title: Multivariate strategies for screening evaluation of harmful drinking.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A chemometric class modeling strategy (unequal dispersed classes [UNEQ]) is applied for the first time to evaluate harmful alcohol drinking within large population screening programs, in comparison with traditional strategies of data interpretation. Five inexpensive indirect biomarkers (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, mean corpuscular volume and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) were determined in blood samples from 423 patients, classified as low-risk or harmful drinkers, according to their ethanol consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The multivariate UNEQ approach remarkably improves the diagnostic performances of indirect biomarkers in harmful drinking evaluation, leading to reliable decision rules, with few doubtful classifications to be reviewed through complex confirmation procedures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This UNEQ model represents an innovative general approach for clinical evaluation that efficiently extracts the information content present in each biomarker to provide a new synthetic multivariate parameter, to be directly used in diagnostic protocols.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pirro
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oliveri
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sciutteri
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salvo
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salomone
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanteri
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vincenti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase