Seasonal Variations in Treatment Seeking for Alcohol Use Disorder in the Total Danish Population.

Objective: A minority of all individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) seek treatment. Contextual factors associated with treatment seeking are poorly understood. It is known that the level of alcohol consumed varies between seasons of the year. However, it is not known to what extent treatment seeking for AUD also varies between seasons. This study aims to investigate seasonal variations in treatment seeking for AUD.

Method: The study design was a time-series analysis. The study population consisted of adults age 18 years and older in Denmark seeking AUD treatment. The outcomes were the following two measures of changes in treatment seeking: (a) treatment entry and (b) filled prescription of AUD pharmacotherapy. Data came from the National Alcohol Treatment Register on treatment entries for specialist addiction care and National Prescription Registry for filled prescriptions on AUD pharmacotherapies from 2013 to 2018. Analysis was a segmented negative binomial regression.

Results: Treatment seeking for AUD showed clear seasonal variations, with the lowest numbers in December and from March to April. In January, treatment seeking was highest, with a decline around July and a subsequent slight rise from August to October.

Conclusions: The findings emphasize the importance of contextual factors when developing and evaluating interventions to increase treatment seeking for AUD.