Some medical inpatients with unhealthy alcohol use may benefit from brief intervention

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS RECOMMEND screening and brief intervention for all adults with unhealthy alcohol use (i.e., the spectrum from drinking risky amounts through dependence; Institute of Medicine, 1990; U.S. Preventive Services [...]
Objective: Studies of alcohol brief intervention for medical inpatients have mixed results. We explored potential moderators of the effectiveness of brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use among medical inpatients. Method: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of brief motivational counseling among 341 urban-hospital medical inpatients (99 women) with unhealthy alcohol use. Self-reported main outcomes were receipt of alcohol treatment by 3 months in subjects with dependence and change in the mean number of drinks per day 3 and 12 months after enrollment in all subjects. Results: Among subjects with dependence, the effect of brief intervention on receipt of alcohol treatment differed significantly by gender and age (p = .02 for each interaction). In stratified analyses, brief intervention was associated with receipt of alcohol treatment in women (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-12.7), and younger (