Saitz Studies Alcohol Consumption Patterns in HIV-Infected Adults with Alcohol Problems

To understand patterns of alcohol consumption and baseline factors associated with favorable drinking patterns among HIV-infected patients (with current or past alcohol problems), researchers from BUSM studied their drinking patterns and found that many HIV-infected adults with alcohol problems have favorable drinking patterns over time, but alcohol consumption patterns are not necessarily constant. Based on National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines, a favorable drinking pattern was defined as not drinking risky amounts at each assessment or decreased drinking over time. All other patterns were defined as unfavorable.

Among the 358 subjects studied whose drinking status was assesses in six month intervals, the researcher found 54 percent had a favorable drinking pattern with 44 percent not drinking risky amounts at every assessment, and 11 percent decreasing consumption over time. Of the 46 percent with an unfavorable pattern, four percent drank risky amounts each time, five percent increased, and 37 percent both decreased and increased consumption over time. The researchers also found current alcohol dependence and recent marijuana use was negatively associated with a favorable pattern, while older age and female gender, and having a primary HIV risk factor of injection drug use were positively associated with a favorable pattern.

According to the BUSM researchers, since the treatment of HIV infection requires longitudinal care, it gives clinicians repeated opportunities to address alcohol use. “A greater understanding of consumption over time in HIV-infected individuals with alcohol use disorders could help clinicians and researchers better address these problems,” said Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at BUSM and director of the Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit of the Section of General Internal Medicine at BUSM. “Identifying HIV-infected adults with a pattern of risky drinking may require repeated assessments of alcohol consumption,” he added. This study currently appears in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.