[Evaluation of a screening test for alcohol-related problems (CAGE) among employees of the Campus of the University of São Paulo].

UNLABELLED

Alcohol intake may play a significant role in absenteeism, delays and accidents at the workplace. However, its detection is limited by difficulties of both patients and physicians regarding the subject. The CAGE questionnaire may be an easy, fast and non intimidative alternative to detect alcohol-related problems (ARP).

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the validity coefficients of the CAGE (sensitivity, Sen; specificity, Spec; positive predictive value, PPV, and the area under the ROC curve--AUC) among employees of the Campus of the University of Sao Paulo using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, SCID 2.0.

METHODS

A random 203-worker sample was selected to be surveyed with a socio-demographic questionnaire followed by the CAGE questions and the SCID 2.0. CAGE validity coefficients were analyzed according to the SCID 2.0 results for alcohol abuse and dependence, while sociodemographic data were analyzed by the chi-square test.

RESULTS

Among 192 interviewed workers, the prevalence of the CAGE-positive was 19.8%. Validity coefficients results were for ARP: Sen=84.4%, Spec=93.1%, PPV=71.1% and AUC=0.88 (p<0.01); and for alcohol dependence: Sen=91.3%, Spec=89.9%, PPV=55.3% and AUC=0.90 (p<0.01). There were significant associations between CAGE-positive and the following characteristics: 1) age (61 years or more, p=0.04), 2) male gender (p=0.01) and 3) blue color occupations (p=0.02).

CONCLUSION

The PPV of the CAGE suggested its better performance in screening ARP (abuse and dependence) than only alcohol dependence. The association with age and sex could be related to limitations of the questionnaire. Blue color occupations could indicate a risk factor for ARP. The CAGE was considered valid for the screening of ARP at the workplace.