title: Validity of the CAGE questionnaire in an American Indian population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the performance of the CAGE questionnaire (a set of four questions about alcoholism) in an American Indian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study of 275 individuals (179 women) aged 21 years or older. Alcohol dependence was diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised (DSM-III-R), based on a detailed psychiatric interview using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version. Accuracy of the CAGE questionnaire was quantified as sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and the area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, using the DSM-III-R diagnosis as the reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of participants interviewed, 85% of men and 53% of women had a diagnosis of alcohol dependence by DSM-III-R. A CAGE score of > or = 2 had a sensitivity and specificity of 68% and 93%, respectively, in men and 62% and 79% in women, for the diagnosis of alcohol dependence. CAGE scores of 0, 1 and > or = 2 were associated with likelihood ratios of 0.3, 0.3 and 9.5, respectively, in men and 0.4, 0.7 and 1.5 in women. The area under the ROC curve was 81% for men and 75% for women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the CAGE questionnaire is a valid screening method, in this population, for identifying people likely to have alcohol dependence.
authors: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, Phoenix, Arizona 85014, USA.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Saremi
authors: R L
authors: RL
authors: Hanson
authors: D E
authors: DE
authors: Williams
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Roumain
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Robin
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Long
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Goldman
authors: W C
authors: WC
authors: Knowler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires