Brief intervention in the workplace for heavy drinkers: a randomized clinical trial in Japan

To investigate the effectiveness of brief intervention (BI) conducted in the workplace for heavy drinkers.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted at six companies in Japan. Participants were heavy drinkers who met the inclusion criteria and were randomized into three groups: the BI group, BI with diary group and a control group. Outcomes (total drinks, binge drinking episodes and alcohol-free days) were evaluated at 3 and 12 months.

The 304 participants recruited were allocated to the three groups and 277 participated in all follow-up evaluations. Dropout rates in the respective groups were 7.0, 14.9 and 5.5%. Some improvements were observed in all the groups. In particular, alcohol-free days in the BI group were significantly increased by 93.0% at 12 months. Total drinks at 12 months were reduced by 41 g per week in the BI group compared with the control group, although the intergroup difference was not significant.

BI in the workplace is effective for increasing the number of alcohol-free days. However, the effectiveness on decreasing alcohol consumption was unclear, which could be explained by alcohol screening itself causing a reduction in drinking.