Background: Evidence on the impact of alcohol-reduction apps on mental health and quality of life are limited. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of two app-based interventions on depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among alcohol-dependent adults.
Methods: In a three-armed parallel randomised controlled trial conducted between 2020 and 2023 at an outpatient addiction clinic in Stockholm, 162 adults (54 % male) meeting ICD-10 criteria for alcohol dependence were randomised to treatment as usual (TAU), TAU plus a drink-counting app, or TAU plus an app-coupled breathalyser. Participants with severe psychiatric comorbidity or major social instability were excluded. Depression, anxiety (HADS), and health-related quality of life (SF-12) were assessed at baseline, 12 weeks, and 26 weeks. Outcomes were analysed using generalised linear models and adjusted for baseline values.
Results: Baseline levels of depression were generally low, although levels of anxiety were somewhat elevated. Mental, but not physical, HRQoL was impaired. Analyses showed no additional effectiveness of either the drink-counting app or breathalyser on depression, anxiety or HRQoL, compared to TAU only. Regardless of treatment modality, there were overall reductions in depression and anxiety levels as well as improvements in mental HRQoL.
Conclusion: While app-based self-monitoring tools reduced alcohol consumption in the parent trial, they did not yield additional benefits for mental health or quality of life beyond standard treatment. Future adequately powered studies should examine whether targeting individuals with higher baseline symptom burden or integrating mental health-specific app components may yield broader benefits.
Keywords: Alcohol dependence; Alcohol treatment; Anxiety; Depression; Mobile applications; Quality of life; Randomised controlled trial.
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