Trial reportAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2018
Drinking Risk Level Reductions Associated with Improvements in Physical Health and Quality of Life Among Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder.
Trial report in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 131 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating Reduced Use and Abstinence as Outcomes in Pharmacotherapy Trials for Stimulant Use Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 12 Randomized Controlled Trials.JAMA psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Technology-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions for Alcohol Use: A Meta-Analysis.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Pooled it
- Wearable Intervention for Alcohol Use Risk and Sleep in Young Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Examining cocaine use reductions and long-term outcomes in two clinical trials of continuing care for cocaine dependence.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Trial
- Predictors of treatment outcome for individuals with alcohol use disorder with a goal of controlled drinking.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Trial
- World Health Organization (WHO) risk level reductions in inpatients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid anxiety disorders.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Trial
- Targeted Oral Naltrexone for Mild to Moderate Alcohol Use Disorder Among Sexual and Gender Minority Men: A Randomized Trial.The American journal of psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Mechanisms of quality-of-life improvement in treatment for alcohol use disorder.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2022Trial
- HealthCall: A randomized trial assessing a smartphone enhancement of brief interventions to reduce heavy drinking in HIV care.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2022Trial
- Combined analysis of the moderating effect of a GRIK1 polymorphism on the effects of topiramate for treating alcohol use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Stability of Drinking Reductions and Long-term Functioning Among Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of general internal medicine · 2021Trial
- Impact of Reduction in Drinking vs. complete Cessation on the Severity and Type of Alcohol-Related Problems in Women Living with HIV.Substance use & misuse · 2021Trial
- World Health Organization risk drinking level reductions are associated with improved functioning and are sustained among patients with mild, moderate and severe alcohol dependence in clinical trials in the United States and United Kingdom.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Trial
- Preoperative behavioural intervention to reduce drinking before elective orthopaedic surgery: the PRE-OP BIRDS feasibility RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Reduction in Drinking was Associated With Improved Clinical Outcomes in Women With HIV Infection and Unhealthy Alcohol Use: Results From a Randomized Clinical Trial of Oral Naltrexone Versus Placebo.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Maintenance of World Health Organization Risk Drinking Level Reductions and Posttreatment Functioning Following a Large Alcohol Use Disorder Clinical Trial.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- The Relationship Between Reductions in WHO Risk Drinking Levels During Treatment and Subsequent Healthcare Costs for the ACTIVE Workgroup.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- Adjusting the 15-method to Danish general practice: a participatory design approach.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Models of care for the management of alcohol use disorder in general hospital settings and transition to the community: a scoping review.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2026Article
- More Than a Symptom Count: Measuring Functioning in Alcohol Use Disorder With the Life Stress Interview.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAbstinence and no heavy drinking days are currently the only Food and Drug Administration-approved end points in clinical trials for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Many individuals who fail to meet these criteria may substantially reduce their drinking during treatment, and most individuals with AUD prefer drinking reduction goals. One- and two-level reductions in World Health Organization (WHO) drinking risk levels have been proposed as alternative end points that reflect reduced drinking and are associated with reductions in drinking consequences, improvements in mental health, and reduced risk of developing alcohol dependence. The current study examined the association between WHO drinking risk level reductions and improvements in physical health and quality of life in a sample of individuals with alcohol dependence.
methodsSecondary data analysis of individuals with alcohol dependence (n = 1,142) enrolled in the longitudinal, prospective COMBINE study, a multi site randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, examining the association between reductions in WHO drinking risk levels and change in blood pressure, liver enzyme levels, and self-reported quality of life following treatment for alcohol dependence.
resultsOne- and two-level reductions in WHO drinking risk level during treatment were associated with significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), improvements in liver enzyme levels (all p < 0.01), and significantly better quality of life (p < 0.001).
conclusionsOne- and two-level reductions in WHO drinking risk levels predicted significant improvements in markers of physical health and quality of life, suggesting that the WHO drinking risk level reduction could be a meaningful surrogate marker of improvements in how a person "feels and functions" following treatment for alcohol dependence. The WHO drinking risk levels could be useful in medical practice for identifying drinking reduction targets that correspond with clinically significant improvements in health and quality of life.
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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.