A comparison of carbohydrate deficient transferrin with other markers of alcohol misuse in male soldiers under the age of thirty

The paper describes a study of 58 consecutive male soldiers under 30 years old admitted to an alcohol treatment unit in London, and 51 age- and gender-matched controls to compare the efficacy of isoelectric focusing, a non-quantitative measure of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT), with other...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAlcohol and alcoholism (Oxford) Vol. 29; no. 3; p. 315
Main Authors Bisson, J I, Milford-Ward, A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.05.1994
Subjects
Adult
Alcoholism - blood
Alcoholism - diagnosis
Alcoholism - rehabilitation
Biomarkers - blood
Breath Tests
Humans
Isoelectric Focusing
Liver Function Tests
London
Male
Military Personnel
Personality Assessment
Transferrin - analogs & derivatives
Transferrin - analysis
London
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Summary:The paper describes a study of 58 consecutive male soldiers under 30 years old admitted to an alcohol treatment unit in London, and 51 age- and gender-matched controls to compare the efficacy of isoelectric focusing, a non-quantitative measure of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT), with other markers of alcohol misuse. The Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire, the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test and the CAGE questions were all more sensitive in detecting alcohol misusers than the laboratory markers measured. At standard cut-off levels, the laboratory markers yielded low sensitivities even in those subjects who admitted to drinking over 80 g alcohol daily for at least 3 weeks immediately prior to the study. CDT was the most sensitive (31%), followed by mean cell volume (14%) and gamma glutamyl transferase (11%). The questionnaires and laboratory markers had good specificities.
ISSN:0735-0414
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.alcalc.a045538