- Title
- Prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use in hospital outpatients
- Creator
- Johnson, Natalie A.; Kypri, Kypros; McCambridge, Jim; Latter, Joanna; McElduff, Patrick; Saunders, John B.; Saitz, Richard; Attia, John; Dunlop, Adrian; Doran, Christopher; Wolfenden, Luke
- Relation
- NHMRC.1023734 & NHMRC.1041867
- Relation
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence Vol. 144, p. 270-273
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.08.014
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2014
- Description
- Background: Few studies have examined the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use in the hospital outpatient setting. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use among patients attending a broad range of outpatient clinics at a large public hospital in Australia. Methods: Adult hospital outpatients were invited to complete the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption questions (AUDIT-C) using an iPad as part of a randomised trial testing the efficacy of alcohol electronic screening and brief intervention. Unhealthy alcohol use was defined as an AUDIT-C score =5 among men and =4 among women. Results: Sixty percent (3616/6070) of invited hospital outpatients consented, of whom 89% (3206/3616) provided information on their alcohol consumption (either reported they had not consumed any alcohol in the last 12 months or completed the AUDIT-C). The prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use was 34.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 33.0-36.3%). The prevalence among men aged 18-24 years, 25-39 years, 40-59 years and 60 years and older, was 74.4% (95% CI: 68.4-80.4%), 54.3% (95% CI: 48.7-59.8%), 44.1% (95% CI: 39.9-48.3%), and 27.0% (95% CI: 23.6-30.4%), respectively (43.1% overall; 95% CI: 40.8-45.5%). The prevalence among women aged 18-24 years, 25-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60 years and older, was 48.6% (95% CI: 39.2-58.1%), 36.9% (95% CI: 31.2-42.6%), 25.2% (95% CI: 21.5-29.0%) and 14.5% (95% CI: 11.7-17.3%), respectively (24.9% overall; 95% CI: 22.7-27.1%). Conclusion: A large number of hospital outpatients who are not currently seeking treatment for their drinking could benefit from effective intervention in this setting.
- Subject
- unhealthy alcohol use; hospital outpatients; prevalence
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1059187
- Identifier
- uon:16544
- Identifier
- ISSN:0376-8716
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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