Reliability and validity of the alcohol use disorders identification test - consumption in screening for adults with alcohol use disorders and risky drinking in Japan.

Yoneatsu Osaki,Susumu Higuchi,Aro Ino,Aya Kinjo,Yoko Kondo,Sachio Matsushita

doi:10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.16.6571

Abstract

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. 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). 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. 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.

Highlights

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with multiple health problems including cancer and many social problems such as drunken driving, child abuse, and domestic violence; it leads to substantial social expense (WHO, 2009; Osaki et al, 2012; de Menezes et al, 2013; Yaegashi et al, 2014)
The k coefficient, Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were determined and the validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) was analyzed using the data from a nationwide survey on adult alcohol use conducted in 2008 (n=4,123)
The reliability and validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (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

Summary

Introduction

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with multiple health problems including cancer and many social problems such as drunken driving, child abuse, and domestic violence; it leads to substantial social expense (WHO, 2009; Osaki et al, 2012; de Menezes et al, 2013; Yaegashi et al, 2014). 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.

Results

Conclusion