Seasonal Pollen Exposure and Alcohol-Related Harm

Alcohol use claims over 178,000 lives annually in the U.S. While the social determinants of alcohol use are well studied, much less is known about how environmental stressors affect alcohol-related harm. We examine the interaction between seasonal allergies, driven by plant pollen emissions, and alcohol use-related outcomes. To do so, we combine highfrequency data from Medicaid claims, Multiple Cause of Death vital statistics records, NielsenIQ Consumer Panel data, and daily pollen emissions. Higher pollen levels increase emergency department visits with alcohol as the primary diagnosis by 0.7 percent, while reducing alcoholrelated deaths. We observe no change in alcohol purchases when pollen levels are high, suggesting that our primary findings are driven by biological rather than behavioral responses to pollen. Our findings imply that environmental stressors can modify alcohol outcomes.