Effect of provision of non-alcoholic beverages on alcohol consumption: a randomized controlled study

Abstract

Background The use of alcohol-flavored beverages not containing alcohol (hereinafter referred to as non-alcoholic beverages) is recommended to reduce alcohol consumption. However, it is unclear if this reduces excessive drinking. Objective To verify whether non-alcoholic beverages impact the alcohol consumption of excessive drinkers. Study design Single-center, open-label, randomized, parallel-group study. Methods Participants aged 20 years or older who were not diagnosed with alcoholism, who drank at least four times a week, and whose alcohol consumption on those days was at least 40 g in males and 20 g in females, were recruited. Participants were randomized into the intervention or control group by simple randomization using a random number table. In the intervention group, free non-alcoholic beverages were provided once every 4 weeks for 12 weeks (three times in total), and thereafter, the number of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages consumed were recorded for up to 20 weeks. The consumption of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages was calculated based on a drinking diary submitted with the previous 4 weeks of data. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in total alcohol consumption during past 4 weeks at week 12. The participants were not blinded to group allocations. Results Fifty-four participants (43.9%) were allocated to the intervention group and 69 (56.1%) to the control group. None of the participants in the intervention group dropped out, compared to two (1.6%) in the control group. The change in alcohol consumption was − 320.8 g (standard deviation [SD], 283.6) in the intervention group and − 76.9 g (SD, 272.6) in the control group at Week 12, indicating a significant difference (p < 0.001). Even at Week 20 (8 weeks after the completion of the intervention), the change was − 276.9 g (SD, 39.1) in the intervention group, which was significantly greater than − 126.1 g (SD, 41.3) in the control group (p < 0.001). The Spearman rank correlation coefficient between the change in non-alcoholic beverage consumption and alcohol consumption at Week 12 was significantly negative only in the intervention group (ρ = − 0.500, p < 0.001). There were no reports of adverse events during the study. Conclusions Providing non-alcoholic beverages significantly reduced alcohol consumption, an effect that persisted for 8 weeks after the intervention. Trial registration UMIN UMIN000047949. Registered 4 June 2022.

Gender differences in changes in alcohol consumption achieved by free provision of non-alcoholic beverages: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

“…In this study, a 12-week intervention involving the provision of non-alcoholic beverages significantly increased non-alcoholic beverage consumption until 8 weeks after the completion of the intervention in both genders, which was consistent with our previous results [ 4 ]. Although it is well known that the absolute volume of alcohol consumption is higher in men than women [ 7 ], the present result suggests that providing non-alcoholic beverages increased their consumption to a similar extent in men and women.…”

“…One-hundred twenty-three people participated this study and all of them were randomized. After the randomization, we confirmed that there were no significant differences in basic attributes, as previously shown in our original study [ 4 ]. The baseline characteristics of participants stratified by gender are shown in Table 1 .…”

“…The current study presents expanded data from our recent investigation that examined how the free provision of non-alcoholic beverages impacted alcohol consumption [ 4 ]. That study was conducted after approval by the ethics committee of the University of Tsukuba (Notification Number G299), and was registered as UMIN000047949 (Randomized controlled study on the impact of serving non-alcoholic beverages on alcohol consumption).…”

“…In this context, we recently conducted a randomized controlled trial showing that a 12-week intervention involving the provision of free non-alcoholic beverages significantly reduced alcohol consumption in excessive drinkers without alcoholism [ 4 ]. The trial also showed that the reduction in alcohol consumption was significantly associated with an increase in non-alcoholic beverage consumption.…”

Non‐alcoholic beverage consumption among US adults who consume alcohol

“…An on‐line study found the odds of selecting an alcohol‐free drink (NABs and soft drinks combined) increased when there was a greater proportion of alcohol‐free options [12]. A recent randomized controlled study found that social drinkers who received free NABs across 3 months had greater reduction in alcohol consumption than control group participants (who did not receive NABs) [13]. However, NAB use has also been associated with increased alcohol use and future intentions to consume alcohol [9, 14].…”