Influence of comorbid drug use disorder on receipt of evidence-based treatment for alcohol use disorder among VA patients with alcohol use disorder and Hepatitis C and/or HIV

Unhealthy alcohol use and alcohol use disorders are highly prevalent among people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Armstrong et al., 2006; CDC, 2016; Galvan et al., 2002; Taylor et al., 2016; Tsui et al., 2016; Williams et al., 2016b), and alcohol use has unique harmful effects for persons with each of these infectious diseases. Alcohol and HCV have synergistic impacts on health. Among people with HCV, those who drink heavily are at increased risk for HCV-related liver diseases and mortality compared with those who do not (Donato et al., 2002; Fuster et al., 2014; Hutchinson et al., 2005; Safdar and Schiff, 2004; Szabo et al., 2006; Szabo et al., 2010; Younossi et al., 2013), and among people with alcohol use disorder, those with HCV experience more healthcare utilization and mortality compared to those without HCV (Fuster et al., 2015; Tsui et al., 2006).
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Full length article Source Type: research