Table 1 Definition of the different methodological choices and number of possible analytical scenarios

Medical condition

Inclusion of all studies (AUDs and/or AD)

Exclusion of studies including patients with AUDs

Abstinence^†

Inclusion of all studies (abstinent or non-abstinent patients)

Exclusion of studies requiring a minimum period of abstinence of 5 days or more before the beginning of the study

Gender

Inclusion of all studies (mixed gender, males only or females only)

Exclusion of studies with males or females only

Somatic comorbidity

Inclusion of all studies (patients with or without systematic somatic comorbidities)

Exclusion of studies on patients with systematic somatic comorbidities (e.g. studies on patients with HIV)

Psychiatric comorbidity

Inclusion of all studies (patients with or without systematic psychiatric comorbidities)

Exclusion of studies on patients with systematic psychiatric comorbidities (e.g. studies on depressed patients)

Psychological support

Inclusion of all studies (with or without psychological intervention)

Exclusion of studies with no psychological intervention

Treatment and dose

Only approved dose and route of administration

Approved dose and route of administration OR closest dose to the approved dose

Maximum dose tested

Treatment duration

Inclusion of all studies, regardless of treatment duration

Exclusion of studies with a treatment duration of less than 12 weeks

Outcome^‡

Quantity of alcohol consumed*

Frequency of drinking**

Abstinence***

Publication

Published and unpublished studies (e.g. study reports, ClinicalTrials.gov)

Exclusion of unpublished studies

Risk of bias

Inclusion of all studies, regardless of the risk of selective outcome reporting

Exclusion of studies with a high risk of selective outcome reporting

Analysis

Fixed effect model

Random effect model