National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2011 Mar-Apr;46(2):185-91. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agq091. Epub 2010 Dec 22.
The aim of the study was to examine the descriptive epidemiology of 12-month alcohol use disorders (AUDs) amongst young adults in the Australian general population.
The 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Well Being, a nationally representative household survey of 8841 Australian adults (16-85 years), assessed participants for symptoms of the most prevalent DSM-IV mental disorders. Young adults were over-sampled to provide detailed information on this age group.
11.1% of young adults in the Australian population were diagnosed with an AUD. Compared with the rest of the young adult sample, young adults with AUDs were at greater risk of reporting another drug use disorder, an anxiety disorder, high levels of consumption, a medium or high score on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and a moderate to severe score on the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Mental health services were rarely used by young adults with AUDs. Difficulties in differentiating young adults diagnosed with abuse and those diagnosed with dependence with the criteria we used supported accumulating evidence questioning the validity of the abuse-dependence distinction.
AUDs in young adulthood are prevalent and associated with comorbid psychopathology, risky levels of alcohol consumption and disability. Despite the clinical significance of AUDs in this age group, few young adults with these disorders use mental health services. In this age group, the proposed changes for DSM-V regarding the classification of AUD would seem helpful.
本研究旨在调查澳大利亚普通人群中年轻成年人 12 个月酒精使用障碍（AUD）的描述性流行病学。
2007 年全国精神健康与幸福感调查是一项针对 8841 名澳大利亚成年人（16-85 岁）的全国代表性家庭调查，评估了参与者最常见的 DSM-IV 精神障碍的症状。对年轻人进行了过度抽样，以提供该年龄组的详细信息。
澳大利亚人口中有 11.1%的年轻人被诊断出患有 AUD。与年轻成年人样本的其他部分相比，患有 AUD 的年轻人更有可能报告另一种药物使用障碍、焦虑障碍、高消费水平、Kessler 心理困扰量表的中等或高分以及世界卫生组织残疾评估表 2.0 的中度至重度分数。年轻人很少使用心理健康服务。我们使用的标准难以区分滥用和依赖诊断的年轻人，这支持了越来越多的证据，质疑滥用-依赖区分的有效性。
年轻人中的 AUD 很普遍，与共病精神病理学、高风险的酒精消费水平和残疾有关。尽管 AUD 在该年龄组具有临床意义，但很少有患有这些疾病的年轻人使用心理健康服务。在这个年龄组中，DSM-V 关于 AUD 分类的拟议变更似乎有所帮助。
