A Need for Strategies to Reduce Alcohol Use After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Technology-Based Intervention and Study Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Individuals who undergo metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) are at an increased risk of developing a postoperative alcohol use disorder. Therefore, preventive strategies are needed to mitigate this risk. A technology-based intervention has reduced alcohol use among other populations and could be used after MBS. Objective: This study aims to describe a technology-based intervention to reduce alcohol use after MBS and to report the study protocol. Methods: The intervention consists of 2 computerized brief intervention sessions followed by 3 months of daily, tailored, personalized SMS text messages in which the intervention content adapts to an individual’s readiness to change. The intervention will be tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial with assessments completed at baseline, 1 month after baseline, after the intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up. Results: This project was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in September 2020. Enrollment of 60 participants in the trial occurred from November 2023 to August 2024. We anticipate that this intervention will be feasible and acceptable. We hypothesize that the intervention group will have a lower proportion of individuals who report alcohol use at the postintervention and follow-up assessments. We also expect that those in the intervention group will show an increased rating for the importance of avoiding alcohol use. We plan to explore the direction of effects for other outcomes, including hazardous alcohol use, attitudes toward drinking, psychiatric symptoms, and eating and lifestyle behaviors. Conclusions: A technology-based approach could be a feasible and acceptable method of delivering preventive strategies to individuals after MBS. The long-term goal is to develop an effective, scalable, and sustainable intervention to mitigate the risk of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol use disorder after MBS.