Single Question Can Identify Unhealthy Alcohol Use
Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that a single-screening question recommended by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) accurately identifies unhealthy alcohol use in primary-care patients. This research supports the use of the brief screen in the primary-care setting. The BMC study appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Unhealthy alcohol use, the spectrum from risky consumption to alcohol use disorders, alcohol abuse and dependence, is prevalent but under-diagnosed in primary-care settings. Commonly used alcohol screening instruments are comprised of multiple questions, often do not cover the full spectrum of unhealthy use, and can be time consuming to administer. Consequently, many patients are not screened.
The NIAAA recommends a single-question screen for unhealthy alcohol use. The recommended question asks, “How many times in the past year have you had X or more drinks in a day?” (where X is 5 for men and 4 for women). While similar single-question screens have been validated in various settings, the NIAAA recommended screening test had not been validated in the primary-care setting. BMC researchers attempted to validate this version of the screening question in a sample of primary-care patients.
Of the 286 study participants reviewed, unhealthy alcohol use was reported by 31 percent of participants. Six percent consumed risky amounts but did not have alcohol-related problems or a disorder, 13 percent consumed risky amounts and had problems but no current disorder and 12 percent had a current alcohol use disorder. The single-question screen was 81.8 percent sensitive and 79.3 percent specific for the detection of unhealthy alcohol use. It was slightly more sensitive and less specific for the detection of a current alcohol use disorder.
“The single-question screening recommended by the NIAAA appears to have favorable characteristics,” said lead author Peter Smith, MD, attending physician in the section of General Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center. “Single-question screening tests for unhealthy alcohol use may help to increase the frequency of screening in primary-care.”
Researchers further state that screening and brief intervention by primary-care physicians for those with unhealthy alcohol use reduces risky consumption among those without dependence and improves patient outcomes.
This study was funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism had no role in the design and conduct of the study, the collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data, or the preparation, review and approval of the manuscript.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Uh Oh…..Looks like I’ve got a problem-SHIT
May 7th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
That’s just plain BS.5 drinks in a day lightweights.In todays world everyone drinks that much and more on the weekends than go to work all week and not drink were’s the problem.I’ve had 7 Bud Lt Limes sofar today and I’m fine and not stupid enough to get behind the wheel,that’s the problem not drinking,it’s drinking and driving.
May 10th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Man, I jus drank my 8th 40oz malt liqir and it’s only 10am. I fell fine bro. No problem here.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:51 am
You can’t pigeon hole the problem like that. What is a problem for one person is not a problem for another. How many people do we all know that can drink socially and never have a problem. The problem comes when the drinking takes over, when drinking becomes more important than your family, your kids, your job. I should know I’m a recovering alcoholic.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Not only is it a retarded way to pigeon hole the problem, but they are also forgetting that not everyone makes their drinks the same. one person may use 2oz of alcohol in a mixed drink while others use 6-10oz.
June 29th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I wonder if this kind of ‘screening’ is to de-stigmatize the idea of being an alcholic. Some people truly have biological reasons they don’t process alchohol very well. Others just like to feel good, and that’s another (more subjective) problem.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
In the past year I have over 100 of those days…I hold down 2 jobs…pay all my bills including my mortgage…whats the problem here…
July 26th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I’ll drink to that. I am 6’2″ and can polish off a 12pack in one evening. Do I do it every day, hell no. Legalize pot so I don’t have to deal with these FUC#ING hangovers.
July 30th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
they must of been drunk when they decided that everybody drinks the same way! i know a guy who’s been drinking for years and it only takes 3-4 drinks to get him hammered although the rattler might have something to do with it!
August 15th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
The problem is, the damage you are doing to your liver. After years of drinking like this you will NEED to drink (rather than WANT to) but, since you’ve killed your liver it can no longer process the stuff. We all know an old drunk who is trashed after two drinks. That’s why. And it is GOING to happen to you, too.
You will NOT be able to work, drive or even be tolerable to other people. You will be a sad, lonely, unemployed drunk NO one can stand who NEEDS his alcohol, and like every other addiction, wishes he didn’t NEED to drink.