Mean-Weekly Alcohol Questions Are not Recommended for Clinical Work

The aim of this study was to evaluate middle-aged men's willingness to answer short, clinically feasible alcohol-related questions and to discuss changing their drinking habits. All 45-year-old male inhabitants of the city of Tampere, Finland, were invited to a health screening. Of these, 664 (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford) 2013-05, Vol.48 (3), p.308-311
Main Authors: TUUNANEN, Mervi, AALTO, Mauri, SEPPÄ, Kaija
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol consumption
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcohol Drinking - psychology
Alcohol related disorders
Alcoholic Intoxication - diagnosis
Alcoholism - epidemiology
Alcoholism - therapy
Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning
Biological and medical sciences
Consumption
Finland - epidemiology
Health
Health Status
Humans
Identification
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Middle aged men
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Toxicology
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Summary:The aim of this study was to evaluate middle-aged men's willingness to answer short, clinically feasible alcohol-related questions and to discuss changing their drinking habits. All 45-year-old male inhabitants of the city of Tampere, Finland, were invited to a health screening. Of these, 664 (55.1%) agreed to participate and 615 drank alcohol. The mailed health questionnaire also included mean-weekly (M-W), quantity-frequency (Q-F) and structured frequency-quantity (AUDIT-FQ) questions based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Based on the Q-F, drinkers were classified as moderate, risky and heavy episodic drinkers. Q-F was answered by 90.2%, the AUDIT by 96.6% and the M-W by 45.5%. In all drinker categories, Q-F gave higher consumption levels compared with M-W and AUDIT-FQ. Willingness to discuss and change alcohol drinking was low in all drinker categories. Choosing a method preferred by patients may increase their willingness to talk about alcohol. Also, a method giving high consumption values may be the most truthful, because patients often underestimate their drinking. This is why Q-F questions should be favoured over M-W and AUDIT-FQ in patient interviews.
ISSN:0735-0414
1464-3502
DOI:10.1093/alcalc/agt018