Methods of intervention to modify drinking patterns in heavy drinkers.

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.