Alcohol Use Disorder

Assessment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use disorder, abbreviated AUD, is one of the substance use disorders for which no single treatment has been found that works for all persons. It is devastating and causes myriad problems that range from psychological to economic (Litten et al., 2016). According to these authors, AUD is one of the leading causes of deaths in the US, with statistics showing that 88,000 people that die every year have been diagnosed with AUD. Among the reasons behind this prevalence is lack of proper diagnosis of AUD. In the words of Niemelä (2016), hazardous drinking habits are often underdiagnosed. This observation indicates the need to have proper tools or instruments of doing AUD diagnosis.

To foster accurate diagnosis of AUD, a number of tools and instruments have been developed. One of them is the so-called biomarkers, which are instruments that mark a person’s biological state, thus providing clinicians with information regarding a patient’s health status and risk of developing disease in future (Niemelä, 2016). With the help of biomarkers, clinicians can tell whether a person’s health issues are caused by alcohol consumption. More importantly, biomarkers provide insights about the main mechanisms through which ethanol-induced diseases develop and progress (Niemelä, 2016).

A number of instruments are also used in assessing AUD, but they have their limitations. For example, instruments such as time-line follow-back, CAGE questionnaire, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test are flawed in that they rely on self-reports, which depend on the respondent’s memory (Niemelä, 2016). Biomarkers are considered appropriate instruments as they offer a comprehensive assessment of AUD. They not only reveal intoxication but also predict a patient’s long-term alcohol consumption habits. In addition, biomarkers are effective in measuring patients’ response to therapy as they help in assessing how compliant one is with the treatment (Niemelä, 2016).

Much as biomarkers are described as reliable, valid instruments for the assessment of AUD, they are not without limitations. According to Niemelä (2016), the ideal biomarker in the identification of AUDs ought to be reproducible, easily measurable, and accurate. Further, biomarkers ought to help in distinguishing between patients with AUD and those who don’t. However, currently available biomarkers are incapable of doing this.

References

Litten, R. Z., Wilford, B. B., Falk, D. E., Ryan, M. L., & Fertig, J. B. (2016). Potential medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorder: an evaluation of clinical efficacy and safety. Substance Abuse37(2), 286-298.

Niemelä, O. (2016). Biomarker-based approaches for assessing alcohol use disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health13(2), 166.

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