Cohort study of alcohol use disorder treatment initiation among U.S. adult cancer survivors with commercial insurance

A retrospective cohort study by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin analyzed claims data from a nationwide sample of 25 million people with employer-sponsored commercial and Medicare supplemental insurance between January 2011 and December 2021. Of 6.6 million cancer survivors identified in the sample, the researchers included 71,875 adults who received a new alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis in the cohort. The 1-year cumulative incidence of any AUD treatment initiation among these survivors was 14.3%. Psychotherapy initiation was 14.3%, however, medications for AUD initiation was much smaller at 2.8%, and less than 1% of participants reeived both psychosocial and medication therapies with a year after AUD diagnosis. The authors conclude that future research should explore barriers to AUD treatment.