[Diagnosis of alcohol abuse].

About fifteen percent of Polish people abuse alcohol and about two percent are alcohol-dependent. Despite the current prevention strategies, alcohol abuse and its patterns- risky and harmful drinking in particular, are still a growing problem. There is an urgent need to improve alcohol abuse detection strategies and its prevention. Early detection of alcohol problems may prevent their further development and progression. The behavioral and clinical features of alcohol abuse are described at first. Then was briefly described short-range (ethanol, acetaldehyde, acetate, methanol, and 5-hydroxytryptophol), mid-range (fatty acid ethyl esters, ethyl glucuronide, phosphatidyl ethanol, and ethyl sulphate), long-range (mean corpuscular volume, gamma-glutamyltransferase, aspartate- and alanine-aminotransferases, carbohydrate deficient transferrin, acetaldehyde adducts, beta-hexosaminidase, sialic acid) as well as other known and less known biomarkers associated with alcohol abuse. Usefulness of the mid-range biomarkers is increasing, since their time of detection (1-7 days) in biological fluids occur between that of the immediate-range and long-range markers. This is the first week of abstinence in which problems caused by alcohol commonly require treatment.