The early detection of alcohol consumption (EDAC) score in the identification of Heavy and at-risk drinkers from routine blood tests.

The objective of this study was to use the EDAC score to detect heavy and at-risk drinking in young adults (mean age = 25 years) and compare the results to self-reports. The EDAC score is a linear discriminant function (LDF) derived from the analysis of a combination of up to 35 blood chemistry and hematology analytes ordered routinely in clinical settings. Subjects (N = 150) were recruited from medical care facilities at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Blood samples, obtained from males (N = 66) and females (N = 84), were sent to LabCorp (Burlington, NC) for analysis. The blood chemistry panels were evaluated using a Linear Discriminant Function method available through SPSS software to predict whether each individual was a Heavy Drinker or an At-Risk Drinker. Heavy Drinkers consumed on average > or = 4 drinks daily for males and > or = 3 drinks daily for females. At-Risk Drinkers consumed at least 14 drinks per week or drank more than 4 drinks on any occasion in the last 14 days if male and consumed at least 7 drinks per week or more than 3 drinks on any occasion if female. Not-Heavy Drinkers and Not-At-Risk Drinkers consumed less than the amounts above. The results showed 8/10 (80%) males and 2/2 women identified as Heavy Drinkers by both the EDAC score (prior probability Not-Heavy vs. Heavy Drinker = 0.5:0.5) and self-report. Fifty of 56 (89%) males and 65/82 (79%) of females were identified as Not-Heavy Drinkers by both EDAC score and self-report. There were 6/54 (11%) males and 15/82 (18%) women with false positive results, of these, 14/21 (67%) met dependence criteria by DSM-IV. The EDAC test showed 30% sensitivity and 96% specificity when identifying At-Risk drinking males and 42% sensitivity and 90% specificity when identifying At-Risk drinking females. In females, the EDAC's sensitivity was higher than any single traditional or new laboratory marker previously reported for diagnosis of alcohol abuse such as GGT, MCV and CDT. As a complement or a substitute to an interview, in subjects who are less candid about their drinking, the EDAC is a useful tool to assess heavy and at-risk alcohol consumption in young adults.