Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) disproportionately miss work compared to those without the disorder. The corresponding study was published in Substance Use and Addiction by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine.
AUD is characterized by an impaired ability to regulate alcohol use despite adverse effects on social life, work-life, and health. Almost 11 million full-time workers in the US- around 9.3% of the adult working population- met the diagnostic criteria for AUD between 2015 and 2019.
Researchers sought to see how AUD affects work absenteeism in the present study. To do so, they examined data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. They included data from 110, 701 adults in full-time employment in their analysis and paid specific attention to evidence of AUD ( assessed by survey) and days taken off from work.
Whereas those who did not meet the criteria for AUD missed an average of 13 days from work per year, those with a mild case of AUD missed an average of almost 18 days. Meanwhile, those with moderate AUD missed 24 days, and those with severe AUD: 32 days.
The researchers also found that while people with AUD accounted for 9.3% of the full-time workforce, those with AUD accounted for 14.1% of total absences from work.
"Often, people who miss that much work lose their jobs," said Laura J. Beirut, MD, senior author of the study, "But our hope is that the workplace might be a point of contact where intervention can occur. You're there eight hours a day, and when an employer begins seeing these difficulties, perhaps instead of firing a person, they could take action to assist with that individual's recovery."
The researchers say that drinking behavior has likely worsened during the pandemic as many people now have less-structured days either due to job loss or working remotely.
Sources: Science Daily, Substance Use and Addiction
