Short- and Longer-Term Benefits of Temporary Alcohol Abstinence During ‘Dry January’ Are Not Also Observed Among Adult Drinkers in the General Population: Prospective Cohort Study
Journal article
Abstract
Aims
The alcohol-free challenge ‘Dry January’ continues to grow, but there is a lack of knowledge of how Dry January participants compare to the general population. There is also a need to determine whether benefits experienced by Dry January participants are unique to that group or are also observed among other people.
Methods
The researchers conducted a prospective cohort study using online questionnaires in early January, February and August 2019. They compared 1192 Dry January participants and 1549 adult alcohol consumers who did not attempt to abstain from alcohol.
Key outcomes were self-rated physical health, psychological well-being (Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale), control over alcohol use (Alcohol Use Refusal Self-Efficacy Scale) and alcohol intake (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption (AUDIT-C) subscale). Baseline differences in demographic and alcohol consumption variables were included as covariates in between-group analyses.
Results
Dry January participants had higher socio-economic status, poorer well-being, higher AUDIT-C scores and less control over their alcohol use than the general population. Beneficial changes in health, psychological well-being, Alcohol Use Refusal Self-Efficacy and Alcohol Use Disorders observed among people completing Dry January were not observed among other adult alcohol consumers.
Conclusions
Dry January appears to attract people who are heavier alcohol consumers than the general population and who are more concerned about their alcohol intake.
Completion of Dry January is linked with short- and longer-term benefits to well-being that are not observed in the general population.