Exercise as Alcohol Use Disorders Intervention for Non-Treatment Seeking Adults

April 4, 2014 updated by: Jeremiah Weinstock, St. Louis University
Alcohol use disorders are common and few individuals with the disorder ever seek help. This study proposes to intervene in a novel way - exercise, as it has many mental and physical health benefits and is an activity that is incompatible with simultaneous alcohol use. If effective, this non-stigmatizing intervention may increase the utility and acceptability of interventions for alcohol use disorders and ultimately increase the number of individuals effectively treated.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

About 26 million Americans (8.5%) meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder (AUD; i.e., abuse or dependence), and most with an AUD will not ever seek help. A variety of reasons exist for not seeking help, with stigma and desire to handle the problem on one's own being primary among them. Therefore, offering interventions for AUD that do not stigmatize or require an individual to see a mental health professional may increase the utility and acceptability of AUD interventions and ultimately increase the number of individuals effectively treated. This pilot study evaluates exercise as an AUD intervention. Exercise has been proposed as a potential treatment for AUD due to its numerous mental and physical health benefits. Thirty sedentary non-treatment seeking AUD individuals to be recruited from the community via advertisements. Participants will be given a four month YMCA gym membership and will be randomized to one of two conditions: (1) assessment only (AO), or (2) a combination of two motivational enhancement therapy (MET) sessions focused on increasing exercise spaced two months apart and four months of weekly contingency management (CM) for adhering to specific exercise activities. MET is a client-centered, directive method of enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence, and CM is a behavioral treatment offering individuals tangible reinforcers such as prizes for completion of specific target behaviors. Assessments of all participants will take place at baseline, 2-months (mid-treatment), and 4-months (post-treatment. Results from this pilot study will guide future investigations of exercise as a method for intervening with non-treatment seeking AUD individuals.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

38

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Missouri
      • St. Louis, Missouri, United States, 63103
        • Saint Louis University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 21-55 years
  • English speaking
  • Sedentary
  • Alcohol-related problems
  • Recent heavy drinking episodes
  • Blood pressure <165/95 mmHg

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently receiving or desiring treatment for alcohol problems
  • Contraindications for exercise
  • Acute psychiatric problems that require immediate treatment
  • Obese - class II
  • Pregnant or desire to become so in the next several months
  • Other substance dependence
  • In recovery for pathological gambling

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Assessment Only
Experimental: Weekly Exercise Counseling Intervention
Behavioral: Motivational Enhancement Therapy plus Contingency Management
A combination of two motivational enhancement therapy (MET) sessions focused on increasing exercise spaced two months apart and four months of weekly contingency management (CM) for adhering to specific exercise activities. MET is a client-centered, directive method of enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence, and CM is a behavioral treatment offering individuals tangible reinforcers such as prizes for completion of specific target behaviors.
Other Names:
  • MET
  • CM

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Monthly drinking frequency
Time Frame: Six months
Six months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Monthly Exercise Behavior
Time Frame: Six months
Six months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

St. Louis University

Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
University of Connecticut

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 19, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 19, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

July 22, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 7, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 4, 2014

Last Verified

April 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1R03AA020194 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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