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Influence of a Drinking Quantity and Frequency Measure on the Prevalence and Demographic Correlates of DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence
Alcoholism, 03/13/09

Katherine M. Keyes et al.- Including weekly at-risk drinking (WAD) as either a requirement of diagnosis or as an additional criterion would have a large impact on the prevalence of alcohol dependence in the general population. The inclusion of a quantity/frequency requirement may eliminate false positives from studies of alcohol disorder etiology and improve phenotype definition for genetic association studies by reducing heterogeneity in the diagnosis, but may also reduce eligibility for treatment services among women and racial/ethnic minorities compared.

Methods

The sample was the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative sample with 43,093 adults aged >18 in the U.S interviewed with the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule IV.
The current (DSM-IV) definition of alcohol dependence was compared with 4 hypothetical alcohol dependence reformulations that included WAD:
(1) WAD added as an eighth criteria
(2) WAD required for a diagnosis
(3) adding abuse and dependence criteria together, and including WAD with a 3 of 12 symptom threshold
(4) adding abuse and dependence criteria together, and including WAD with a 5 of 12 symptom threshold

Results

The inclusion of at-risk drinking as an eighth criterion of alcohol dependence has a minimal impact on the sociodemographic correlates of alcohol dependence but substantially increases the prevalence of dependence (from 3.8% to 5.0%).
At-risk drinking as a required criterion or as part of a diagnosis that combines abuse with dependence criteria with a higher threshold (5+ criteria) decreases prevalence and has a larger impact on sociodemographic correlates.
Blacks, Hispanics, and women are less likely to be included in diagnostic reformulations that include WAD, whereas individuals with low-income and education are more likely to remain diagnosed.

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