Diagnosis of alcoholism with a self-administered alcoholism screening test: results with 1,002 consecutive patients receiving general examinations

Since 1972 we have used the Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) in impatient alcoholics and their spouses and in patients from a general medical population. The SAAST, a 35-item test with a yes/no format, was administered to 1,002 consecutive Mayo Clinic patients who generally were n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMayo Clinic proceedings Vol. 55; no. 6; p. 365
Main Authors Hurt, R D, Morse, R M, Swenson, W M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.06.1980
Subjects
Adult
Alcoholism - epidemiology
False Negative Reactions
Female
Humans
Male
Mass Screening
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Since 1972 we have used the Self-Administered Alcoholism Screening Test (SAAST) in impatient alcoholics and their spouses and in patients from a general medical population. The SAAST, a 35-item test with a yes/no format, was administered to 1,002 consecutive Mayo Clinic patients who generally were not acutely ill and were requesting an annual examination or a general reexamination for chornic but stable problems. Of the 1,002 patients, 5.4% gave responses to the SAAST that would indicate the presence of possible or probable alcoholism. The medical record review on a random selection of patients revealed a false-negative rate of 6.7%. We believe that the SAAST is an effective tool for the detection of alcoholism and that it can be used in the general medical setting.
ISSN:0025-6196
1942-5546