At-risk and heavy episodic drinking, motivation to change, and the development of alcohol dependence among men

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze whether general hospital inpatients with at-risk and heavy episodic drinking (ARHE) have a higher motivation to change drinking habits and a higher risk of developing alcohol dependence than individuals with at-risk drinking only (AR) or heavy episodic drinking only (HE). Method: A proactively recruited sample of 425 male general hospital inpatients with AR, HE, or ARHE was used. Men with current alcohol dependence or abuse were excluded. Participants were followed up 12 months later. Results: At baseline, multinomial regressions revealed that individuals with ARHE had higher odds of taking action to change drinking habits than individuals with HE (odds ratio [OR] = 2.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-4.34) or AR (OR = 2.11, CI: 1.15-3.86). At follow-up, individuals with ARHE had higher odds of having alcohol dependence, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (OR = 4.73, CI: 1.01-22.20), compared with individuals with AR. Conclusions: Inpatients with ARHE indicated greater readiness to change drinking habits than those with AR or HE, and they had higher odds for short-term development of alcohol dependence than those with AR. Brief alcohol intervention should include risk-specific information based on the risky drinking pattern.