Alcohol screening scores and risk of hospitalizations for GI conditions in men.
BACKGROUND
Alcohol misuse is a common cause of liver disease, upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, and pancreatitis, but it is not known whether alcohol screening questionnaires can identify patients at increased risk for hospitalizations due to these conditions.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association of alcohol screening scores with the risk of subsequent hospitalization for alcohol-related GI conditions.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study.


METHODS
Male general medicine outpatients from 7 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers who returned mailed questionnaires.


METHODS
The CAGE questionnaire (0-4 points) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption questions (AUDIT-C; 0-12 points) were included on mailed surveys. The main outcome, "GI hospitalization," was a primary VA or Medicare discharge diagnosis indicating liver disease, upper GI bleeding, or pancreatitis.


RESULTS
Among 31,311 patients followed, a median of 3.75 years, patients with CAGE scores >or=2 points or AUDIT-C scores >or=6 points were at a significantly increased risk for GI hospitalizations. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR(adj)) ranged from 1.6 (95% CI 1.2-2.0) for CAGE score 2, to 1.7 (1.4-2.2) for CAGE 4, and from 1.4 (1.01-2.0) for AUDIT-C scores from 6 to 7, to 2.7 (1.9-3.8) for AUDIT-C scores from 10 to 12. Secondary analyses demonstrated that the association was the strongest among patients less than 50 years of age who reported drinking in the past year.


CONCLUSIONS
Brief alcohol screening questionnaires predict subsequent hospitalizations for alcohol-related GI conditions.
Au
David H
DH
Health Services Research & Development, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Kivlahan
Daniel R
DR
Bryson
Chris L
CL
Blough
David
D
Bradley
Katharine A
KA
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D019512:Pancreatitis, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors