Evaluation of Alcohol Use Pattern Among OST Patients Using Alcohol Biomarkers: Report from Community Clinics in India

Overview

Journal Indian J Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Jul 21

PMID 35859564

Authors

Rizwana Quraishi

Mohit Varshney

Ravindra V Rao

Atul Ambekar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Opioid-dependent patients undergoing opioid substitution therapy (OST) consume alcohol in a hazardous pattern which adversely affects their treatment outcome. This study aims to measure alcohol biomarkers to screen for secondary alcohol use in OST patients.

Methods: A pilot study was planned to measure alcohol biomarkers (AST, ALT, GGT, and CDT) to assess alcohol use in OST patients from three community clinics. The biomarkers were categorized based on the reported frequency of alcohol use. The association of the biomarkers with the frequency of alcohol consumption was determined using the (Mann-Whitney) test.

Results: Forty-five patients with a mean (SD) age of 37.04 (10.7) years were included in the study. Alcohol intake was reported in daily, weekly, and monthly patterns by 22, 63, and 16% of the patients, respectively. High levels of ALT, GGT, and CDT were measured in patients with daily use of alcohol. Serum CDT levels significantly differentiate daily and weekly use from monthly consumption of alcohol.

Conclusions: Alcohol biomarkers significantly predict the pattern of alcohol use among OST patients. These results can be prudent in low-resource community clinics to improve the overall outcomes of OST in India.

Citing Articles

Alcohol use disorder research in India: An update.

Narasimha V, Mukherjee D, Arya S, Parmar A Indian J Psychiatry. 2024; 66(6):495-515.

PMID: 39100372 PMC: 11293778. DOI: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_758_23.

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