title: Assessing alcohol dependence in hospitalized patients.
abstract: Alcohol misuse is generally not detected in hospital settings. The goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence in hospitalized patients in a university hospital in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Patients were randomly selected from all hospital admissions. The final sample consisted of 169 adult inpatients. Two screening tools were used: the Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD) and the CAGE questionnaires. In this sample, 25.4% of patients could be considered alcohol dependent according to the CAGE questionnaire, whereas 32.9% of patients fulfilled the criteria according to the SADD. The only predictor of alcohol dependence was gender; male inpatients were 3.2 times more prone to alcohol dependence with female inpatients. All inpatients should be systematically screened for alcohol use disorders. The choice of the screening tool will depend on whether the goal is to identify inpatients with hazardous drinking behaviors or with established alcohol-related problems. To maximize proper case identification, the CAGE questionnaire should be used as a first-step screening tool, and patients who screen positive on this scale should be subsequently administered the SADD questionnaire to assess the severity of the condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Doering-Silveira@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doering-Silveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. marquesfidalgo@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Thiago Marques
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fidalgo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Nascimento@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Carolina Lins E Silva
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. alves@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Juliana Bernardo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. seito@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Caroline Lumy
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Seito
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. saita@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Maria Claudia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Saita
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Belluzzi@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Lorenza Oliveira
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Belluzzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. silva@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Laila Carolina
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. dartiu@terra.com.br.
authors.forename: Dartiu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo School of Medicine, Rua Prof. Ascendino Reis 763, Sao Paulo, Brazil. oliveira@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosa-Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult