Abstinence is Associated with Improved Quality of Life Among People in Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment programs typically pursue abstinence as a goal. However, reduction in drinking may be a reasonable objective for some people, particularly if it leads to an improvement in quality of life (QOL). Researchers used data from the What Is Recovery? study, a survey of a national sample of US adults who described themselves as being in recovery, examining QOL among 5380 abstinent and non-abstinent participants who considered themselves to be in recovery from AUD.

• The majority of those in recovery were abstaining from alcohol use (90%). Those not abstaining were significantly more likely to be female, younger, unemployed, without formal treatment or Alcoholics Anonymous exposure, without a lifetime DSM-IV dependence diagnosis, and had fewer lifetime DSM-IV dependence symptoms.
• On multivariable analysis, the strongest factors related to non-abstinent recovery were fewer DSM-IV dependence symptoms and younger age. The odds of abstinence increased linearly with the length of time in recovery.
• Abstainers reported a higher QOL than non-abstainers. On multivariable analysis, the strongest correlates of higher QOL were abstinence, longer length of time in recovery, and being married.

Comments:

The main limitation of the study is that it cannot inform us about how an abstinence goal affects the likelihood of achieving recovery since it included no people who are not in recovery. Furthermore, the association between abstinence and QOL may not be causal. Nonetheless, this study suggests that achieving abstinence is probably best for most people with an AUD. Some younger individuals try non-abstinence-based recovery, but most end up transitioning to abstinence over time.

Darius A. Rastegar, MD

Reference:

Subbaraman MS, Witbrodt J. Differences between abstinent and non-abstinent individuals in recovery from alcohol use disorders. Addict Behav. 2014;39:1730–1735.