THE SPECIFICITY OF THE CDT ASSAY IN GENERAL-PRACTICE - THE INFLUENCE OF COMMON CHRONIC DISEASES AND MEDICATION ON THE SERUM CDT CONCENTRATION

Early recognition of alcohol problems by general practitioners might b e enhanced by the use of better alcohol markers. Several studies have revealed promising results for the carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) assay in certain populations. The aim of our study was to examin e the specificity of the CDT assay in a general practice population. T he main research question was whether common chronic diseases and/or t he accompanying prescribed drugs have a negative influence on the spec ificity of the CDT assay. The 524 men who participated were selected f rom seven general practices and were suffering from one or more of the following diseases: hypertension, asthma/bronchitis, diabetes mellitu s, adipositis/lipid metabolism disorder, angina pectoris, depression, and disorders of the digestive tract. None of the studied diseases or of the accompanying prescribed drugs bad an influence on the specifici ty of the CDT assay. The overall specificity in this general practitio ner population was 0.92. It can be concluded that the studied diseases do not bear an influence on the serum CDT concentration, and that, th erefore, the CDT assay is a highly specific instrument for use in asse ssing alcohol consumption in general practice patients.