Audit-3 and audit-4: effectiveness of two short forms of the alcohol use disorders identification test.
OBJECTIVE
To identify suitable short versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and to evaluate their effectiveness as screening tests for 'risky drinking' among men and women in primary health care (PHC) settings.


METHODS
A total of 255 patients attending five PHC centres in Catalonia (Spain) were interviewed by clinicians regarding health status and drinking pattern. Patients also completed the AUDIT. Clinicians' diagnosis of risky drinking was used as a gold standard to evaluate the effectiveness of three forms of AUDIT.


RESULTS
AUDIT-3 and AUDIT-4 performed similarly to AUDIT-10 in detecting risky drinking and had equivalent receiver operating characteristics curves and their areas under the curve.


CONCLUSIONS
Both short forms of AUDIT seem to be as effective as the full AUDIT for detecting risky drinking among men and women in PHC settings.
Gual
Antoni
A
Health and Social Security Department, Program on Substance Abuse, Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
Segura
Lidia
L
Contel
Montserrat
M
Heather
Nick
N
Colom
Joan
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology