title: Methods of intervention to modify drinking patterns in heavy drinkers.
abstract: More than 30,000 individuals have been investigated in the continuous screening and intervention study in Malmö. Large subsamples of individuals with different levels of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) have been characterized and followed up; GGT has proved to be a useful and simple tool in identifying and treating heavy drinkers and monitoring their outcome. In the intervention study, counseling and repeated feedback of GGT results in a group of middle-aged heavy drinkers led to a significant reduction in sick absence, hospitalization, and mortality compared with those in a control group over a period of 6 to 8 years. At follow-up, about 15% of middle-aged men in the general population had serious alcohol problems. Assessment and treatment of heavy drinkers within general medicine would provide a very considerable impact on the total problem of alcohol-related disease.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000201:enzymology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013548:Sweden; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase