Detecting alcoholism in primary care among Trinidadians: using the CAGE and AUDIT-C screening tools

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To measure the proportion of attendees in a primary care setting consuming alcohol at levels which put them at risk of alcohol-related harm using the CAGE and AUDIT-C Screening tools. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was used. The population consisted of all adults ≥18 years in a primary care setting. The CAGE and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) screening tools were administered to 865 randomly selected participants. RESULTS: Of the 865 participants entered into this study, 514 participants drank alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, 142 (27.6%) were found to be CAGE positive (≥2) where more men (100, 11.5%) than women (42, 4.9%) were CAGE positive. A larger proportion of South-East Asians 60 (11.7%) were found to be CAGE positive than Africans 51 (9.9%) (ρ = 0.6221). For the AUDIT-C, 460 individuals participated with a response rate of 89.5%. With the score ≥ 4 in men, among the male drinkers 150 (32.6%) of the AUDIT-C screens were positive. For women, with the score ≥ 4, 100 (21.7%) of those who drank alcohol, screened positive. A larger proportion of South East Asians 101 (39.2%) were found to be AUDIT-C positive than Africans 105 (42%) (ρ = 0.7893). The Cronbach Alpha values for AUDIT-C and CAGE were 0.792 and 0.636 respectively. CONCLUSION: The CAGE screening tool identified 27.6% of the participants attending primary care facilities to be at risk of developing alcohol related disorders (ARDS). AUDIT-C identified 48.6% of participants to be at risk of developing an ARDS.