Mental Illness; Depression; Behavioral and Social Science; Clinical Research; 2.3 Psychological, social and economic factors; Mental health; Humans; COVID-19; Male; Female; United Kingdom; Health Personnel; Adult; Occupational Stress; Alcohol Drinking; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Mental Health; SARS-CoV-2; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Depression; Pandemics; Anxiety; Mental Disorders; 11 Medical and Health Sciences; General & Internal Medicine; 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences; 42 Health sciences
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Springer
Date of acceptance:	23 October 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	23 December 2025
Date Deposited:	23 Dec 2025 09:52
Last Modified:	23 Dec 2025 09:52
DOI or ID number:	10.1186/s12916-025-04474-4
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27774

View Item