title: The use of alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in detecting alcohol use disorder and risk drinking in the general population: validation of AUDIT using schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) and AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C) are commonly used in population surveys but there are few validations studies in the general population. Validity should be estimated in samples close to the targeted population and setting. This study aims to validate AUDIT and AUDIT-C in a general population sample (PART) in Stockholm, Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a general population subsample age 20 to 64 that answered a postal questionnaire including AUDIT who later participated in a psychiatric interview (n = 1,093). Interviews using Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry was used as criterion standard. Diagnoses were set according to the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Agreement between the diagnostic test and criterion standard was measured with area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,086 (450 men and 636 women) of the interview participants completed AUDIT. There were 96 individuals with DSM-IV-alcohol dependence, 36 DSM-IV-Alcohol Abuse, and 153 Risk drinkers. AUCs were for DSM-IV-alcohol use disorder 0.90 (AUDIT-C 0.85); DSM-IV-dependence 0.94 (AUDIT-C 0.89); risk drinking 0.80 (AUDIT-C 0.80); and any criterion 0.87 (AUDIT-C 0.84).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this general population sample, AUDIT and AUDIT-C performed outstanding or excellent in identifying dependency, risk drinking, alcohol use disorder, any disorder, or risk drinking.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lundin
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hallgren
authors.forename: Natalja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Balliu
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Forsell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058027:Neuropsychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder; Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; Dependence; Sensitivity and Specificity; Validity