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Alcohol check

Three questions doctors use to spot drinking that's harming health.

About 1 minNothing

How to do it

  1. Think about a typical month over the past year.
  2. Count one drink as a 12 oz beer, a 5 oz glass of wine, or a 1.5 oz shot of spirits.
  3. Answer the three questions as honestly as you can; nothing is saved.

Your result

One drink is a 12 oz beer, a 5 oz glass of wine, or a 1.5 oz shot of spirits.

How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
How many drinks do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?
How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?

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What the research found

These are the first three questions of the World Health Organization's AUDIT, known as the AUDIT-C. Checked against a full interview in 1,319 family practice patients, a score of 4 or more in men caught 86% of those with unhealthy drinking and cleared 89% of those without it. In women, 3 or more caught 73% and cleared 91%. The three questions did as well as the full 10-question AUDIT.

Studied in: 392 men and 927 women at a US family practice clinic.

  • Bradley KA et al. AUDIT-C as a brief screen for alcohol misuse in primary care. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007;31(7):1208-17. PubMed

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