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Biological markers of problem drinking in homeless patients
1City of Copenhagen HealthTeam, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. alkodoktor@dadlnet.dk
Objective:
In the search for optimal biomarkers of excessive drinking, a central limitation has been the lack of sensitivity of measures. Many patients have apparently normal values of liver markers despite a considerable alcohol intake. This study aimed to test a novel combined indicator of alcohol drinking.
Material And Methods:
Concentrations of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT), gamma glutamyl transferase (gammaGT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), together with a combined index of the %CDT and gammaGT, the Antilla Index (AI), were studied in 104 homeless patients with (n = 87) or without (n = 24) problem drinking according to the Fast Alcohol Screening Test.
Results:
Concentrations of all markers were significantly higher in the alcoholic patients than in other homeless patients. The best agreement between liver markers and self-reported status was found between the combined %CDT and gammaGT index (kappa = 0.61, p < 0.001, sensitivity = 63%, specificity = 94%).
Conclusions:
The combined AI is a relatively efficient measure of current drinking in homeless populations.
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