Reasons for drinking as predictors of alcohol involvement one year later among HIV-infected individuals with and without hepatitis C

Introduction: Heavy drinking can be harmful for individuals with HIV, particularly those coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HIV patients' reasons for drinking predict short-term alcohol involvement, but whether they predict longer-term involvement is unknown. Also, it remains unknown whether these motives are differentially predictive for HIV monoinfected and HIV/HCV coinfected patients. Method: HIV-infected heavy drinkers (n=254) participated in a randomized trial of brief alcohol interventions, 236 (92.9%) of whom reported on baseline motives and alcohol involvement 12 months later (77.1% male, 94.9% minority, 30.6% with HCV). Results: Greater endorsement of baseline drinking to cope with negative affect predicted greater alcohol dependence symptoms at 12 months (incident rate ratio [IRR]=1.80, p<0.05), while greater endorsement of baseline drinking due to social pressure predicted fewer drinks consumed at 12 months (IRR=0.67, p<0.05). Coping and social reasons were both predictive for HIV monoinfected patients, whereas only coping reasons were predictive for HIV/HCV coinfected patients. Discussion: Drinking for coping and social reasons predict alcohol involvement 12 months later; however, social reasons may only be important for HIV monoinfected patients. Understanding patient reasons for drinking may help predict patient risk up to a year later.