title: Screening and diagnosis of alcoholism in the primary care setting.
abstract: As many as 20% of patients seeing their primary physicians may suffer from alcohol abuse and dependence. Often the problem goes unrecognized. In this article I summarize what is known regarding the natural history, risk factors, and available screening techniques for alcoholism. Ultimately, a diagnosis of alcoholism is based on a patient's history, and there are various approaches to obtaining a thorough alcohol history and overcoming patient denial regarding an alcohol problem. Primary physicians have an important role in educating patients about alcoholism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors