TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Effects of a brief alcohol intervention addressing the full spectrum of drinking in an adult general population sample: a randomized controlled trial
JO  - Addiction
A1  - John, Ulrich
A1  - Baumann, Sophie
A1  - Freyer-Adam, Jennis
A1  - Staudt, Andreas
A1  - Meyer, Christian
A1  - Bischof, Gallus
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Evidence for efficacy of brief alcohol interventions (BAIs) is mostly limited to primary care and at-risk drinkers. The aim was to test the efficacy of a BAI addressing the full spectrum of alcohol use in a general population sample and across alcohol risk groups. <br><br>DESIGN: Two-parallel-group randomized controlled trial (allocation ratio 1:1) with post-baseline assessments at months 3, 6, and 12. SETTING: One municipal registry office in Germany responsible for registration, passport and vehicle admission issues. PARTICIPANTS: 1,646 proactively recruited 18-to-64-year-old adults with past year alcohol use (56% women, 66% low-risk drinkers) were randomized to intervention (n = 815) or control (n = 831). INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: The intervention consisted of assessment plus computer-generated individualized feedback letters at baseline, month 3, and month 6. Comparator was assessment only. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome was change in the self-reported number of drinks/week from baseline to 12 months. Changes at 3 and 6 months were secondary outcomes. Moderator was alcohol risk group (low-risk vs. at-risk drinking) according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption, with scores ≤3 (women) and ≤4 (men) indicating low-risk drinking. <br><br>FINDINGS: For the whole sample, significant group differences were observed neither at 12-month follow-up (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87-1.17, Bayes factor [BE] = 0.52) nor at previous assessments (month 3: IRR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.92-1.12, BE = 0.41; month 6: IRR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.81-1.07, BE = 1.10). Moderator analyses revealed that low-risk drinkers were more likely to benefit from BAI only at month 6 than at-risk drinkers (IRR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.70-0.86). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: In a randomized controlled trial, there was no clear evidence for efficacy of a computer-based brief alcohol intervention in a general population sample, but there was some evidence of medium-term benefits in the large but understudied group of low-risk drinkers.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0965-2140
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.15412
ID  - ref1
ER  -