Treatment of problem alcohol use in women of childbearing age: results of a brief intervention trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that 14% of women age 18 to 40 drink alcohol above recommended limits. Of special concern is the increasing use of alcohol by women during pregnancy. This article reports 48 month follow-up data from a subanalysis of a trial for early alcohol treatment (Project TrEAT) focused on women of childbearing age. METHODS: Project TrEAT was conducted in the offices of 64 primary care, community-based physicians from 10 Wisconsin counties. Of 5979 female patients ages 18 to 40 who were screened for problem drinking, 205 were randomized into an experimental group (n = 103) or control group (n = 102). The intervention consisted of two 15 min, physician-delivered counseling visits that included advice, education, and contracting by using a scripted workbook. A total of 174 subjects (85%) completed the 48 month follow-up procedures. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups at baseline for alcohol use, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, depression or anxiety, conduct disorder, lifetime drug use, or health care utilization. The trial found a significant treatment effect in reducing both 7 day alcohol use (p = 0.0039) and binge drinking episodes (p = 0.0021) over the 48 month follow-up period. Women in the experimental group who became pregnant during the follow-up period had the most dramatic decreases in alcohol use. A logistic regression model based on a 20% or greater reduction in drinking found an odds ratio of 1.93 (confidence interval 1.07-3.46) in the sample exposed to physician intervention. Age, smoking, depression, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and illicit drug use did not reduce drinking significantly. No significant differences were found in health care utilization and health status between groups. CONCLUSIONS: This trial provides the first direct evidence that brief intervention is associated with sustained reductions in alcohol consumption by women of childbearing age. The results have enormous implications for the U.S. health care system.

Benefit-cost analysis of brief physician advice with problem drinkers in primary care settings.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have estimated the economic costs and benefits of brief physician advice in managed care settings. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a benefit-cost analysis of brief physician advice regarding problem drinking. DESIGN: Patient and health care costs associated with brief advice were compared with economic benefits associated with changes in health care utilization, legal events, and motor vehicle accidents using 6- and 12-month follow-up data from Project TrEAT (Trial for Early Alcohol Treatment), a randomized controlled clinical trial. SUBJECTS: 482 men and 292 women who reported drinking above a threshold limit were randomized into control (n = 382) or intervention (n = 392) groups. MEASURES: Outcomes included alcohol use, emergency department visits, hospital days, legal events, and motor vehicle accidents. RESULTS: No significant differences between control and intervention subjects were present for baseline alcohol use, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, depression or anxiety, conduct disorders, drug use, crimes, motor vehicle accidents, or health care utilization. The total economic benefit of the brief intervention was $423,519 (95% CI: $35,947, $884,848), composed of $195,448 (95% CI: $36,734, $389,160) in savings in emergency department and hospital use and $228,071 (95% CI: -$191,419, $757,303) in avoided costs of crime and motor vehicle accidents. The average (per subject) benefit was $1,151 (95% CI: $92, $2,257). The estimated total economic cost of the intervention was $80,210, or $205 per subject. The benefit-cost ratio was 5.6:1 (95% CI: 0.4, 11.0), or $56,263 in total benefit for every $10,000 invested. CONCLUSIONS: These results offer the first quantitative evidence that implementation of a brief intervention for problem drinkers can generate positive net benefit for patients, the health care system, and society.

Who teaches residents about the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders? A national survey.

BACKGROUND: Studies indicate that physicians are poorly prepared to identify and treat tobacco, alcohol, and drug use disorders. Several faculty development programs have been created to increase the number of residency teaching faculty with expertise in this area. There is limited information, however, on those who currently teach residents about these problems and whether there is a need for additional faculty development programs. METHODS: We conducted a 2-stage national survey of faculty who teach residents about substance use problems. First, residency directors from 7 specialties (family medicine, psychiatry, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and osteopathy) responded to a mailed questionnaire asking them to identify faculty who teach residents about substance use disorders. Second, those identified were contacted and asked to participate in a telephone interview. RESULTS: Of 1293 faculty identified by the residency directors, 769 participated in a research interview. Most of these teachers were full-time physician faculty, men, white, and based in departments of family medicine or psychiatry. Teaching was primarily conducted in hospitals, general outpatient clinics, and classrooms rather than alcohol and drug treatment programs. Less than 10% of the faculty performed clinical work in alcohol and drug treatment programs, and only 19% were certified addiction specialists. The respondents reported a definite need for additional development programs for themselves and other residency teaching faculty. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest a modest increase in the number of faculty who teach residents about substance abuse disorders, and the creation of additional faculty development programs.

Brief physician advice for alcohol problems in older adults: a randomized community-based trial.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use in older adults is common. It is associated with depression, hypertension, diabetes, drug interactions, accidents, and increased rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations. METHODS: A controlled clinical trial (Project GOAL--Guiding Older Adult Lifestyles) tested the efficacy of brief physician advice in reducing the alcohol use and use of health care services of older adult problem drinkers. Twenty-four community-based primary care practices in Wisconsin (43 family physicians and internists) participated in the trial. Of the 6073 patients screened, 105 men and 53 women met inclusion criteria and were randomized into a control group (n = 71) or an intervention group (n = 87). Intervention group patients received two 10- to 15-minute physician-delivered counseling sessions that included advice, education, and contracting using a scripted workbook. A total of 146 patients (92.4%) participated in the 12-month follow-up procedure. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the control and intervention groups at baseline in alcohol use, age, socioeconomic status, depression, onset of alcohol use, smoking status, activity level, or use of mood-altering drugs. The older adults who received the physician intervention demonstrated a significant reduction in 7-day alcohol use, episodes of binge drinking, and frequency of excessive drinking (P <.005) compared with the control group at 3, 6, and 12 months after the intervention. There was a 34% reduction in 7-day alcohol use, 74% reduction in mean number of binge-drinking episodes, and 62% reduction in the percentage of older adults drinking more than 21 drinks per week in the intervention group compared with the control group. There were no significant changes in health status. Patterns of health care utilization were not extensively analyzed because of the small number of events. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first direct evidence that brief physician advice can decrease alcohol use by older adults in community-based primary care practices.

Brief intervention in primary care settings. A primary treatment method for at-risk, problem, and dependent drinkers.

Primary health care providers identify and treat many patients who are at risk for or are already experiencing alcohol-related problems. Brief interventions--counseling delivered by primary care providers in the context of several standard office visits--can be a successful treatment approach for many of these patients. Numerous trials involving a variety of patient populations have indicated that brief interventions can reduce patients' drinking levels, regardless of the patients' ages and gender. In clinical practice, brief interventions can help reduce the drinking levels of nondependent drinkers who drink more than the recommended limits, facilitate therapy and abstinence in patients receiving pharmacotherapy, and enhance the effectiveness of assessment and treatment referral in patients who do not respond to brief interventions alone. Despite the evidence for their usefulness, however, brief interventions for alcohol-related problems have not yet been widely implemented in primary care settings.

At-risk drinking in an HMO primary care sample: prevalence and health policy implications.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of at-risk drinking using varying alcohol use criteria. METHODS: A period prevalence survey was conducted in 22 primary care practices (n = 19372 adults). RESULTS: The frequency of at-risk alcohol use varied from 7.5% (World Health Organization criteria) to 19.7% (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism criteria). A stepwise logistic model using National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism criteria found male gender, current tobacco use, never married status, retirement, and unemployment to be significant predictors of at-risk alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: Public health policy needs to move to a primary care paradigm focusing on identification and treatment of at-risk drinkers.

Prevalence of and factors associated with current and lifetime depression in older adult primary care patients.

BACKGROUND: Depression in late life is a significant health problem in the United States. This study examined the relationship between depression and alcohol, cigarette use, family history, and sociodemographic factors in older adult primary care patients. METHODS: As part of a larger clinical trial, 2,732 patients in 24 primary care offices were recruited to complete a self-administered health screening survey. Depression was assessed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised (DSM-III-R) criteria for lifetime and current depression. RESULTS: A total of 17.8% of females and 9.4% of males age 60 and over met DSM-III-R criteria for lifetime depression; 10.6% of the females and 5.7% of the males met current depression criteria. Depression was significantly and positively correlated with female gender and family history of mental health problems and negatively correlated with social contact. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults, especially women, should be considered at elevated risk for depression when a family history of mental health problems and self-report of inadequate social connection can be established.

Tobacco, alcohol, and drug use in a primary care sample: 90-day prevalence and associated factors.

BACKGROUND: Primary care settings are an ideal system in which to identify and treat substance use disorders. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use in the office of 88 primary care clinicians by gender, age and ethnicity. METHOD: 21,282 adults ages 18-65 completed a self-administered Health Screening Survey while participating in a trial for early alcohol treatment. RESULTS: The period prevalence of tobacco use was 27%. For alcohol: abstainers 40%, low risk drinkers 38%, at-risk drinkers 9%, problem drinkers 8%, and dependent drinkers 5%. Twenty percent of the sample reported using illicit drugs five or more times in their lifetime and 5% reported current illicit drug use. There were marked differences in alcohol use disorders by age and ethnicity. The majority of persons who smoked reported the desire to cut down or stop using tobacco. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first report on the combined prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and drug disorders in a large sample of persons attending community-based non-academic primary care clinics. This report confirms the high prevalence of these problems and suggests that patients will accurately complete a self-administered screening test such as the Health Screening Survey. The office procedures developed for this study provide Managed Care Organizations with a system of care that can be used to screen all persons for tobacco, alcohol and drug use disorders.

Conduct disorder and antisocial personality in adult primary care patients.

BACKGROUND: Conduct disorder has been linked to substance use disorders in clinical populations. This study examined the relationships of conduct disorder and antisocial personality (ASP) disorder to substance use, substance abuse problems, depression, and demographic factors in primary care settings. METHODS: As part of a larger clinical trial, a survey of 1898 patients in the offices of 64 primary care physicians was conducted using a self-administered health habits questionnaire. Childhood conduct disorder and adult antisocial personality disorder were assessed using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised. RESULTS: Eight percent of men and 3.1% of women met criteria for a diagnosis of ASP disorder. The frequency of a history of childhood conduct disorders was higher, with 13.4% for men and 4% for women. Antisocial personality disorder was predicted by male sex, being unmarried (single, separated, divorced), lifetime history of depression, binge drinking, self-reported history of drug problems, current smoking, and younger age. The predictors of a history of child conduct disorder were similar to those of ASP. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care physicians treat many patients who have personality disorders and other conditions such as alcohol problems and depression. These patients need to be identified because of the high potential for comorbidity and the barriers to treatment inherent in these disorders.

Brief physician advice for problem alcohol drinkers. A randomized controlled trial in community-based primary care practices.

OBJECTIVE: Project TrEAT (Trial for Early Alcohol Treatment) was designed to test the efficacy of brief physician advice in reducing alcohol use and health care utilization in problem drinkers. DESIGN: Randomized controlled clinical trial with 12-month follow-up. SETTING: A total of 17 community-based primary care practices (64 physicians) located in 10 Wisconsin counties. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 17695 patients screened for problem drinking, 482 men and 292 women met inclusion criteria and were randomized into a control (n=382) or an experimental (n=392) group. A total of 723 subjects (93%) participated in the 12-month follow-up procedures. INTERVENTION: The intervention consisted of two 10- to 15-minute counseling visits delivered by physicians using a scripted workbook that included advice, education, and contracting information. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Alcohol use measures, emergency department visits, and hospital days. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups at baseline on alcohol use, age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, rates of depression or anxiety, frequency of conduct disorders, lifetime drug use, or health care utilization. At the time of the 12-month follow-up, there were significant reductions in 7-day alcohol use (mean number of drinks in previous 7 days decreased from 19.1 at baseline to 11.5 at 12 months for the experimental group vs 18.9 at baseline to 15.5 at 12 months for controls; t=4.33; P<.001), episodes of binge drinking (mean number of binge drinking episodes during previous 30 days decreased from 5.7 at baseline to 3.1 at 12 months for the experimental group vs 5.3 at baseline to 4.2 at 12 months for controls; t=2.81; P<.001), and frequency of excessive drinking (percentage drinking excessively in previous 7 days decreased from 47.5% at baseline to 17.8% at 12 months for the experimental group vs 48.1% at baseline to 32.5% at 12 months for controls; t=4.53; P<.001). The chi2 test of independence revealed a significant relationship between group status and length of hospitalization over the study period for men (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first direct evidence that physician intervention with problem drinkers decreases alcohol use and health resource utilization in the US health care system.

Correlates of depression in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a significant health problem in the United States. This study examined the relationship between depression and substance use, substance problems, conduct disorders, and sociodemographic factors in primary care settings. METHODS: A survey of 1898 patients in 88 primary care offices was conducted using a self-administered health-habits questionnaire. Depression was assessed for both lifetime and for the past 30 days using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition Revised (DSM-III-R) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 21.7% of women and 12.7% of men met DSM-III-R criteria for depression in the 30 days prior to completing the survey. Lifetime rates of depression were 36.1% for women and 23.3% for men. Young women who smoke, drink, or use marijuana, and both men and women with antisocial personality disorder and a family history of mental health problems are particularly at high risk for depression. CONCLUSIONS: One in 5 women and one in 10 men who see their primary care physicians have recently been depressed.