Screening for alcohol misuse within people attending a psychiatric intellectual disability community service

There is some evidence that people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) living in the community are exposed to the same risks of alcohol use as the rest of the population. The aims of this project were to investigate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in patients with ID known to a psychiatric community specialist team, and to explore appropriate screening tools and any relationship between alcohol use disorders and mental health co-morbidities.

A random sample of 40 patients was recruited and interviewed using CAGE and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess alcohol use. Information on physical and mental health was also collected.

One in five patients was positive on CAGE (20%) and AUDIT (22.5%). Significantly more of those had a history of mental illness compared with those who were negative. Thirty per cent of the total sample had been diagnosed with at least one health condition, which clinical notes failed to report. In addition two out of three of those positive on CAGE or AUDIT were smokers.

The study suggests that alcohol use disorders seem to be a hidden problem within the ID population, existing alongside multiple physical and mental health needs.