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[The detection of alcoholism in a general population by using the Cage test]
F J Fonseca del Pozo1, L A Pérula de Torres, J Martínez de la Iglesia
1Centro de Salud Occidente, Unidad Docente de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria de Córdoba.
Objective:
To identify people with alcohol-related problems and assess the variable socio-demographic indicators of the population under study.
Design:
Crossover and observational study.
Setting:
The "Occidente" Basic Health Area in Córdoba.
Participants:
A representative sample of those people over 15 registered in the Health Area mentioned above. (Systematic random sampling: n = 384).
Measurements And Main Results:
72% of those interviewed stated that they had consumed some kind of alcoholic drink during the previous year. 35% did so at least once a week. 6.2% +/- 2.35 showed positive on the CAGE Test, most of these being: male (p < 0.001), living in a deprived area (p < 0.01), people in work (p < 0.001) and smokers (p < 0.001). Those testing CAGE (+) included a higher number of people with: hepatitis, cirrhosis, diarrhea and gastritis, although their use of health services was no different from that of the population as a whole. Logistic regression analysis enabled us to establish variable indicators of the CAGE Test (+).
Conclusions:
Alcohol-related problems were identified basically in a typical population group. It is important to set up intervention mechanisms to tackle the problem.