Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic
Alcohol (ethanol) is the most widely detected drug in forensic toxicology casework and an increase in consumption of alcohol was reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in consumption could be attributed to rising stress levels and social isolation. To determine whether the pandemic had...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Forensic Science International: Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910723000130 |
| _version_ | 1797798624133906432 |
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| author | Sara K. Dempsey Lindsay Glicksberg Amanda J. Rausch Heidi Christensen Brittany K. Casey |
| author_facet | Sara K. Dempsey Lindsay Glicksberg Amanda J. Rausch Heidi Christensen Brittany K. Casey |
| author_sort | Sara K. Dempsey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alcohol (ethanol) is the most widely detected drug in forensic toxicology casework and an increase in consumption of alcohol was reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in consumption could be attributed to rising stress levels and social isolation. To determine whether the pandemic had an impact on ethanol positivity and concentrations in cases analyzed by the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, blood ethanol results were evaluated from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2021. This time frame captured ethanol prevalence and concentrations before, during, and immediately following the pandemic for comparison. The average ethanol concentration in postmortem casework over the three years for each quarter ranged from 0.116 g/100 mL to 0.142 g/100 mL while the average concentration in driving while intoxicated (DWI) was higher, ranging from 0.173 g/100 mL to 0.188 g/100 mL. The ethanol positivity rate for postmortem casework remained relatively the same at approximately 20% during the time frame, while there was a decrease in ethanol positivity rate for DWI casework during the pandemic in April - June (Q2) 2020. However, the positivity rate returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2020. Despite the self-reported surveys of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, a corresponding increase in average ethanol concentrations was not observed in Dallas County and the surrounding area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:07:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba0ea5f6cfde4bf2b581dc2c5ae506dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2665-9107 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:07:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Science International: Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba0ea5f6cfde4bf2b581dc2c5ae506dd2023-06-21T06:59:56ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Reports2665-91072023-07-017100318Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemicSara K. Dempsey0Lindsay Glicksberg1Amanda J. Rausch2Heidi Christensen3Brittany K. Casey4Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207, USADallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207, USADallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207, USADallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207, USACorresponding author.; Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, 2355 N. Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75207, USAAlcohol (ethanol) is the most widely detected drug in forensic toxicology casework and an increase in consumption of alcohol was reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in consumption could be attributed to rising stress levels and social isolation. To determine whether the pandemic had an impact on ethanol positivity and concentrations in cases analyzed by the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, blood ethanol results were evaluated from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2021. This time frame captured ethanol prevalence and concentrations before, during, and immediately following the pandemic for comparison. The average ethanol concentration in postmortem casework over the three years for each quarter ranged from 0.116 g/100 mL to 0.142 g/100 mL while the average concentration in driving while intoxicated (DWI) was higher, ranging from 0.173 g/100 mL to 0.188 g/100 mL. The ethanol positivity rate for postmortem casework remained relatively the same at approximately 20% during the time frame, while there was a decrease in ethanol positivity rate for DWI casework during the pandemic in April - June (Q2) 2020. However, the positivity rate returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2020. Despite the self-reported surveys of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, a corresponding increase in average ethanol concentrations was not observed in Dallas County and the surrounding area.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910723000130AlcoholPandemicPostmortemDWIToxicologyCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Sara K. Dempsey Lindsay Glicksberg Amanda J. Rausch Heidi Christensen Brittany K. Casey Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic Forensic Science International: Reports Alcohol Pandemic Postmortem DWI Toxicology COVID-19 |
| title | Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Alcohol use trends in Dallas County during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | alcohol use trends in dallas county during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Alcohol Pandemic Postmortem DWI Toxicology COVID-19 |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910723000130 |
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