Jw. Harasymiw et al., The early detection of alcohol consumption (EDAC) score in the identification of heavy and at-risk drinkers from routine blood tests, J ADDICT D, 19(3), 2000, pp. 43-59
The objective of this study was to use the EDAC score to detect heavy and a
t-risk drinking in young adults (mean age 25 years) and compare the results
to self-reports. The EDAC score is a linear discriminant function (LDF) de
rived from the analysis of a combination of up to 35 blood chemistry and he
matology analytes ordered routinely in clinical settings. Subjects (N = 150
) were recruited from medical care facilities at the University of Missouri
, Columbia. Blood samples, obtained from males (N = 66) and females (N = 84
), were sent to LabCorp (Burlington, NC) for analysis. The blood chemistry
panels were evaluated using a Linear Discriminant Function method available
through SPSS software to predict whether each individual was a Heavy Drink
er or an At-Risk Drinker. Heavy Drinkers consumed on average greater than o
r equal to 4 drinks daily for males and greater than or equal to 3 drinks d
aily for females. At-Risk Drinkers consumed at least 14 drinks per week or
drank more than 4 drinks on any occasion in the last 14 days if male and co
nsumed at least 7 drinks per week or more than 3 drinks on any occasion if
female. Not-Heavy Drinkers and Not-At-Risk Drinkers consumed less than the
amounts above. The results showed 8/10 (80%) males and 2/2 women identified
as Heavy Drinkers by both the EDAC score (prior probability Not-Heavy vs.
Heavy Drinker = 0.5:0.5) and self-report. Fifty of 56 (89%) males and 65/82
(79%) of females were identified as Not-Heavy Drinkers by both EDAC score
and self-report. There were 6/54 males and 15/82 (18%) women with false pos
itive results, of these, 14/21 (67%) met dependence criteria by DSM-IV. The
EDAC test showed 30% sensitivity and 96% specificity when identifying At-R
isk drinking males and 42% sensitivity and 90% specificity when identifying
At-Risk drinking females. In females, the EDAC's sensitivity was higher th
an any single traditional or new laboratory marker previously reported fur
diagnosis of alcohol abuse such as GGT, MCV and CDT. As a complement or a s
ubstitute to an interview, in subjects who are less candid about their drin
king, the EDAC is a useful tool to assess heavy and at-risk alcohol consump
tion in young adults.