Home > Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, alcohol abuse > Screening, Behavioral Counseling, and Referral in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse

Screening, Behavioral Counseling, and Referral in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse

July 16, 2012

Screening, Behavioral Counseling, and Referral in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Alcohol misuse, which includes the full spectrum from drinking above recommended limits (i.e., risky/hazardous drinking) to alcohol dependence, is associated with numerous health and social problems and more than 85,000 deaths per year in the United States and an estimated annual cost to society of more than $220 billion. Alcohol misuse is estimated to be the third leading cause of preventable mortality in the United States following tobacco use and being overweight. Alcohol misuse contributes to a variety of conditions, including hypertension, cirrhosis, gastritis and gastric ulcers, pancreatitis, breast cancer, neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, anemia, osteoporosis, cognitive impairment, depression, insomnia, anxiety, and suicide. Excessive alcohol consumption is a major factor in injury and violence.

Though estimating the prevalence of alcohol misuse is challenging, it has been estimated that about 30 percent of the U.S. population is affected, with the majority of these individuals engaging in what is considered risky drinking. Older studies report a range of risky drinkers from 4 to 29 percent across primary care populations, with prevalence estimates of 0.3 to 10.0 percent for harmful drinkers and 2.0 to 9.0 percent for alcohol dependence. More recent data from the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network reveal that 21.3 percent of primary care patients reported risky/hazardous drinking (based on the three quantity and frequency questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT-C]). Alcohol dependence has lifetime prevalence rates on the order of 17 percent for men and 8 percent for women;16 prevalence of current dependence (within the last 12 months and as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition [DSM-IV]) is approximately 4 percent in the general adult population.17 Some studies have reported that one in five of those who screen positive for unhealthy alcohol use in primary care will have alcohol dependence (four in five will not). Rates of alcohol-use disorders among medical outpatients are similar to those seen in the general population and are generally higher in males and younger people of all races/ethnicities.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has proposed epidemiologically based alcohol-use guidelines to limit risks for drinking-related consequences by establishing age- and sex-specific recommended consumption thresholds. Maximum recommended consumption is three or fewer standard drinks per day (seven per week) for adult women and for anyone older than 65 years of age, and four or fewer standard drinks per day (14 per week) for adult men. A standard drink is defined as one 12-ounce bottle of beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. These guidelines do not apply to certain people (such as adolescents, pregnant women, and people with alcohol dependence or medical conditions or medication use) for whom alcohol intake is contraindicated, or to circumstances (driving) in which no consumption is considered safe.

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Categories: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, alcohol abuse
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