The association of long-term alcohol biomarkers with risk for alcohol-related injury: Implications for screening
Year: 2016
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Alcohol misuse is a leading risk factor for serious injury and death. For those experiencing trauma in emergency care settings, recent alcohol misuse history is typically assessed via self-report measures. Since underreporting may be a problem in these settings, objective indicators like long-term biomarkers may be useful for identifying hazardous drinkers who may need intervention. Recognizing this, we investigated (1) whether hazardous drinking was linked to reports of alcohol-related injury in a probability sample of over 600 college students from a large, Midwestern, urban university; (2) whether elevated long-term biomarkers showed similar associations in the same sample. Associations derived from responses to the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-C (AUDIT-C) as well as from hair and fingernails tested for ethyl glucuronide, a direct alcohol biomarker, suggested that hazardous drinking is significantly associated with elevated risk for alcohol-related injury. Implications for screening and intervention in health care settings are discussed.
Source: Journal of Substance Use
Authors: Michael Fendrich, Lisa Berger, Daniel Fuhrmann
Institutions: University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2553589660