Trial reportAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2019
Maintenance of World Health Organization Risk Drinking Level Reductions and Posttreatment Functioning Following a Large Alcohol Use Disorder Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evidence based models of care for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in primary health care settings: a systematic review.BMC family practice · 2020Pooled it
- 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
- 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
- Dose of psychotherapy and long-term recovery outcomes: An examination of attendance patterns in alcohol use disorder treatment.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2021Trial
- Reconsidering alcohol treatment non-responders: psychosocial functioning among heavy drinkers 3 years following treatment.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Trial
- Stability of Drinking Reductions and Long-term Functioning Among Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of general internal medicine · 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
- Reductions in World Health Organization Risk Drinking Level Are Associated With Reductions in Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis and Criteria: Evidence From an Alcohol Pharmacotherapy Trial.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- Adjusting the 15-method to Danish general practice: a participatory design approach.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 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
- Capturing meaningful change: Initiation and maintenance of reductions in World Health Organization risk drinking levels among mandated college students.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- Reductions in World Health Organization Risk Drinking Levels as a Primary Efficacy End Point for Alcohol Clinical Trials: A Review.JAMA psychiatry · 2025Review
- Article
- Frontal Brain N-Acetylaspartate at Treatment Entry is Related to Future World Health Organization Risk Drinking Levels in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2025Article
- Regaining control over alcohol intake but not abstinence on disulfiram medication, as a harm reduction approach: 2 case reports.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Article
- Psychological processes and alcohol reduction in patients with chronic hepatitis C: Results from the HepART trial.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- World Health Organization Risk Drinking Levels Among Mandated College Students: Associations With Alcohol Use, Mental Health, and Academic Performance.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2024Article
- Endpoints for Pharmacotherapy Trials for Alcohol Use Disorder.Pharmaceutical medicine · 2024Review
- Untangling pathways of risk factors associated with hypertension among dysglycemia adults in eastern China: a structural equation model approach.Acta diabetologica · 2024Article
- Reduced drug use as an alternative valid outcome in individuals with stimulant use disorders: Findings from 13 multisite randomized clinical trials.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundReductions in the World Health Organization (WHO) risk drinking levels have been proposed as an alternative primary outcome for alcohol clinical trials. Yet, little is known about whether reductions in WHO risk drinking levels can be maintained over time. The current study examined whether reductions in WHO risk drinking levels were maintained for up to 1 year following treatment, and whether reductions over time were associated with improvements in functioning.
methodsSecondary data analysis of individuals with alcohol dependence (n = 1,226) enrolled in the COMBINE study, a multisite, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Logistic regression was used to examine the maintenance of end-of-treatment WHO risk level reductions and WHO risk level reductions at the 1-year follow-up. Repeated-measures mixed models were used to examine the association between WHO risk level reductions and functional outcomes over time.
resultsAchieving at least a 1- or 2-level reduction in risk by the end of treatment was significantly associated with WHO risk level reductions at the 1-year follow-up assessment (p < 0.001). Among individuals who achieved at least a 1-level reduction by the end of treatment, 85.5% reported at least a 1-level reduction at the 1-year follow-up. Among individuals who achieved at least a 2-level reduction by the end of treatment, 77.8% reported at least a 2-level reduction at the 1-year follow-up. WHO risk level reductions were associated with significantly lower alcohol consumption, better physical health (p < 0.01), and fewer alcohol-related consequences (p < 0.001) up to 1 year following treatment.
conclusionsOne- and 2-level reductions in WHO risk levels during alcohol treatment were maintained after treatment and associated with better functioning over time. These findings support the use of the WHO risk level reductions as an outcome measure that reflects clinically significant improvement in how individuals seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder feel and function.
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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.