David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Center on Substance Use and Health, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, United States.
JMIR Form Res. 2024 Oct 29;8:e60370. doi: 10.2196/60370.
Hazardous alcohol consumption is highly prevalent for men who have sex with men (MSM). The 4 treatments currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for alcohol use are reaching an alarmingly low percentage of people who would benefit from a reduction in their alcohol use. There is increasing interest in alternative methods of treatment, such as herbal supplements, to address hazardous drinking. However, research on the acceptability of alternative pharmacotherapies among MSM remains limited.
We examined the prevalence and correlates of expressing interest in using herbal supplements for alcohol treatment among MSM with hazardous alcohol consumption.
We conducted a secondary data analysis from a cross-sectional study of MSM who use alcohol, conducted from March 2015 to July 2017 in San Francisco, California, to assess the overall prevalence of interest in using herbal supplements to help reduce alcohol consumption. Associations between expressing interest in herbal supplements and demographic, social, and clinical characteristics were examined using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models.
One-third (66/200, 33%) of the participants expressed interest in an herbal supplement for reducing alcohol consumption. In the multivariable analyses, weekly binge drinking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.85, 95% CI 1.17-6.93), interest in abstaining from alcohol use (aOR 5.04, 95% CI 1.46-17.40), higher severity of alcohol dependence score (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04-1.41), and interest in naltrexone (aOR 3.22, 95% CI 2.12-4.91) were independently associated with higher odds of being interested in using an herbal supplement to reduce alcohol consumption, adjusting for age, race or ethnicity, and education.
We found that MSM who have hazardous drinking habits, more severe alcohol dependence, and interest in pharmacotherapy were more likely to express interest in using an herbal supplement for reducing alcohol consumption. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has evaluated correlates of interest in herbal supplements for alcohol use among MSM. As researchers implement novel alcohol treatment studies, they should focus on recruitment efforts among MSM with a motivation to reduce their alcohol use patterns.
危险饮酒在男男性行为者（MSM）中非常普遍。目前，食品和药物管理局批准的 4 种治疗酒精使用的方法仅适用于一小部分从减少饮酒中受益的人群。人们对替代治疗方法（如草药补充剂）越来越感兴趣，以解决危险饮酒问题。然而，关于 MSM 对替代药物治疗的可接受性的研究仍然有限。
我们研究了危险饮酒的 MSM 对使用草药补充剂治疗酒精的兴趣的流行程度和相关因素。
我们对 2015 年 3 月至 2017 年 7 月在加利福尼亚州旧金山进行的一项 MSM 使用酒精的横断面研究进行了二次数据分析，以评估对使用草药补充剂帮助减少饮酒的总体兴趣。使用二变量和多变量逻辑回归模型检查对草药补充剂感兴趣与人口统计学、社会和临床特征之间的关联。
三分之一（66/200，33%）的参与者对使用草药补充剂减少酒精摄入量感兴趣。在多变量分析中，每周狂饮（调整后的优势比[OR]2.85，95%CI1.17-6.93）、对戒酒的兴趣（调整后的 OR5.04，95%CI1.46-17.40）、更高的酒精依赖严重程度评分（调整后的 OR1.22，95%CI1.04-1.41）和对纳曲酮的兴趣（调整后的 OR3.22，95%CI2.12-4.91）与更有可能对使用草药补充剂来减少酒精摄入感兴趣独立相关，调整了年龄、种族或民族和教育程度。
我们发现，有危险饮酒习惯、更严重的酒精依赖和对药物治疗感兴趣的 MSM 更有可能对使用草药补充剂来减少酒精摄入感兴趣。据我们所知，这是第一项评估 MSM 对草药补充剂治疗酒精使用的兴趣相关因素的研究。随着研究人员实施新的酒精治疗研究，他们应该专注于有动机减少饮酒模式的 MSM 的招募工作。
