Clinical trial NCT05069090: Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities
Official title: Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities: a Difference-in-difference Analysis
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection
COVID-19
Keywords: Alcohol Drinking
Tobacco use
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Epidemiology
Cohort Studies
Lead sponsor: Universidad de La Frontera
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Universidad Católica del Norte
First posted: 2021-10-06
Enrollment: 1038
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: The study population are students, academics and administrative personnel of two universities in Chile

Brief summary: This is a longitudinal study of participants from two university communities in Chile. The primary objective is to examine the effect of a regional lockdown on alcohol and tobacco use, using a difference-in-difference analysis to obtain causal estimates of these COVID-19 policies.

Detailed description: The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading worldwide. Countries have adopted public health and social measures that, together with a direct effect of the pandemic, can affect alcohol and tobacco use. The most stringent measures are lockdowns and curfews that include statutory restrictions on people's mobility. Research to date has shown mixed effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on alcohol and tobacco use. Importantly, previous studies have not been able to differentiate the effects of the pandemic itself with those from lockdown and curfew policies. They have also been restricted to countries in Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The study will advance prior knowledge by providing evidence from a country in Latin America, one of the worst-hit regions worldwide. Latin America accounts for 8.4% of the global population, but 20.3% of the total SARS-COV2 cases and 30.2% of the COVID-19 deaths to date. In addition, the study will exploit the variation in lockdown policies in two regions in Chile to disentangle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with those from a lockdown.

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of a regional lockdown on alcohol use in two university populations in the Araucanía and Coquimbo regions in Chile. The investigators will use a difference-in-difference analysis to obtain causal estimates of these COVID-19 policies.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* People with study rights either at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels by July 27, 2020 at the Universidad de la Frontera or Universidad Católica del Norte; OR
* Workers with a full-time or part-time contract with either University, including academics, administrative and assistant personnel; AND
* Having an email registered in the Human Resource Office of each university

Exclusion Criteria:

* People without valid study rights at either university
* People without a working contract with the university
* Not having an email registered at the Human Resource Office

Primary outcomes:
measure: Weekly grams of alcohol use
timeFrame: Last week
measure: Frequency of heavy episodic drinking in the past month
timeFrame: Last 30 days
measure: Quantity of cigarettes per day
timeFrame: Last week
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Temuco
country: Chile
facility: Universidad de la Frontera
state: Araucanía
city: Coquimbo
country: Chile
facility: Universidad Católica del Norte
Study officials:
affiliation: Universidad de La Frontera
name: Francisca Román, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
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