ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2023
Changes in alcohol consumption reported on routine healthcare screenings are associated with changes in depression symptoms.
Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Alcohol consumption reported on routine healthcare screenings is associated with all-cause mortality in primary care patients: A retrospective cohort study.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- The association between changes in AUDIT-C scores and acute mental healthcare utilization over the next year in a primary care population.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Association between change in alcohol use reported during routine healthcare screening and change in subsequent hospitalization: A retrospective cohort study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Do electronic health records used by primary care practices support recommended alcohol-related care?JAMIA open · 2024Article
- Incidence of Hospitalizations Involving Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in a Primary Care Population.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Psychological dimensions in alcohol use disorder: comparing active drinkers and abstinent patients.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption version (AUDIT-C) has been robustly validated as a point-in-time screen for unhealthy alcohol use, but less is known about the significance of changes in AUDIT-C scores from routine screenings over time. Unhealthy alcohol use and depression commonly co-occur, and changes in drinking often co-occur with changes in depression symptoms. We assess the associations between changes in AUDIT-C scores and changes in depression symptoms reported on brief screens completed in routine care.
methodsThe study sample included 198,335 primary care patients who completed two AUDIT-C screens 11 to 24 months apart and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) depression screen on the same day as each AUDIT-C. Both screening measures were completed as part of routine care within a large health system in Washington state. AUDIT-C scores were categorized to reflect five drinking levels at both time points, resulting in 25 subgroups with different change patterns. For each of the 25 subgroups, within-group changes in the prevalence of positive PHQ-2 depression screens were characterized using risk ratios (RRs) and McNemar's tests.
resultsPatient subgroups with increases in AUDIT-C risk categories generally experienced increases in the prevalence of positive depression screens (RRs ranging from 0.95 to 2.00). Patient subgroups with decreases in AUDIT-C risk categories generally experienced decreases in the prevalence of positive depression screens (RRs ranging from 0.52 to 1.01). Patient subgroups that did not have changes in AUDIT-C risk categories experienced little or no change in the prevalence of positive depression screens (RRs ranging from 0.98 to 1.15).
conclusionsAs hypothesized, changes in alcohol consumption reported on AUDIT-C screens completed in routine care were associated with changes in depression screening results. Results support the validity and clinical utility of monitoring changes in AUDIT-C scores over time as a meaningful measure of changes in drinking.
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