Long-term effects of alcohol consumption on anxiety in adults

Despite the high prevalence and comorbidity of alcohol consumption and anxiety, it is unclear whether alcohol consumption influences long-term anxiety. A study aimed to review the literature on the long-term longitudinal effects of alcohol consumption on anxiety in adults.
EMBASE, PsychInfo, Medline, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched from inception to April 12th, 2024. Articles analysing the relationship between alcohol consumption and anxiety symptoms or anxiety disorder diagnosis at least three-months later in adults were eligible. From 884 records, eight studies of mixed quality met inclusion criteria. One study using a sample representative of the USA population found low volume consumption was associated with lower long-term anxiety. All other studies used a convenience sample or a specific medical population sample. The significance and direction of the relationship between alcohol consumption and long-term anxiety in these studies varied, likely due to differences in alcohol consumption thresholds used and populations studied.
The researchers conclude that a paucity of research on the longitudinal effects of alcohol consumption on anxiety was found, highlighting a significant gap in the research literature. Furthermore, existing research, primarily focussed on clinical subpopulations, has yielded mixed results. Further research is needed to explore the longitudinal dose dependent impact of alcohol consumption on anxiety using samples representative of national populations.
Source: D’Aquino S, Kumar A, Riordan B, Callinan S. Long-term effects of alcohol consumption on anxiety in adults: A systematic review. Addict Behav. 2024 Apr 28;155:108047.