Participants

This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, a tertiary care center in South India. This study was approved by the Kasturba Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC-753-2020). The study protocol is also registered in the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2021/03/032163). Thirty male in-patients, aged between 18 and 55 years, diagnosed with alcohol dependence as per International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) criteria by a consultant psychiatrist, and undergoing detoxification at the Dr. A. V. Baliga Hospital, Udupi, were recruited. Patients with harmful use of any other psychoactive substance other than nicotine or caffeine, presence of any chronic physical illness (hepatic encephalopathy, chronic renal disease, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, and thyroid disorders), presence of any chronic neurological illness (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and degenerative disorders), and presence of major comorbid psychiatric illness were excluded.