[Validation of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in Mexican patients with schizophrenia].
OBJECTIVE
To validate the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in schizophrenic patients.


METHODS
The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI v. 1) and the AUDIT were administered to 80 subjects with schizophrenia, of both sexes, more than 16 years of age, from the outpatient services at the National Institute of Psychiatry in Mexico City.


RESULTS
Of the 80 schizophrenic patients, 57 were men and 23 women, with a mean age of 30.5 years and 34.3 years, respectively; the age at schizophrenia onset was 22 years for men, and 26 years for women; 35 subjects (43.7%) were consumers of alcohol at the time of the study. The AUDIT scale showed high internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.812; for this population, the cutoff point for the full AUDIT scale was 4 points or more; cutoff points for the AUDIT 'rapid test' and the 'psychosocial issues and probable alcohol dependence' were based on benchmarking against the CIDI (DSM-IIIR and ICD-10).


CONCLUSIONS
The AUDIT validation showed it to be a useful and sensitive screening tool for identifying schizophrenic patients at risk for alcohol abuse and dependence; therefore, it is recommended for use in clinical and epidemiological studies in Latin America.
Villamil Salcedo
Valerio
V
Dirección de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y Psicosociales, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, México. valemil_2000@yahoo.com
Valencia Collazos
Marcelo
M
Medina-Mora Icaza
Maria Elena
ME
Juárez García
Francisco
F
D000328:Adult; D020751:Alcohol-Induced Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires