Efficacy of screening and brief intervention for hazardous alcohol use in patients with mood disorders: A randomized clinical trial from a psychiatric out-patient clinic in India

Abstract

Aim: To determine the efficacy of individual-based, face-to-face screening and brief intervention (SBI) for hazardous alcohol use among treatment-seeking outpatients with mood disorders.

Methods: It was a parallel-group, single-blind, randomized controlled trial of 84 participants who met the selection criteria for hazardous alcohol use, defined by alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) score 8-19. Participants were randomly allocated to either SBI or general advice group. Both groups had received a standard care for mood disorders. The outcome was assessed after 3 months. The primary outcome was a change in the mean AUDIT score and the secondary outcomes were a change in frequency of heavy episodic drinking and stages of motivation.

Results: Majority (60%) had major depressive episodes. There was no significant difference in baseline demography and clinical variables between the groups. Both intention to treat and per-protocol analyses showed a small but significant effect of SBI on mean AUDIT score. Age, baseline AUDIT, and motivation did not moderate the effect. SBI was associated with a significant decrease in the frequency of heavy drinking and improvement in stages of motivation.

Conclusion: SBI among patients with mood disorders had a small but significant effect on alcohol use.

Keywords: Brief intervention; Hazardous alcohol use; Mood disorders; Screening.