Alcohol Screening Scores and All-Cause Mortality in Male Veterans Affairs Patients

Do rates of depression vary by level of alcohol misuse in Australian general practice?

“…Similar to research in other settings, depression among individuals who did not consume alcohol was comparable to those who screened positive for mild alcohol misuse (Kinder et al 2009). Skogen et al (2009) found abstainers, defined as those who quit drinking because it was a problem, had significantly higher rates of depression than other nonconsumers of alcohol.…”

“…Australian guidelines do not specify consumption levels by gender, therefore the same cut-off scores were used for the entire sample. The following scores were used to assign participations to risk groups: 0, no alcohol consumption; 1-3, screen negative for alcohol misuse (participants who scored 0 on questions 2 and 3 were also categorised in to this group); 4-5, positive screen for mild misuse; 6-7, positive screen for moderate misuse; and 8-12, positive screen for severe or very severe misuse (Kinder et al 2009). Typically scores of 8-9 indicate severe misuse and 10+ indicate very severe misuse, but owing to expected low counts and prior evidence of similar characteristics (Kinder et al 2009), these two groups were collapsed.…”

“…Several studies have demonstrated that rates of depression by level of alcohol misuse varies, with greater prevalence among those with severe alcohol misuse (Kinder et al 2009). However, there is little research examining the prevalence of depression by level of alcohol misuse among Australian general practice patients.…”

Quality Concerns with Routine Alcohol Screening in VA Clinical Settings

“…In multivariable analyses including all variables in Table 3 except survey AUDIT-C scores, the prevalence of discordance was increased in many patient subgroups (Table 3). However, many patient characteristics associated with discordance are known to be associated with AUDIT-C scores 25 and after adding survey AUDIT-C scores (5 categories) to the model only two factors aside from survey AUDIT-C scores were associated with discordance: selfreported Black/African American race and VA network ( Table 3), suggesting that many associations were confounded by alcohol misuse. There were no significant interactions between race and VA network, or between race and AUDIT-C groups (p's 0.99 and 0.95 respectively).…”

Brief Approaches to Alcohol Screening: Practical Alternatives for Primary Care

“…28 In addition, AUDIT-C scores have been associated with increased risk for medication non-adherence (AUDIT-C scores ≥ 4), 29 hospitalizations for liver disease, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, or pancreatitis (≥ 6 for men in general; ≥ 4 for men under 50 years old), 30 fractures (≥ 8), 31 and death in men under 50 years old (≥ 10). 32 Therefore, AUDIT-C scores can assist providers to offer patients personalized feedback on alcoholrelated risks. Such feedback is an essential component of evidence-based brief interventions, along with explicit advice to abstain or drink below recommended limits.…”