Brief interventions for alcohol misuse among people living with HIV: a meta-analysis
Abstract
Background: One-third of people living with HIV (PLHIV) have alcohol misuse or alcohol use disorders which negatively affect course and outcome of HIV.Objectives: The meta-analysis sought to evaluate the effectiveness of brief interventions (BI) on alcohol and HIV outcomes in PLHIV with alcohol misuse.Methods: We included clinical trials published between 1990 and September 2022 on adults with harmful/hazardous alcohol use; only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included in the meta-analysis. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials.Gov, and the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases. Cochrane’s risk-of-bias assessment was used.Results: Eighteen studies were included in the narrative synthesis, and a meta-analysis could be performed on 13 studies. Among the included RCTs, seven showed a low risk and two showed a high risk of bias; others showed some concerns. There was no evidence of publication bias. Compared to the control, BI significantly reduces the drinks per drinking day (N = 5, Hedge’s g= −0.45, 95%CI = −0.58, −0.32) and the number of heavy drinking days (N = 4, Hedge’sg = −0.81, 95% CI= −0.94, −0.67) between 3–6 months post-intervention. BI also reduces the odds of mortality by 42% (N = 7, OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.99) in 6–12 months. BI does not change the alcohol risk scores and transition to harmful alcohol use; it does not improve adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy and increase viral suppression.Conclusion: Policymakers must introduce and scale up integrated screening and brief intervention services within HIV clinics and primary care.
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Randomized clinical trials of alcohol interventions for people with HIV have had mixed success.
“Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of alcohol interventions for PWH have had mixed success.”
From A Randomized Feasibility/Acceptability Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for People with HIV Who Drink at Unhealthy Levels. (2026) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Ghosh, A., Singh, G. K., Yadav, N., Singh, P., & Kathiravan, S.
- Affiliations
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (IN)
- Rashtriya Raksha University (IN)
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences Jodhpur (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Ghosh, Abhishek
- Venue
- The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2023-11-02
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 766-786
- ISSN
- 0095-2990 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-9891
- OpenAlex
- W4388289118
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- funding
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Keywords
- brief intervention, alcohol abuse, people living with HIV, alcoholism, heavy drinking, mortality, antiretroviral therapy adherence, viral suppression, HIV clinics, primary care
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcoholism, Crisis Intervention, Humans, HIV Infections
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