Question: Are patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who receive medical addiction therapy less likely to develop alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD)? Medical addiction therapy was defined as the documented use of disulfiram, acamprosate, naltrexone, gabapentin, topiramate, or baclofen. Patients were considered to be treated if they initiated medical addiction therapy before the relevant outcome.

Findings: In this cohort study of 9635 patients with AUD, those who received medical addiction therapy had a significantly lower risk of developing ALD, whereas patients with cirrhosis who received medical addiction therapy had a significantly lower incidence of hepatic decompensation.

Meaning: Findings from this study suggest an association between use of medical addiction therapy for AUD and decreased incidence and progression of ALD.