Brief interventions for alcohol misuse among people living with HIV: a meta-analysis

Background: One-third of people living with HIV (PLHIV) have alcohol misuse or alcohol use disorders which negatively affect course and outcome of HIV.

Objectives: The meta-analysis sought to evaluate the effectiveness of brief interventions (BI) on alcohol and HIV outcomes in PLHIV with alcohol misuse.

Methods: We included clinical trials published between 1990 and September 2022 on adults with harmful/hazardous alcohol use; only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included in the meta-analysis. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials.Gov, and the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases. Cochrane’s risk-of-bias assessment was used.

Results: Eighteen studies were included in the narrative synthesis, and a meta-analysis could be performed on 13 studies. Among the included RCTs, seven showed a low risk and two showed a high risk of bias; others showed some concerns. There was no evidence of publication bias. Compared to the control, BI significantly reduces the drinks per drinking day (N = 5, Hedge’s g= −0.45, 95%CI = −0.58, −0.32) and the number of heavy drinking days (N = 4, Hedge’sg = −0.81, 95% CI= −0.94, −0.67) between 3–6 months post-intervention. BI also reduces the odds of mortality by 42% (N = 7, OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.99) in 6–12 months. BI does not change the alcohol risk scores and transition to harmful alcohol use; it does not improve adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy and increase viral suppression.

Conclusion: Policymakers must introduce and scale up integrated screening and brief intervention services within HIV clinics and primary care.