title: Reliability and validity of the alcohol use disorders identification test - consumption in screening for adults with alcohol use disorders and risky drinking in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol is well established as a risk factor for cancer development in many organ sites. To assess the reliability and validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) for detecting alcohol use disorders or risky drinking in Japanese adults the present study was conducted.
  
  
  METHODS
  A test-retest method was applied with a 2-week interval with 113 health care employees. The κ coefficient, Cronbach's coefficient alpha, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were determined and the validity of the AUDIT-C was analyzed using the data from a nationwide survey on adult alcohol use conducted in 2008 (n=4,123).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The reliability of the AUDIT-C score was high (??coefficient=0.63, Cronbach's alpha=0.98, correlation coefficient=0.95, and ICC=0.95). According to the likelihood ratio and Youden index, appropriate cutoffs for the AUDIT-C were ≥ 5points in men and ≥4 points in women. The sensitivity and specificity of these cutoffs for identifying ≥8 points on the AUDIT were 0.88 and 0.80, respectively, for men (positive likelihood ratio [LR+]=4.5) and 0.96 and 0.87, respectively, for women (LR+=7.7). The sensitivity and specificity of the cutoffs for identifying ≥ 12 points on the AUDIT were 0.90 and 0.84, respectively, for men (LR+=5.8) and 0.93 and 0.94, respectively, for women (LR+=15.8). The sensitivity and specificity of the cutoffs for identifying ≥ 16 points on the AUDIT were 0.93 and 0.80, respectively, for men (LR+=4.7) and 0.92 and 0.98, respectively, for women (LR+=55.6). With higher scores on the AUDIT, the specificity decreased and false-positives increased. The appropriate cutoffs for identifying risky drinking were the same for both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reliability and validity of the AUDIT-C are high, indicating that it is useful for identifying alcohol use disorders or risky drinking among the general population in Japan, a group at high risk of cancer development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Tottori University, Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Tottori, Japan E-mail : yoneatsu@med.tottori-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoneatsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.forename: Aro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ino
authors.forename: Sachio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kinjo
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires