Alcohol use disorder and tuberculosis treatment: A longitudinal mixed method study in Thailand.

Samai Laprawat,Chalermpol Tansakul,Karl Peltzer,Wirat Pansila

doi:10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23i0.1074

Samai Laprawat, Chalermpol Tansakul + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23i0.1074

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Abstract

ObjectiveThe relationship between tuberculosis (TB) treatment and alcohol use disorders over time is under-researched. The aim of this investigation was to study alcohol use and TB medication adherence and its predictors among TB patients over a period of 6 months.MethodsA longitudinal investigation was carried out with new TB and TB retreatment patients systematically selected from two hospitals and had screened positive for hazardous or harmful alcohol use in Sisaket Province in Thailand. Alcohol use disorders were measured with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)-C at baseline, 3 months and 6 months.ResultsOf the 295 TB patients who were screened with AUDIT-C, 72 (24.4%) tested positive for hazardous or harmful alcohol use. At 6 months, 72 TB patients had completed the follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, hazardous or harmful drinking was reduced by 84.7%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis using generalised estimation equation modelling found that alcohol use significantly reduced over time, whereas there was no change in current tobacco use.ConclusionThe prevalence of alcohol use disorders significantly reduced over a period of 6 months.

Highlights

Thailand is a high-burden tuberculosis (TB) country; the TB case detection rate was 80.0% and the TB treatment success rate was 81.0%.1 In Thailand, the age-standardised prevalence of hazardous or harmful alcohol use was 16.6% among men and 2.1% among women, and current smokers were 45.8% among men and 2.3% among women.[2]
There is a lack of longitudinal studies on alcohol use disorders in TB patients during their TB treatment, and the nature of comorbidity between alcohol use and other mental disorders such as depression and smoking during TB treatment is not well understood.[13]
Of the 295 TB patients who were screened with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)-C, 72 (24.4%) were found to be positive for hazardous or harmful alcohol use

Summary

Introduction

Thailand is a high-burden tuberculosis (TB) country; the TB case detection rate was 80.0% and the TB treatment success rate was 81.0%.1 In Thailand, the age-standardised prevalence of hazardous or harmful alcohol use was 16.6% among men and 2.1% among women, and current smokers were 45.8% among men and 2.3% among women.[2]. In Thailand, the age-standardised prevalence of hazardous or harmful alcohol use was 16.6% among men and 2.1% among women, and current smokers were 45.8% among men and 2.3% among women.[2] In a study among male hospital outpatients in central Thailand, the proportion of moderate or high-risk alcohol users was 44.2%, and the proportion of moderate or high-risk tobacco users was 55.8%.3. In cross-sectional studies, high prevalences of alcohol use disorders have been found among TB patients.[4,5] Alcohol use has been found associated with TB treatment default,[6,7,8,9] multidrugresistant TB10 and the hazard for an unsuccessful outcome of multidrug-resistant TB.[11,12] It is unclear whether alcohol disorders reduce, stay the same or increase after initiating TB treatment. In a brief alcohol intervention trial among TB patients in South Africa, alcohol use reduced significantly from the beginning of TB treatment to 6-month follow-up in the control group.[14]

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Conclusion