Trial reportThe Journal of clinical psychiatry2015
Reduction of alcohol drinking in young adults by naltrexone: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of efficacy and safety.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00568958 (Naltrexone for Heavy Drinking in Young Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Naltrexone for Heavy Drinking in Young Adults
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of naltrexone on alcohol self-administration and craving: meta-analysis of human laboratory studies.Addiction biology · 2017Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-acetylcysteine for Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Differential effects of UPPS-P impulsivity on subjective alcohol response and craving: An experimental test of acquired preparedness.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Genetically influenced externalizing and internalizing risk pathways as novel prevention targets.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Trial
- Predictors of abstinence, no heavy drinking days, and a 2-level reduction in World Health Organization drinking levels during treatment for alcohol use disorder in the COMBINE study.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Trial
- The prospective interactive effects of alcohol expectancies and subjective response on future drinking behavior.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Within- and between-person effects of naltrexone on the subjective response to alcohol and craving: A daily diary investigation.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Trial
- Naltrexone moderates the association of alcohol use and affect among adolescent drinkers in daily life.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Trial
- Reward drinking and naltrexone treatment response among young adult heavy drinkers.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Trial
- Trial
- A Preliminary, Open-Label Study of Naltrexone and Bupropion Combination Therapy for Treating Binge Drinking in Human Subjects.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2020Trial
- Drinking goals and attainment in a naltrexone trial of young adult heavy drinkers.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2018Trial
- A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Naltrexone for Heavy-Drinking Smokers Seeking Smoking Cessation Treatment.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2017Trial
- Extended-release naltrexone reduces alcohol consumption among released prisoners with HIV disease as they transition to the community.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Trial
- Urgency traits moderate daily relations between affect and drinking to intoxication among young adults.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Trial
- Daily relations among affect, urge, targeted naltrexone, and alcohol use in young adults.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- Longitudinal findings from a randomized clinical trial of naltrexone for young adult heavy drinkers.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2016Trial
- Predictors of naltrexone prescribing for alcohol use disorder from the emergency department.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Delinquent Adolescents' Substance Use during Stay in Juvenile Correctional and Rehabilitation Center.Addiction & health · 2025Article
- Endpoints for Pharmacotherapy Trials for Alcohol Use Disorder.Pharmaceutical medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveNaltrexone, an opioid antagonist, may facilitate reduction in drinking among young adults. We compared the efficacy and safety of naltrexone administered daily plus targeted dosing with placebo to reduce drinking in young adults who engage in heavy drinking.
methodA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in an outpatient research center in March 2008-January 2012. Participants were aged 18-25 years and reported ≥ 4 heavy drinking days in the prior 4 weeks. Interventions included naltrexone 25 mg daily plus 25 mg targeted (at most daily) in anticipation of drinking (n = 61) or daily/targeted placebo (n = 67). All participants received a personalized feedback session and brief counseling every other week. Primary outcomes were percent heavy drinking days and percent days abstinent over the 8-week treatment period. Secondary outcomes included number of drinks per drinking day and percentage of days with estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels ≥ 0.08 g/dL.
resultsOf 140 randomized patients, 128 began treatment, comprising the evaluable sample. During treatment, percent heavy drinking days (naltrexone: mean = 21.60, SD = 16.05; placebo: mean = 22.90, SD = 13.20) (P = .58) and percent days abstinent (naltrexone: mean = 56.60, SD = 22.52; placebo: mean = 62.50, SD = 15.75) (P = .39) did not differ by group. Naltrexone significantly reduced the number of drinks per drinking day (naltrexone: mean = 4.90, SD = 2.28; placebo: mean = 5.90, SD = 2.51) (P = .009) and percentage of drinking days with estimated BAC ≥ 0.08 g/dL (naltrexone: mean = 35.4, SD = 28.40; placebo: mean = 45.7, SD = 26.80) (P = .042). There were no serious adverse events. Sleepiness was more common with naltrexone.
conclusionsNaltrexone did not reduce frequency of drinking or heavy drinking days, but reduced secondary measures of drinking intensity. While effects were modest, the risk-benefit ratio favors offering naltrexone to help young adult heavy drinkers reduce the amount of alcohol they drink.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00568958.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.