Journal of General Internal Medicine

, Volume 17, Issue 5, pp 382–386 | Cite as

Decreased alcohol consumption in outpatient drinkers is associated with improved quality of life and fewer alcohol-related consequences

  • Kevin L. Kraemer
  • Stephen A. Maisto
  • Joseph Conigliaro
  • Melissa McNeil
  • Adam J. Gordon
  • Mary E. Kelley
Brief Reports

Abstract

This study’s objective was to determine whether changes in alcohol consumption are associated with changes in quality of life and alcohol-related consequences in an outpatient sample of drinkers. Two hundred thirteen subjects completed the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) Health Survey and the Short Inventory of Problems at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Subjects who sustained a 30% or greater decrease in drinks per month reported improvement in SF-36 Physical Component Summary (P=.058) and Mental Component Summary (P=.037) scores and had fewer alcohol-related consequences (P<.001) when compared to those with a <30% decrease. These findings suggest another benefit of alcohol screening and intervention in the primary care setting.

Key Words

alcohol drinking alcohol dependence alcohol abuse quality of life health status 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. 1.
    Institute of Medicine. Broadening the Base of Treatment for Alcohol Problems. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1990.Google Scholar
  2. 2.
    Samet JH, Rollnick S, Barnes H. Beyond CAGE. A brief clinical approach after detection of substance abuse. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:2287–93.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Fleming MF, Barry KL, Manwell LB, Johnson K, London R. Brief physician advice for problem alcohol drinkers. A randomized controlled trial in community-based primary care practices. JAMA. 1997;277:1039–45.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. 4.
    Bien TH, Miller WR, Tonigan JS. Brief interventions for alcohol problems: a review. Addiction. 1993;88:315–35.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Wilk AI, Jensen NM, Havighurst TC. Meta-analysis of randomized control trials addressing brief interventions in heavy alcohol drinkers. J Gen Intern Med. 1997;12:274–83.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Perrotta C, Kraemer K, Maisto S, Conigliaro J, McNeil M, Kelley M. Impact of alcohol consumption on quality of life in outpatient problem drinkers. J Gen Intern Med. 1999;14 (Suppl 2):63A.Google Scholar
  7. 7.
    Kraemer K, Maisto S, Conigliaro J, McNeil M, Kelley M. Reduction in alcohol consumption improves quality of life and decreases alcohol-related consequences in outpatient problem drinkers. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16 (Suppl 1): 148A.Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    Volk RJ, Cantor SB, Steinbauer JR, Cass AR. Alcohol use disorders, consumption patterns, and health-related quality of life in primary care patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997;21:899–905.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Maisto SA, Conigliaro J, McNeil M, Kraemer K, Kelley ME, Conigliaro R. Effects of two types of brief intervention and taking steps to change on alcohol use and related outcomes in hazardous drinkers. J Stud Alcohol. 2001;62:605–14.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Saunders J, Grant M. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Guidelines for Use in Primary Health Care. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1989.Google Scholar
  11. 11.
    Sanchez-Craig M, Wilkinson A, Divila R. Empirically based guide-lines for moderately based drinking: 1-year results from three studies with problem drinkers. Am J Public Health. 1995;85:823–28.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.Google Scholar
  13. 13.
    Miller WR, Tonigan JS. Assessing drinkers’ motivation for change: the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale. Psych Addict Behav. 1996;10:81–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Sobell LC, Sobell MB. Timeline Followback: A technique for assessing self-reported ethanol consumption. In: Allen J, Litten RZ, eds. Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psychological and Biological Methods. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 1992: 41–72.Google Scholar
  15. 15.
    Ware JE, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992;30:473–83.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. 16.
    Ware JE, Kosinski M, Keller SD. SF-36 Physical and Mental Component Summary Measures—A User’s Manual. Boston: The Health Institute; 1994.Google Scholar
  17. 17.
    McHorney CA, Ware JE, Raczek AE. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): II. Psychometric and clinical tests of validity in measuring physical and mental health constructs. Med Care. 1993;31:247–63.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. 18.
    Miller WR, Tonigan JS, Longabaugh R. The Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC): An Instrument for Assessing Adverse Consequences of Alcohol Abuse. NIAAA Project Match Monograph Series. Vol. 4. NIH Pub. No. 95-3911. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1995.Google Scholar
  19. 19.
    Okamoto LJ, Noonan M, DeBoisblanc BP, Kellerman DJ. Fluticasone propionate improves quality of life in patients with asthma requiring oral corticosteroids. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1996;76:455–61.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Rumsfield JS, MaWhinney S, McCarthy M, et al. Health-related quality of life as a predictor of mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. JAMA. 1999;218:1298–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Society of General Internal Medicine 2002

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kevin L. Kraemer
    • 3
  • Stephen A. Maisto
    • 1
  • Joseph Conigliaro
    • 3
    • 2
  • Melissa McNeil
    • 3
  • Adam J. Gordon
    • 3
    • 2
  • Mary E. Kelley
    • 2
  1. 1.the Department of PsychologySyracuse UniversitySyracuse
  2. 2.the Center for Health Services ResearchVA Pittsburgh Healthcare SystemPittsburgh
  3. 3.Center for Research on Health Care, Division of General Internal MedicineUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh

Personalised recommendations