Alcohol Use Problems (in Men)
Scoring Key
The AUDIT-C has three questions and is scored on a scale of 0-12. Each AUDIT-C question has 5 answer choices valued from 0 points to 4 points.
In men, a score of 4 or more is considered positive, which means there is likely hazardous drinking or an active alcohol use disorder. (A cut-off of 4 has a sensitivity of 86%, and a specificity of 72% for hazardous drinking and/or active DSM alcohol abuse or dependence).
In women, a score of 3 or more is considered positive. (A cut-off of 3 or more has a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 87% for hazardous drinking and/or active DSM alcohol abuse or dependence).
For more information about this screening tool:
Bush K, Kivlahan DR, McDonell MB, Fihn SD, Bradley KA. The AUDIT alcohol consumption questions (AUDIT-C): an effective brief screening test for problem drinking. Ambulatory Care Quality Improvement Project (ACQUIP). Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Arch Intern Med. 1998 Sep 14;158(16):1789-95.
Bradley KA, Bush KR, Epler AJ, et al. Two brief alcohol-screening tests From the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): validation in a female Veterans Affairs patient population. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163(7):821-9.
Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, De la fuente JR, Grant M. Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO Collaborative Project on Early Detection of Persons with Harmful Alcohol Consumption--II. Addiction. 1993;88(6):791-804.