AUDIT-C

Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise (AUDIT-C)

Description of Instrument

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise (AUDIT-C) is a brief alcohol use disorder screening instrument that reliably identifies individuals who are at risk for alcohol use disorder (including alcohol abuse or dependence). The AUDIT-C is a convenient, abbreviated, well-validated, modified version of the 10-question AUDIT instrument published by the WHO in 1998. It has 3 items (each scored from 0-4) querying the frequency and amount of alcohol use; the total score ranges from 0-12 (i.e., the 3 item scores are summed). The AUDIT-C is widely-used and well-validated in a broad range of populations including veterans and patients with chronic pain (Bradley et al., 2003; Rief et al., 2020). The higher the score, the more likely it is that an individual will have alcohol use disorder and be at risk for adverse drinking-related consequences.

References

Bradley KA, Bush KR, Epler AJ, et al (2003). Two brief alcohol-screening tests from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): Validation in a female Veterans Affairs patient population. Arch Intern Med. 163:821-9.

Reif S, Adams RS, Ritter GA, Larson MJ. Exploration of the association of selected pain diagnoses with risky alcohol use among active duty soldiers. Subst Abus. 2020;41(4):456-462.