Diagnostic Utility of New Short Versions of AUDIT to Detect Binge Drinking in Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The most recent epidemiological data reveal that binge drinking (henceforth BD) (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo [MSC, 2008]) is the most widespread pattern of alcohol consumption among young Europeans, reaching its peak at around 20-24 years of age (World Health Organization [WHO, 2019]). In young Spaniards, the age range for the highest incidence extends to 29 years of age and is higher in males, with 30% of males engaging in this behaviour compared to 20.3% of females (Observatorio Español de las Drogas y las Adicciones [OEDA, 2017]). In the case of adolescents, the prevalence of BD reaches its highest incidence at 18 years of age, at a much higher rate than among older young adults. Specifically, almost half of Spanish males and females acknowledge having engaged in this type of consumption at this age (47.4% of males and 46.8% of females) (OEDA, 2019).However, when evaluating the variables of the amount of grams of alcohol consumed and the frequency of BD behaviour, the highest rates are seen in males and this trend is observed regardless of the age of young adults or adolescents being studied (Cortés et al., 2007;Cortés et al., 2014;O'Malley & Johnston, 2002).The high prevalence of this pattern of consumption among young people, in addition to public health consequences it produces (Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action [CNAPA, 2014]; Davoren et al., 2016;Lightowlers, 2017;West et al., 2018), justify the need for screening instruments to facilitate detection in the various spheres of action (primary health care, emergency services, university health services, etc.), enabling the young person to be referred to the most appropriate healthcare resource, where necessary (community addiction prevention unit, social services, etc.) (Clark & Moss, 2010).AUDIT, and its reduced versions (AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3), are screening instruments that are widely used to identify young people who engage in BD (Blank et al., 2015;Cortés et al., 2016; de Clínica y Salud (2020) xx(x) xx-xx