A 6-year follow-up of alcoholics after long-term outpatient treatment

The predictors of the long-term outcome in alcoholics (n = 50) who had been treated in a 2-year outpatient treatment program were investigated. Previously, the sample had been followed up personally 2 years after the termination of treatment. This study is a repeated, independent follow-up of the same sample over a 4-year period, 3-6 years after termination of treatment. Outcome could be categorized in 38 subjects. Patients with a favorable outcome during at least 2 years of the 4-year follow-up period (n = 21), who were categorized as a positive outcome group, were compared with the other patients (n = 17). There was no significant correlation between initial patient characteristics and outcome 3-6 years after treatment. Drinking outcome during the 1st half-year of treatment had no correlation to positive drinking outcome in years 3-6, whereas there was a positive correlation for later phases of treatment and outcome reaching a significant level during the 2nd and 4th half-year of treatment. A favorable drinking outcome during years 1-2 after treatment had a positive significant correlation to outcome in years 3-6 after treatment [i.e., 80% of the patients with a favorable outcome during the 1st follow-up period also had a positive outcome during the 2nd follow-up period, and 72% of those who had an unfavorable outcome during the 1st follow-up period had an unfavorable outcome also during the 2nd follow-up period (chi 2 test = 10.4, p < 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)