SCREENING EXAMINATIONS FOR COVERT ALCOHOLISM

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The investigators seek to establish the CAGE screening interview and the Laboratory Data Profile as valid and reliable indicators of alcoholism. To do this, they plan to interview a total of 1,000 patients from medical, surgical and psychiatric services over a three year period. Each patient will be given a screening interview for alcoholism (CAGE questions) followed by a more in-depth interview. The investigators will collect corroborative data from patients' families and health care providers. In addition, the investigators will collect clinical laboratory data from each patient's record or from blood samples drawn as part of the study. These data will serve as the basis for comparing the screening interview and the principal investigator's Laboratory Data Profile to more stringent criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism. The applications of statistical tests of validity and reliability will allow for this comparison. Exploratory analyses will be done to investigate the possibility of improving the previously developed descriminant function. Based on pilot studies, the investigators hypothesize that both the CAGE and the LDP will be found empirically valid and reliable with respect to alcoholism diagnosis and will, therefore, be useful in designing a partially automated system of alcoholism screening.