{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T18:06:26Z","timestamp":1776449186217,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776384000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"Japan Society for the Promotion of Science","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["24K20239"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24K20239"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Alcohol consumption is a major global contributor to morbidity and mortality and is a well-established risk factor for multiple cancers. Acetaldehyde, a toxic metabolite of ethanol, is a causal factor in alcohol-related esophageal cancer. A substantial proportion of the Japanese population carries the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2*2 (\n                      <jats:italic>ALDH2*2)<\/jats:italic>\n                      allele, which impairs\n                      <jats:italic>ALDH2<\/jats:italic>\n                      enzymatic activity and increases acetaldehyde exposure, thereby elevating esophageal cancer risk. Among individuals with the\n                      <jats:italic>ALDH2*2<\/jats:italic>\n                      allele, cancer risk demonstrates a clear dose\u2013response relationship with alcohol consumption, with relative risks reported to be up to four times the relative risk, compared to non-carriers.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This project aims to evaluate the efficacy of an unguided, web-based brief intervention (BI) incorporating genetic cancer-risk education to reduce alcohol consumption in a randomized controlled trial.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Participants will be recruited online between March and July 2026 through a Japanese research panel company. Eligibility will include moderate alcohol use and probable\n                      <jats:italic>ALDH2*2<\/jats:italic>\n                      allele status. Participants will be randomized to either an experimental condition or a sham educational control. The experimental group will receive an unguided, web-based, brief video intervention providing information on genetic cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption and the benefits of reducing drinking. The primary outcome will be mean past-4-week alcohol quantity at the 3-month endpoint. Secondary outcomes will include alcohol use in grams, alcohol-related severity, motivation to change, health-knowledge retention, participant satisfaction, and quality of life. Assessments will occur at baseline and at 1, 2, and 3 months post-randomization via a secure web portal.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This intervention is expected to reduce unhealthy alcohol use at low implementation cost by leveraging personalized genetic risk information as a motivational mechanism in the general population. Additional between-group differences are anticipated across secondary alcohol-related outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:bold>Trial Registration:<\/jats:bold>\n                      This trial registered on 11\/28\/2025 in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000058012).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0347064","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T17:36:27Z","timestamp":1776447387000},"page":"e0347064","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Unguided web-based brief intervention with genetic risk education to reduce unhealthy alcohol consumption in Japan: Protocol for a randomized controlled 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