Selin Klara Hradilova
Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD), Stockholm University, Sweden.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Sep;27(9):1428-35. doi: 10.1097/01.ALC.0000085633.23230.4A.
A number of different screening tests are frequently used in alcohol research, but our knowledge about the reliability of many of them is quite limited. Recently, this problem has received more attention. This article examines the test-retest reliability of one of these instruments-the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)-in a general population sample.
A general population sample (n = 457) was tested and, after approximately 1 month, was retested by using the AUDIT. Correlation between the two tests has been examined with the intraclass correlation coefficient and the kappa coefficient in analysis of dichotomous variables. Specificity and sensitivity at a number of different cutoff scores have also been analyzed by using the first test as a criterion.
On the item level, the correlations ranged between 0.6 and 0.8. The overall reliability of total AUDIT scores was 0.84. When stratified by gender, age, and consumer status, the total score reliability approximated 0.80 for all the categories except low alcohol consumers (0.51). Agreement using the recommended cutoff score of 8+ was also examined. The reliability (kappa) observed in the whole sample was 0.691, which was interpreted as a substantial agreement. By this cutoff, 91% were correctly classified at retest compared with the first test. AUDIT 8+ showed higher reliability for males, young people, and moderate consumers and low reliability among low consumers. In terms of reliability, the most optimal cutoff for women turned out to be 6 or more.
According to these results, the test-retest reliability of AUDIT is high. The next step might be to examine to what extent the findings apply within health-care settings, which is what the test originally was designed for.
在酒精研究中经常使用多种不同的筛查测试，但我们对其中许多测试的可靠性了解相当有限。最近，这个问题受到了更多关注。本文在一般人群样本中检验了其中一种工具——酒精使用障碍识别测试（AUDIT）的重测可靠性。
对一个一般人群样本（n = 457）进行测试，并在大约1个月后使用AUDIT进行重新测试。在分析二分变量时，使用组内相关系数和kappa系数检验了两次测试之间的相关性。还以第一次测试为标准，分析了多个不同临界值分数下的特异性和敏感性。
在项目层面，相关性在0.6至0.8之间。AUDIT总分的总体可靠性为0.84。按性别、年龄和饮酒状况分层时，除低酒精消费者（0.51）外，所有类别总分的可靠性均接近0.80。还检验了使用推荐临界值分数8+时的一致性。在整个样本中观察到的可靠性（kappa）为0.691，被解释为高度一致。以此临界值划分，与第一次测试相比，91%的人在重新测试时被正确分类。AUDIT 8+在男性、年轻人和中度饮酒者中显示出较高的可靠性，在低饮酒者中可靠性较低。就可靠性而言，女性的最佳临界值结果为6分及以上。
根据这些结果，AUDIT的重测可靠性很高。下一步可能是检验这些发现适用于医疗保健环境的程度，这是该测试最初的设计目的。
