Active over Alcohol
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Randomised controlled feasibility study to examine the efficacy of a combined group-based exercise and educational programme on alcohol consumption, mental health, physical health and quality of life among alcohol-dependent adults who consume harmful amounts of alcohol
IRAS ID
249064
Contact name
Graham R Foster
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 10 months, 28 days
Research summary
Alcohol dependency is responsible for approximately 1 in 5 deaths of UK males aged 16-54 years and is associated with an annual NHS expenditure of approximately £3.5 billion. While counselling reduces alcohol dependency, 60-90% of patients relapse after 1 year. Regular exercise reduces depression and anxiety, improves coping mechanisms, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, exercise-based therapy may be perceived as less stigmatising than traditional treatments options. While a small number of studies have reported that regular exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness among alcohol-dependent adults, there is a lack of consensus regarding its efficacy to reduce alcohol consumption. This study is composed of two phases. Phase 1 will determine baseline demographic characteristics of patients, currently drinking harmful amounts of alcohol, who would be interested in an alternative treatment option to reduce alcohol consumption. Once baseline data is collected, patients will then be informed that the intervention is an exercise programme and those interested will be offered participation in Phase 2: a two-arm randomised controlled study. If eligible, patients will be randomly assigned to either: 1) a 12 week group-based exercise programme, alongside NHS standard care, or 2) 12 weeks of NHS standard care only. The aims are to study the feasibility of conducting a RCT in this cohort and to determine the effectiveness of the exercise programme to reduce alcohol consumption, improve physical and mental health among people drinking harmful amounts of alcohol, compared to standard NHS care. Assessment visits, measuring alcohol consumption, mental health and physical health, will be conducted at baseline, and at Weeks 13, 24, 36 and 48 since commencement of the intervention period. Focus groups will take place during the 2nd and 12th week of the exercise programme where qualitative feedback on the exercise programme will be collected.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1698
Date of REC Opinion
28 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion