AUDIT-E Validation Pilot
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of the Extended Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Pilot and Feasibility Study
IRAS ID
247458
Contact name
Julia Sinclair
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Alcohol is a leading risk factor for a range of chronic conditions, psychological harm, physical injuries and death. The review of alcohol guidelines by the UK Chief Medical Officers in 2016 recommended to increase population information and narratives about the risks of ‘developing a range of health problems (including strokes as well as cancers of the mouth, throat and breast)’. This implies more frequent interventions raising individual’s awareness on alcohol-related harm and ability to assess their personal intake. UK health organisations have recently made decisions to widen alcohol screening and brief interventions in primary and secondary care using the 3-item version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), a rapid diagnostic tool.
While AUDIT-C is capable of stratifying patients by broad risk level, it has limited specificity and sensitivity and scores it produces are neither informative or educational to patients wishing to monitor and moderate their alcohol intake. Further research could improve both its educational value and risk stratification capabilities. Previous research on quantity-frequency alcohol instruments suggests that the product of the quantity and frequency questions in the AUDIT-C could be used to produce a measure of usual consumption. In addition to providing greater scope to stratify patients by risk, this metric would inform them directly of their likely alcohol consumption in units per week or per day, thereby giving them a better understanding and sense of control as to the potential for reducing risks of harm from alcohol by regulating the quantity and/or frequency of drinking.
This pilot study aims to test the feasibility and sampling requirements of a study in the predictive validity of this metric of usual consumption computed using a variant of the AUDIT-C known as the ‘Extended AUDIT-C’.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0564
Date of REC Opinion
6 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion