Presentation Information
[O-18-01]Alcohol Relapse Rates based on the Advance Warning of Relapse (AWARE) scores at an Addiction Management Setting in India
Lendina Longkumer1, *Prasanthi Nattala2, Jayant Mahadevan3, Mariamma Philip4 (1.NIMHANS(India), 2.Nursing NIMHANS(India), 3.Psychiatry NIMHANS(India), 4.Biostatistics NIMHANS(India))
Keywords:
Alcohol dependence,AWARE,Relapse rates
Background: Alcohol dependence is known to be associated with high relapse rates following hospital management. The Advance Warning of Relapse (AWARE) Scale has been used overseas to identify persons at risk for relapse to alcohol, before discharging them into the community. As the first known attempt in a different culture, the present study used the AWARE to identify relapse rates based on AWARE scores, at the Center for Addiction Medicine of a government mental health setting in India.
Methods: Alcohol-dependent persons (N=84, males) admitted for inpatient management were recruited consecutively for the study, and were administered the AWARE before discharge from the Center for Addiction Medicine. Higher scores on AWARE indicate higher risk for relapse. Based on prior literature, participants were considered to have relapsed if they returned to baseline alcohol use levels within 2 months after they returned to their homes.
Results: Participants’ mean age was 38.0 years (SD: 7.0), and 62% relapsed. Higher AWARE scores were found to be significantly associated with higher relapse rates, earlier relapse, higher baseline quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption, family history of alcohol dependence, lower age and lower education levels of the participants (p<0.001). Results of logistic regression however revealed that only baseline quantity-frequency of alcohol use significantly predicted post-discharge relapse. Higher AWARE score, although significantly different between relapsed and non-relapsed participants, was not a reliable predictor of post-discharge relapse in multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Findings highlight the use of AWARE in a different culture to identify persons at relapse in the community following hospital management. This proactive approach is important in a country like India with escalating alcohol use rates, in terms of targeted interventions for those at risk for relapse. Further studies involving larger samples and longer follow-up rates are needed in this preliminary area, to improve post-discharge community outcomes in alcohol-dependent individuals.
Methods: Alcohol-dependent persons (N=84, males) admitted for inpatient management were recruited consecutively for the study, and were administered the AWARE before discharge from the Center for Addiction Medicine. Higher scores on AWARE indicate higher risk for relapse. Based on prior literature, participants were considered to have relapsed if they returned to baseline alcohol use levels within 2 months after they returned to their homes.
Results: Participants’ mean age was 38.0 years (SD: 7.0), and 62% relapsed. Higher AWARE scores were found to be significantly associated with higher relapse rates, earlier relapse, higher baseline quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption, family history of alcohol dependence, lower age and lower education levels of the participants (p<0.001). Results of logistic regression however revealed that only baseline quantity-frequency of alcohol use significantly predicted post-discharge relapse. Higher AWARE score, although significantly different between relapsed and non-relapsed participants, was not a reliable predictor of post-discharge relapse in multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Findings highlight the use of AWARE in a different culture to identify persons at relapse in the community following hospital management. This proactive approach is important in a country like India with escalating alcohol use rates, in terms of targeted interventions for those at risk for relapse. Further studies involving larger samples and longer follow-up rates are needed in this preliminary area, to improve post-discharge community outcomes in alcohol-dependent individuals.