[Reduction in alcohol consumption as a treatment goal of alcohol dependence: actual conditions in Okinawa].

In Japan, abstinence has traditionally been considered the sole method of treatment for alcohol dependence. In recent years there have also been reports that a small percentage of alcoholics are able to regain control of their drinking, but thus far there have been few reports in Japan on reducing the amount of alcohol consumed in alcohol dependence. In the present study we therefore conducted a survey of outpatients who were examined on a certain day at 4 general hospitals in Okinawa Prefecture. Of the 421 examinees, 5% of the males and 4% of the females had a score of 20 or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and were suspected of alcohol dependence. When those suspected of alcohol dependence were asked if they wanted to decrease their level of alcohol consumption, 90% of the males and 78% of the females replied that they wanted to reduce it. We also conducted a survey of the post-discharge outcome of alcohol-dependent inpatients at the National Hospital Organization Ryukyu Hospital. The Hospital is a psychiatric hospital that has a specialized unit for alcohol dependence, and treatment based on cognitive behavioral therapy is conducted there. The results for the outcome 1 year after their discharge from the Hospital of the 116 patients admitted for the treatment of alcohol dependence showed that 31% were able to remain abstinent, 61% were unable to remain abstinent, and 8% had died. The alcohol-related problems of some of those who were unable to remain abstinent had become mild, i.e., they had been able to return to work, their violent behavior while inebriated had improved, etc. Many alcoholics want to reduce the amount of alcohol they consume as a goal of treatment, and some of them actually are able to reduce their alcohol consumption. The details will be left to future research, but it may be possible for a reduction in alcohol consumption to be the goal of treatment for a certain type of alcoholics.