The following is a summary of “Associations between a primary care-delivered alcohol-related brief intervention and subsequent opioid-related outcomes,” published in the May 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Blalock et al.

Many people struggle with both alcohol and opioid misuse, leading to severe consequences like overdoses and death.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study verifying if a brief alcohol intervention can lower the risk of negative opioid-related outcomes. 

They analyzed data from 492,748 VISN-6 Veterans Affairs (VA) patients with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) screening results from 2014 to 2019. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between alcohol intervention correlated with a reduced chance of new opioid prescriptions, opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis, or opioid-related hospitalization in the following year.

The results showed that among veterans with positive AUDIT-C results (n=63,804). 72% (n=46,216) received alcohol interventions. Within 1-year, 8.5% (n=5,430) got new opioid prescriptions, 1.1% (n=698) were diagnosed with OUD, and 0.8% (n=499) had opioid-related hospitalizations. Those without alcohol interventions had higher odds for new opioid prescriptions (aOR= 1.10, 95% CI= 1.03-1.17) and OUD diagnoses (aOR= 1.19, 95% CI= 1.02-1.40). New opioid related hospitalizations were higher but not statistically significant (aOR= 1.19, 95% CI= 0.99-1.44). Medications for OUD (MOUD) didn’t affect associations. All outcomes were significantly linked to alcohol interventions in unadjusted models. 

Investigators concluded that the VA’s brief alcohol intervention reduces the likelihood of new opioid prescriptions or OUD diagnoses. This indicates a potential decrease in opioid-related issues, spanning from prescriptions to hospitalizations.

Source: ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.20230683