Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34428630›Full record

Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2021

A lay-counsellor delivered brief psychological treatment for men with comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and depression in primary care: Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial.

Jasper Synowski, Helen A Weiss, Richard Velleman, Vikram Patel, Abhijit Nadkarni

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Alcohol use disorder research in India: An update.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2024
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.

Jasper SynowskiSangath, House no. 451 (168), Socorro Village, Bardez-Goa, Goa, 403501, India; Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, 10117, Germany.
Helen A WeissLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
Richard VellemanSangath, House no. 451 (168), Socorro Village, Bardez-Goa, Goa, 403501, India; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Vikram PatelSangath, House no. 451 (168), Socorro Village, Bardez-Goa, Goa, 403501, India; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK; Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abhijit NadkarniSangath, House no. 451 (168), Socorro Village, Bardez-Goa, Goa, 403501, India; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK. Electronic address: Abhijit.Nadkarni@LSHTM.ac.uk.
University of London · GBSangath · IN

Funding

Wellcome Trust 091834
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe investigated the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary effectiveness of the Counselling for Alcohol Problems (CAP) psychological intervention delivered by non-specialist health workers (NSHW) to participants with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and comorbid depression in primary care.

methodsWe used data from a single blind randomised controlled trial conducted in ten primary health care centres in Goa, India. Adult male harmful or dependent drinkers with or without depression were randomized (1:1) to receive either CAP & enhanced usual care (EUC) or EUC only. Process indicators such as the number of completed counselling sessions were assessed and compared between comorbid and non-comorbid participants. Remission from AUD and depression along with abstinence were measured at 3 and 12 months post randomisation. Analyses were on an intention-to-treat basis, employing multivariable regression analyses.

results271 participants had symptoms of comorbid depression; 241 did not. Both groups completed a similar number of counselling sessions (adjusted Mean Difference 0.05, 95 %CI -0.24-0.34;p = 0.72). Among comorbid participants, CAP did not lead to more frequent adverse events compared to EUC only (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 0.84, 0.43-1.64;p = 0.62), and there was no evidence for an effect of CAP on remission from AUD or depression at 3 months (aOR 1.51, 0.84-2.74;p = 0.17 and aOR 0.74, 0.43-1.27;p = 0.28) and 12 months follow-up, respectively (aOR 1.69, 0.96-3.01;p = 0.08 and aOR 1.08, 0.62-1.87;p = 0.79).

conclusionsBrief therapies like CAP can be safely delivered by NSHWs to patients with comorbid AUD and depression, but their effectiveness may be limited and requires further investigation.

Indexed as

AlcoholismCounselorsAdultCost-Benefit AnalysisDepressionHumansMalePrimary Health CareSingle-Blind MethodTreatment OutcomeAlcohol Use DisorderBrief interventionComorbidityDepressionTask sharing

Identifiers

PMID34428630
PMCPMC8504199
OpenAlexW3188333088

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.