Sex and age-dependent alterations of drug consumption during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: Lessons learned for the future

In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, lockdown has been one of the most implemented measures worldwide. Spain had one of the harshest lockdowns in Europe, impacting the social and psychological health of the population. The aim of this paper is to study how the lockdown has affected drug consumption patterns and the extent to which age and sex are influential factors. We have developed an online survey in which people were asked about their consumption of alcohol, marihuana, cocaine, and sedative and tranquilizers before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data revealed a general reduction in the consumption of all the drugs surveyed. Interestingly, when data was analysed by sex or age, we detected alterations in the consumption patterns depending on these variables that were of special relevance in the case of alcohol, marihuana and non-prescription sedatives and tranquilizers. Our data revealed a general decrease in the use of these drugs in the case of young adults, revealing that their use is strongly linked to social life, whereas the middle-aged population has experienced alterations in their consumption patterns, whereby their use has increased to daily. In addition, the use of non-prescription sedatives and tranquilizers has increased in specific populations. In conclusion, our data reveals important alterations during the lockdown in the consumption pattern of both legal and illegal drugs (sex and age dependent) in the Spanish population, and these alterations might be considered for future national strategies of preventative actions.