Harmful alcohol use among acutely ill hospitalized medical patients in Oslo and Moscow: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to estimate the prevalence of harmful alcohol use in relation to socio-demographic characteristics among acutely ill medical patients, and examine identification measures of alcohol use, including the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 (PEth). METHODS: A cross-sectional study, lasting one year at one hospital in Oslo, Norway and one in Moscow, Russia recruiting acute medically ill patients (≥ 18 years), able to give informed consent. Self-reported data on socio-demographics, mental distress (Symptom Check List-5), alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-4 (AUDIT-4) and alcohol consumption past 24 h were collected. PEth and alcohol concentration were measured in whole blood. RESULTS: Of 5883 participating patients, 19.2% in Moscow and 21.1% in Oslo were harmful alcohol users, measured by AUDIT-4, while the prevalence of PEth-positive patients was lower: 11.4% in Oslo, 14.3% in Moscow. Men in Moscow were more likely to be harmful users by AUDIT-4 and PEth compared to men in Oslo, except of those being ≥ 71 years. Women in Oslo were more likely to be harmful users compared to those in Moscow by AUDIT-4, but not by PEth for those aged < 61 years. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of harmful alcohol use was high at both study sites. The prevalence of harmful alcohol use was lower when assessed by PEth compared to AUDIT-4. Thus, self-reporting was the most sensitive measure in revealing harmful alcohol use among all groups except for women in Moscow. Hence, screening and identification with objective biomarkers and self-reporting might be a method for early intervention.

[The comparative analysis of the methods for the determination of phosphatidylethanol in blood as a biological marker of alcohol abuse]. / Sravnitel'nyi analiz metodik opredeleniia fosfatidilétanola v krovi kak biomarkera zloupotrebleniia alkogolem.

The confirmation of the fact of alcohol abuse is currently an important problem of both medical and social significance. Of all biological markers of alcohol consumption presently in use, blood phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is considered to be most sensitive and specific one. Therefore it has promising prospects for the further application. There is no universally accepted method for the calculation of the phosphatidylethanol concentration in human blood. For this reason, the present article places emphasis on the comparative characteristic of various methods for the determination of this substance.