A goal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in its efforts to reduce alcohol-related problems, is to understand long-term outcomes of patients who have received treatment for alcoholism and identify factors that affect these outcomes. Most studies to date have provided only short- to medium-term patient follow-up (usually one year or less). It is now well-recognized that alcohol dependence is frequently a long-term chronic condition. Yet the longer term effects of treatment and factors affecting long-term treatment outcomes are not well studied or understood. The current project addresses this gap in knowledge in an efficient and cost-effective manner through long term follow-up of subjects enrolled in NIAAA sponsored randomized clinical trials (RCT). This contract will contribute in an efficient and cost-effective manner by building on previously and currently funded studies of well characterized randomized clinical trial (RCT) treatment populations. RCT medications include Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Quetiapine. A pilot study will be conducted in the first year of the contract, followed by a 3-year follow-up study. Both pilot and follow-up studies will involve annual telephone questionnaires administered to sub-samples of subjects previously enrolled in the NIAAA-sponsored RCTs.
