Boozers need help to reduce alcohol consumption over time--study

Study researchers also revealed that people with heavy drinking problem struggle with leaving the habit on their own.

So, it’s important that family members and clinicians’ steps in and help heavy drinkers see the problem and make them commit to community social service agency or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

Commenting on the study findings, lead-study researcher Kevin L. Delucchi, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics in psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, said in a press statement, “Most heavy drinkers maintain a steady level of heavy alcohol consumption over time.

"It’s pretty toxic, but somehow they manage to keep drinking at a fairly sustained level. Our people were functional, for the most part. They had addressed, a lot of them had insurance at baseline, and they’re not at the ‘bottom of the barrel.’”

Study findings
To arrive at this conclusion, study researchers first identified 672 (both men and women) problematic and dependent drinkers by using a telephone screening program.

All drinkers identified in the process were in some or the other alcohol treatment program for at least past 12 months.

After following their drinking habits for eleven years, researchers concluded that men had reduced their consumption of alcohol per month by 51 percent.

On the other hand, women had reduced their intake of number of drinks per month by 57 percent.

However, despite this fall in the consumption rate, men and women volunteers were found to be still consuming 160 percent and 223 percent more alcohol respectively than their peers without drinking problem.

After reviewing all the data collected from their study, study researchers observed that greater reduction in drinking patterns of heavy drinkers were noticed within one to two years after the initial screening.

Unfortunately, this process slows down with time, indicating that heavy problematic drinkers might not be able to lower their consumption to the level of normal drinker.

Help needed
Study researchers also noted that heavy drinkers, who ended up joining either AA or community social service agencies, were more likely to drink less.

However, drinkers, who opted for some formal treatment, turned out to be more likely to go back to their heavy drinking ways once program ends.

Though, “Not everyone who has an alcohol problem is in treatment or is in a program. People are out there on their own,” also revealed Delucchi.

The study findings appear in the November issue of the 'Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.'