Disease Prevention & Health Promotion Table 1–7.

Table 1–7. Screening for alcohol abuse.

A. CAGE screening test                                                                                                                            

Have you ever felt the need to                                            Cut down on drinking?                                  

Have you ever felt                                                              Annoyed by criticism of your drinking?       

Have you ever felt                                                              Guilty about your drinking?                          

Have you ever taken a morning                                          Eye opener?                                                   

INTERPRETATION: Two “yes” answers are considered a positive screen. One “yes” answer should arouse a suspicion of alcohol abuse.

B. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT).2 (Scores for response categories are given in parentheses. Scores range from 0 to 40, with a cutoff score of ≥ 5 indicating hazardous drinking, harmful drinking, or alcohol dependence.)                                                                                               

1. How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?                                                                             

(0) Never (1) Monthly or less (2) Two to four times a month (3) Two or three times a week (4) Four or more times a week

2. How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?

(0) 1 or 2        (1) 3 or 4         (2) 5 or 6        (3) 7 to 9       (4) 10 or more

3. How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?                                                              

(0) Never       (1) Less than monthly       (2) Monthly       (3) Weekly      (4) Daily or almost daily

4. How often during the past year have you found that you were not able to stop drinking once you had started?

(0) Never       (1) Less than monthly        (2) Monthly       (3) Weekly      (4) Daily or almost daily

5. How often during the past year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of drinking?

(0) Never        (1) Less than monthly       (2) Monthly       (3) Weekly        (4) Daily or almost daily

6. How often during the past year have you needed a first drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session?

(0) Never         (1) Less than monthly      (2) Monthly        (3) Weekly        (4) Daily or almost daily

7. How often during the past year have you had a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking?

(0) Never         (1) Less than monthly      (2) Monthly        (3) Weekly         (4) Daily or almost daily

8. How often during the past year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking? 

(0) Never         (1) Less than monthly      (2) Monthly        (3) Weekly         (4) Daily or almost daily

9. Have you or has someone else been injured as a result of your drinking?
(0) No           (2) Yes, but not in the past year (4) Yes, during the past year

10. Has a relative or friend or a doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?
(0) No             (2) Yes, but not in the past year      (4) Yes, during the past year