Background
Excessive drinking is a significant cause of mortality, morbidity and social problems in many countries. Brief interventions aim to reduce alcohol consumption and related harm in hazardous ...and harmful drinkers who are not actively seeking help for alcohol problems. Interventions usually take the form of a conversation with a primary care provider and may include feedback on the person's alcohol use, information about potential harms and benefits of reducing intake, and advice on how to reduce consumption. Discussion informs the development of a personal plan to help reduce consumption. Brief interventions can also include behaviour change or motivationally‐focused counselling.
This is an update of a Cochrane Review published in 2007.
Objectives
To assess the effectiveness of screening and brief alcohol intervention to reduce excessive alcohol consumption in hazardous or harmful drinkers in general practice or emergency care settings.
Search methods
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, and 12 other bibliographic databases to September 2017. We searched Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database (to December 2003, after which the database was discontinued), trials registries, and websites. We carried out handsearching and checked reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews.
Selection criteria
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of brief interventions to reduce hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption in people attending general practice, emergency care or other primary care settings for reasons other than alcohol treatment. The comparison group was no or minimal intervention, where a measure of alcohol consumption was reported. 'Brief intervention' was defined as a conversation comprising five or fewer sessions of brief advice or brief lifestyle counselling and a total duration of less than 60 minutes. Any more was considered an extended intervention. Digital interventions were not included in this review.
Data collection and analysis
We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. We carried out subgroup analyses where possible to investigate the impact of factors such as gender, age, setting (general practice versus emergency care), treatment exposure and baseline consumption.
Main results
We included 69 studies that randomised a total of 33,642 participants. Of these, 42 studies were added for this update (24,057 participants). Most interventions were delivered in general practice (38 studies, 55%) or emergency care (27 studies, 39%) settings. Most studies (61 studies, 88%) compared brief intervention to minimal or no intervention. Extended interventions were compared with brief (4 studies, 6%), minimal or no intervention (7 studies, 10%). Few studies targeted particular age groups: adolescents or young adults (6 studies, 9%) and older adults (4 studies, 6%). Mean baseline alcohol consumption was 244 g/week (30.5 standard UK units) among the studies that reported these data. Main sources of bias were attrition and lack of provider or participant blinding. The primary meta‐analysis included 34 studies (15,197 participants) and provided moderate‐quality evidence that participants who received brief intervention consumed less alcohol than minimal or no intervention participants after one year (mean difference (MD) ‐20 g/week, 95% confidence interval (CI) ‐28 to ‐12). There was substantial heterogeneity among studies (I² = 73%). A subgroup analysis by gender demonstrated that both men and women reduced alcohol consumption after receiving a brief intervention.
We found moderate‐quality evidence that brief alcohol interventions have little impact on frequency of binges per week (MD ‐0.08, 95% CI ‐0.14 to ‐0.02; 15 studies, 6946 participants); drinking days per week (MD ‐0.13, 95% CI ‐0.23 to ‐0.04; 11 studies, 5469 participants); or drinking intensity (‐0.2 g/drinking day, 95% CI ‐3.1 to 2.7; 10 studies, 3128 participants).
We found moderate‐quality evidence of little difference in quantity of alcohol consumed when extended and no or minimal interventions were compared (‐20 g/week, 95% CI ‐40 to 1; 6 studies, 1296 participants). There was little difference in binges per week (‐0.08, 95% CI ‐0.28 to 0.12; 2 studies, 456 participants; moderate‐quality evidence) or difference in days drinking per week (‐0.45, 95% CI ‐0.81 to ‐0.09; 2 studies, 319 participants; moderate‐quality evidence). Extended versus no or minimal intervention provided little impact on drinking intensity (9 g/drinking day, 95% CI ‐26 to 9; 1 study, 158 participants; low‐quality evidence).
Extended intervention had no greater impact than brief intervention on alcohol consumption, although findings were imprecise (MD 2 g/week, 95% CI ‐42 to 45; 3 studies, 552 participants; low‐quality evidence). Numbers of binges were not reported for this comparison, but one trial suggested a possible drop in days drinking per week (‐0.5, 95% CI ‐1.2 to 0.2; 147 participants; low‐quality evidence). Results from this trial also suggested very little impact on drinking intensity (‐1.7 g/drinking day, 95% CI ‐18.9 to 15.5; 147 participants; very low‐quality evidence).
Only five studies reported adverse effects (very low‐quality evidence). No participants experienced any adverse effects in two studies; one study reported that the intervention increased binge drinking for women and two studies reported adverse events related to driving outcomes but concluded they were equivalent in both study arms.
Sources of funding were reported by 67 studies (87%). With two exceptions, studies were funded by government institutes, research bodies or charitable foundations. One study was partly funded by a pharmaceutical company and a brewers association, another by a company developing diagnostic testing equipment.
Authors' conclusions
We found moderate‐quality evidence that brief interventions can reduce alcohol consumption in hazardous and harmful drinkers compared to minimal or no intervention. Longer counselling duration probably has little additional effect. Future studies should focus on identifying the components of interventions which are most closely associated with effectiveness.
Abstract Background Non-response is a major concern among substance use epidemiologists. When differences exist between respondents and non-respondents, survey estimates may be biased. Therefore, ...researchers have developed time-consuming strategies to convert non-respondents to respondents. The present study examines whether late respondents (converted former non-participants) differ from early respondents, non-consenters or silent refusers (consent givers but non-participants) in a cohort study, and whether non-response bias can be reduced by converting former non-respondents. Methods 6099 French- and 5720 German-speaking Swiss 20-year-old males (more than 94% of the source population) completed a short questionnaire on substance use outcomes and socio-demographics, independent of any further participation in a cohort study. Early respondents were those participating in the cohort study after standard recruitment procedures. Late respondents were non-respondents that were converted through individual encouraging telephone contact. Early respondents, non-consenters and silent refusers were compared to late respondents using logistic regressions. Relative non-response biases for early respondents only, for respondents only (early and late) and for consenters (respondents and silent refusers) were also computed. Results Late respondents showed generally higher patterns of substance use than did early respondents, but lower patterns than did non-consenters and silent refusers. Converting initial non-respondents to respondents reduced the non-response bias, which might be further reduced if silent refusers were converted to respondents. Conclusion Efforts to convert refusers are effective in reducing non-response bias. However, converted late respondents cannot be seen as proxies of non-respondents, and are at best only indicative of existing response bias due to persistent non-respondents.
The present study aimed to investigate whether the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis varied with regards to young Swiss men's pre-crisis level of education and socioeconomic status and to ...changes in their work situation due to it. A cohort of 2345 young Swiss men (from 21 out of 26 Swiss cantons; mean age = 29) completed survey-based assessments shortly before (April 2019 to February 2020) and early on during the COVID-19 crisis (May to June 2020). Outcomes measured were psychological outcomes before and during the COVID-19 crisis (depression, perceived stress and sleep quality), and the fear, isolation and psychological trauma induced by it. We investigated associations between these outcomes and their predictors: pre-crisis socioeconomic status (relative financial status, difficulty paying bills, level of education), changes in work situation during the crisis (job loss, partial unemployment, working from home, change in workload) and working in contact with potentially infected people, both inside and outside the healthcare sector. For outcomes measured before and during the crisis, the analyses were adjusted for their pre-crisis levels. About 21% of participants changed their employment status (job loss, partial unemployment or lost money if self-employed) and more than 40% worked predominantly from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Participants with a lower relative socioeconomic status already before the crisis experienced a higher psychological impact due to the COVID-19 crisis, compared to participants with an average socioeconomic status (major depression (b = 0.12 0.03, 0.22), perceived stress (b = 0.15 0.05, 0.25), psychological trauma (b = 0.15 0.04, 0.26), fear (b = 0.20 0.10, 0.30) and isolation (b = 0.19 0.08, 0.29)). A higher impact was also felt by participants who lost their job due to the COVID-19 crisis, the partially unemployed, those with an increased workload or those who worked mainly from home (e.g. depression b = 0.25 0.16, 0.34 for those working 90%+ at home, compared to those not working at home). Even in a country like Switzerland, with relatively high social security benefits and universal healthcare, the COVID-19 crisis had a considerable psychological impact, especially among those with a lower socioeconomic status and those who experienced deteriorations in their work situation due to the COVID-19 crisis. Supporting these populations during the crisis may help to prevent an amplification of inequalities in mental health and social status. Such support could help to lower the overall impact of the crisis on the mental well-being of Switzerland's population.
Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to explore the utility of the Mechanical Turk (MTurk) crowdsourcing platform to conduct rapid trials evaluating online interventions for ...unhealthy alcohol use.
Both trials employed a staged recruitment procedure where participants who drank in an unhealthy fashion were identified using a baseline survey and then invited to take part in a 6-month follow-up. Participants in both trials were randomized to receive one of several different online interventions or to a no intervention control condition. In study 1, the online interventions were password protected and only those who accessed the study portal were randomized to condition. In study 2, participants were directed to free-of charge interventions and asked to send a screenshot of the intervention to demonstrate that they had complied.
Participants reporting unhealthy alcohol use were recruited fairly rapidly. Large numbers of screeners were completed (Study 1: n = 4910; Study 2: n = 5812), found eligible (Study 1: n = 3741; Study 2: n = 4095), and randomized to condition (Study 1: n = 511; Study 2: n = 878). Fair follow-up rates were observed at 6 months for each study (Study 1: 82%; Study 2: 66%). Neither trial was able to clearly demonstrate that providing access to the online interventions lead to increased reductions in alcohol use as compared to the control group.
While recruitment through a crowdsourcing platform is rapid and relatively low cost, it is possible that the lack of impact of the online websites employed in these trials could be due to the source of participants rather than the lack of efficacy of the interventions.
ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT02977026 and NCT03060135 .
In Switzerland, there has been a boom in the market for cannabidiol (CBD) products in recent years. However, little is known on the prevalence, modes of administration and motives for use of CBD ...products. The aim of the present study was to fill this gap using recent (2019) data from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF).
Between April and December 2019, an unselected sample of 5233 Swiss young men from the French- and German-speaking regions (mean age 28.2 years, standard deviation 1.3) completed a self-report questionnaire covering measures of use of CBD products, modes of administration and motives to use of CBD, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cigarettes. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate prevalence of self-reported use, modes of administration and motives to use CBD, whereas logistic regression models were used to test the associations of linguistic region, THC and tobacco use with use of CBD.
Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of self-reported use of CBD were 32.4% and 18.5%, respectively. Among past 12-month CBD users, 79.4% used CBD once a month or less often, whereas 20.6% used it more than once a month. The most often reported modes of administration of CBD were in association with tobacco: flowers mixed with tobacco (67.5%), and CBD cigarettes with tobacco (37.1%), while 18.6% used flowers without tobacco. The three most reported reasons for using CBD were: out of curiosity (74.0%), to feel the effects of THC (38.1%) and for well-being and health (37.5%). In multivariable models, CBD use was associated with use of THC (odds ratio OR 9.85, 95% confidence interval CI 8.28-11.73), cigarettes (OR 2.74, 95% CI 2.28-3.29) or e-cigarettes (OR 1.5795% CI 1.27-1.95), as well as for the linguistic region (French-speaking vs German-speaking region OR 1.3895% CI 1.15-1.65).
Self-reported use of CBD is common among young Swiss men: about one third used CBD in their life and about one in five in the previous 12 months. However, the vast majority of CBD users used it infrequently and out of curiosity. CBD use was particularly prevalent among users of THC and cigarette smokers. CBD was most often used in combination with tobacco, thus exposing users to risks associated with smoking tobacco products.
Given alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) use occurs among people with HIV (PWH), we examined its association with falls and fall-related outcomes and whether frailty moderates the association.
...Northeastern US city.
We analyzed an observational cohort of PWH with current or past AOD use. Alcohol measures were any past 14-day heavy use, average alcohol/day, and days with heavy use. Drug use measures were past 30-day illicit use of cocaine, opioids, and sedatives. Repeated cross-sectional associations were estimated with separate multivariable generalized estimating equation regression models for each fall-related outcome.
Among PWH (n = 251; mean age 52 SD = 10), 35% reported heavy alcohol use, 24% cocaine, 16% illicit opioids, 13% illicit sedatives, and 35% any fall; 27% were frail. Heavy alcohol use was associated with a fall (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.07), multiple falls (AOR = 1.55 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.19), and fall/fracture-related emergency department visit or hospitalization (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.97). Higher average alcohol/day and more heavy drinking days were associated with multiple falls. Illicit sedative use was associated with a fall, multiple falls, and emergency department visit/hospitalization and opioid use with fracture. Frailty moderated the association of heavy alcohol use and a fall (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.28 to 4.01 in those frail) but not in those not frail.
The effect of AOD use on falls and fall-related outcomes was most pronounced with alcohol, particularly among frail PWH. Heavy alcohol, illicit sedative, and illicit opioid use are high-priority targets for preventing falls and fall-related consequences for PWH.
Socioeconomic status (SES) is often inversely related to health outcomes and is likely to play a role in the use of psychoactive substances among young individuals, although little consensus exists ...on the association between SES and substance use. The purpose of the study was to determine the association of three SES indicators (perceived family income, education level of participants, and parental education level) with past year use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, other illicit drugs and non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMPD) among Swiss young men.
Population-based cross-sectional study of 5,702 men at mean age twenty. Associations between SES indicators and substance use were assessed with regression models adjusted for age and linguistic region.
Participants with average or below average perceived family income were less likely to report any use of alcohol (OR = O.75) but more likely to use tobacco daily (OR = 1.31) and cannabis weekly (OR = 1.27) compared to those with perceived above average family income. Participants whose parents had only achieved obligatory education were less likely to engage in any use of alcohol (OR = 0.30), monthly risky single occasion drinking (RSOD, defined as 6 or more drinks per occasion) (OR = 0.48), any use of cannabis (OR = 0.53) and other illicit drugs (OR = 0.58), whereas those whose parents had only achieved secondary education were less at risk of engaging in cannabis (OR = 0.66 for any use and OR = 0.77 for more than once a week use) and other illicit drugs (OR = 0.74) use, compared to those whose parents had achieved tertiary education. Compared to participants who completed secondary or tertiary education, those who completed only obligatory education reported a higher risk of tobacco (OR = 1.18 for any use, OR = 1.31 for daily use), cannabis (OR = 1.23 for any use, OR = 1.37 for more than once a week use), and other illicit drugs (OR = 1.48) use. No association was found between NMPD and the studied SES variables.
The relationship between SES and substance use was complex in this sample. Higher socioeconomic status was associated with more alcohol and other illicit drugs use, while lower socioeconomic status was related to more tobacco use. Education level and perceived family income may have different impacts on substance use and may vary by substance.
Unhealthy alcohol use among young adults is a major public health concern. Brief motivational interventions for young adults in the Emergency Department (ED) have shown promising but inconsistent ...results.
Based on the literature on brief intervention and motivational interviewing efficacy and active ingredients, we developed a new motivational intervention model for young adults admitted in the ED with alcohol intoxication. Using an iterative qualitative design, we first pre-tested this model by conducting 4 experimental sessions and 8 related semi-structured interviews to evaluate clinicians' and patients' perceptions of the intervention's acceptability and feasibility. We then conducted a consultation meeting with 9 international experts using a nominal group technique. The intervention model was adjusted and finally re-tested by conducting 6 new experimental sessions and 12 related semi-structured interviews. At each round, data collected were analyzed and discussed, and the intervention model updated accordingly.
Based on the literature, we found 6 axes for developing a new model: High level of relational factors (e.g. empathy, alliance, avoidance of confrontation); Personalized feedback; Enhance discrepancy; Evoke change talk while softening sustain talk, strengthen ability and commitment to change; Completion of a change plan; Devote more time: longer sessions and follow-up options (face-to-face, telephone, or electronic boosters; referral to treatment). A qualitative analysis of the semi-structured interviews gave important insights regarding acceptability and feasibility of the model. Adjustments were made around which information to provide and how, as well as on how to deepen discussion about change with patients having low levels of self-exploration. The experts' consultation addressed numerous points, such as information and advice giving, and booster interventions.
This iterative, multi-component design resulted in the development of an intervention model embedded in recent research findings and theory advances, as well as feasible in a complex environment. The next step is a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of this model.
Information technology can be used to advance addiction science and clinical practice.
This special issue, "Information technology (IT) interventions to advance treatment for opioid and other ...addictions" presents studies that expand our understanding of IT intervention efficacy, patients' perspectives, and how IT can be used to improve substance use health care and research. This editorial introduces the topics addressed in the special issue and focuses on some of the challenges that the field is currently facing, such as attrition and treatment retention, transferability of intervention paradigms, and the challenge to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies.
Increasing treatment reach is particularly crucial in the addiction field. IT empowers researchers and clinicians to reach large portions of the population who might not otherwise access standard treatment modalities, because of geographical limitations, logistical constraints, stigma, or other reasons. The use of information technology may help reduce the substance use treatment gap and contribute to public health efforts to diminish the impact of substance use and other addictive behaviors on population health.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is known to co-occur with other addictions, as well as with mental health problems. However, the effects of other addictions co-occurring with AUD on mental health problems ...were rarely studied and not considering them may bias estimates of the association between AUD and mental health problems. This study investigated which role co-occurring addictions play for the cross-sectional associations between self-reported AUD and mental health problems.
Participants were 5516 young Swiss men (73.0% of those that gave written informed consent) who completed a self-report questionnaire. Using short screening questionnaires, we assessed three substance use disorders (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco), seven behavioural addictions (internet, gaming, smartphone, internet sex, gambling, work, exercise) and four mental health problems (major depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social anxiety disorder). Differences in the proportions of mental health problems were tested using logistic regressions between (1) participants with no AUD and AUD, (2) participants with no AUD and AUD alone and (3) participants with no AUD and AUD plus at least one co-occurring addiction.
Overall, (1) participants with AUD had higher proportions of major depression (Odds ratio (OR 95% confidence interval) = 3.51 2.73, 4.52; ADHD (OR = 3.12 2.41, 4.03); bipolar disorder (OR = 4.94 3.38, 7.21) and social anxiety (OR = 2.21 1.79, 2.73)) compared to participants with no AUD. Considering only participants with AUD alone compared to participants with no AUD (2), differences in proportions were no longer significant for major depression (OR = 0.83 0.42, 1.64), bipolar disorder (OR = 1.69 0.67, 4.22), social anxiety (OR = 1.15 0.77, 1.73) and ADHD (OR = 1.65 1.00, 2.72) compared to participants with no AUD. In contrast, (3) proportions of mental health problems were considerably higher for participants with AUD plus at least one other addiction when compared to participants with no AUD, with OR's ranging from 2.90 2.27, 3.70 for social anxiety, 4.03 3.02, 5.38 for ADHD, 5.29 4.02, 6.97 for major depression to 6.64 4.44, 9.94 for bipolar disorder.
AUD was associated with all four measured mental health problems. However, these associations were mainly due to the high proportions of these mental health problems in participants with AUD plus at least one co-occurring addiction and only to a lesser degree due to participants with AUD alone (i.e. without any other co-occurring addictions). Hence, estimates of the association between AUD and mental health problems that do not consider other addictions may be biased (i.e. overestimated). These findings imply that considering addictions co-occurring with AUD, including behavioural addictions, is important when investigating associations between AUD and mental health problems, and for the treatment of AUD and co-morbid disorders.
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