How is alcoholism diagnosed?
Diagnosing alcoholism is done by considering the signs and symptoms above, which are mainly associated with psychological problems that we can’t measure in tests. What blood tests and other lab results do is tell doctors when their patients are undergoing alcohol intoxication and measure the effects of alcohol in their lives.
Still, the diagnosis is complicated because patients do not contribute to detect alcohol problems and deny the problem. Thus, alcohol problems should be frequently screened in apparently normal patients, even if they do not appear to have alcohol problems.
Screening is done in all people older than 18 years and those associated with risky drinking, past substance abuse, or display the risk factors mentioned above. The right way to diagnose alcoholism is through one of these screening methods:
- The AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test): This screening test has 10 questions, each one should be given 0 to 4 points, and the points are added up to evaluate the drinking habits of the patient. They need to be very sincere in their answers.
- Abbreviated AUDIT (Audit-C): This is an abbreviated version of the AUDIT test that only includes three questions instead of 10.
- CAGE questionnaire: This questionnaire is very useful, too, because it is given face-to-face instead of a written questionnaire. It features 4 questions that evaluate the need or desire to cut down on drinking, the feeling of guilt or outside critics of their drinking habits, and the need to drink in the morning.