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Screening elderly veterans for alcoholism

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Abstract

Objective:To determine the sensitivity and specificity of an alcoholism screening test not previously tested in the elderly.

Design:Cross-sectional study, face-to-face interviews.

Setting:Veterans Administration (VA) outpatient facility.

Patients/participants:Men ≥70 years old seeking care in a newly established VA outpatient facility were invited to participate in a health assessment program. Of 109 participants who enrolled, 96 completed both interviews.

Interventions:The screening test was administered by an internist as part of a medical history. The Michigan Alcobolism Screening Test (MAST), used as the “gold standard,” was administered by a trained interviewer as part of a longer structured interview.

Measurements and main results:The screening test had a sensitivity of 0.52 and a specificity of 0.76 in this sample.

Conclusions:The sensitivity and specificity of the screening test were lower in this sample in comparison with previously reported results in a younger population. Differences in the test performance may be related to differences in attitudes and drinking behaviors of elderly veterans when compared with those of younger men and women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatric Evaluation Service, 303 East Superior Street, 60611, Chicago, IL

    Maureen Brady Moran MPH

Authors
  1. Maureen Brady Moran MPH
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  2. Bruce J. Naughton MD
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  3. Susan L. Hughes DSW
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Additional information

Received from the Veterans Administration Lakeside Medical Center and the Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, and the Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Supported by a grant from Medical District 17 Health Services Research and Development Field Program, Hines Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, Illinois.

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Moran, M.B., Naughton, B.J. & Hughes, S.L. Screening elderly veterans for alcoholism. J Gen Intern Med 5, 361–364 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02600408

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