Biomedical subjects

B Aertgeerts

Publications and source records attributed to B Aertgeerts.

20 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

[Prevalence of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence according to DSM-IV criteria in first year university students].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of alcohol problems in first-year college students. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHOD: Data on the prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence according to DSM-IV criteria were collected in the period November 1995-April 1996 among college freshmen at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). 3564 consecutive students completed a questionnaire which assessed drinking behaviour (Composite International Diagnostic Interview CIDI, Section J) and identified students at risk as defined by DSM-IV criteria. Our study included a large number of college freshmen, so we were able to perform our analyses with a large statistical power. All students had the opportunity to refuse their co-operation, but there were no non-responders, so selection bias was absent. The medical ethical committee of the KU Leuven approved this study. RESULTS: Of all 3564 consecutive students 501 (14.1%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 12.9-15.3) met DSM-IV criteria of alcohol abuse (n = 373; 10.5%; 9.5-11.5) or of alcohol dependence (n = 128; 3.6%; 3.0-4.2). Of the male students 301 (18.5%; 16.7-20.5) met the criteria of alcohol abuse and 96 (5.9%; 4.8-7.1) of alcohol dependence, of the female students 72 (3.7%; 2.9-4.6) and 32 (1.6%; 1.2-2.3) respectively. More than 10% (12.2%; 11.1-13.3) of these freshmen operated a vehicle under influence. This contributed in a major way to the DSM-IV conclusion. CONCLUSION: In this, one of the first studies among college freshmen using DSM-IV criteria the prevalence of alcohol abuse was in excess of 10%. In addition a substantial proportion of college freshman appeared to be alcohol dependent according to DSM-IV criteria.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Questionnaires are better than laboratory tests to screen for current alcohol abuse or dependence in a male inpatient population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic performance of the CAGE and AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) and its derivatives, and laboratory tests for screening alcohol abuse or dependence in a male medical hospital population. DESIGN: A diagnostic cross-sectional prevalence study. SETTING: Three general hospitals and one university hospital. PATIENTS: All male patients older than 18 years admitted to the hospitals, during a period of 6 weeks, were consecutively included in the study (N = 233). MEASUREMENTS: Calculation of diagnostic measurements with 95% CI and ROC curves for different scores of CAGE, AUDIT and derivatives, laboratory tests and % Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT), using DSM-III-R as the reference standard, derived from the CIDI. RESULTS: A current diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence was found in 29 medical male inpatients, representing 12.4% (95% CI: 8.6-17.5). Ten of these (4.2%) fulfilled criteria of alcohol abuse and 19 (8.2%) the criteria of alcohol dependence. Laboratory tests are useless as screening tools with sensitivities between 10% (%CDT) and 52% (GammaGT). Only the Fiveshot questionnaire seems to yield reasonable diagnostic parameters at the recommended cutpoint of > or = 2.5 with a sensitivity of 79.3% and a specificity of 87.7%. CONCLUSIONS: With a prevalence of 12.4%, our results are similar with other published studies for alcohol abuse and dependence according DSM criteria. The AUDIT as well as the Fiveshot seems to have the best diagnostic properties in this male medical inpatient population, and regarding to brief interventions, these questionnaires can be used as screening instruments as well as opportunities to talk about alcohol problems with admitted patients.

Adult↗