Drinking habits and prevalence of heavy drinking among occupational healthcare patients

Abstract

Objective. To estimate the proportion of heavy drinkers among occupational healthcare patients and evaluate their characteristics. Design. Patients visiting their doctor in six occupational health clinics were asked to complete a questionnaire containing the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and other questions concerning health. Setting. Occupational health services. Subjects. A total of 757 patients participated in the study. Main outcome measure. Heavy drinking was defined as having a score of 10 or more (men) or 8 or more (women) in the AUDIT questionnaire. Results. Of the men 114 (29%) and of the women 48 (13%) were heavy drinkers. Only smoking differentiated both male and female heavy drinkers from moderate drinkers among the clinically relevant characteristics. Conclusion. There are a considerable number of heavy drinkers among occupational healthcare patients. Heavy drinkers do not have any particularly specific characteristics except for the drinking that distinguish them from other patients. Thus, screening is necessary to identify heavy drinkers in occupational healthcare settings. © 2009 Informa UK Ltd. (Informa Healthcare, Taylor & Francis AS).