AUDIT-C (brief alcohol screening)
Three-question WHO AUDIT subset for problem-drinking screening. Total 0–12; cutoff ≥ 4 in men, ≥ 3 in women.
About this calculator
AUDIT-C is a brief 3-question screen for problem drinking. A short form of WHO's AUDIT (10 questions). Developed by Bush et al. (Arch Intern Med, 1998) for primary care. Each item scored 0 to 4, maximum 12 points. Questions. 1) How often do you drink. 2) How many standard drinks on a typical day. 3) How often do you have >=6 drinks at once. A standard drink is 10-14 g of pure ethanol: 30 ml vodka, 100 ml wine, or 250 ml beer. Interpretation. Men: >=4 – risk of problem drinking, 86% sensitivity for alcohol dependence. Women: >=3. >=8 in either – high probability of alcohol dependence, full AUDIT and addiction medicine referral. Clinical use. USPSTF 2018 recommends annual screening of all adults 18+ in primary care. A positive AUDIT-C is a cue for Brief Intervention – proven to reduce consumption by 25-30% over 6-12 months. In pregnancy the threshold is any use, not a score. Limitations. Screen, not diagnosis. Depends on patient honesty – blood or urine alcohol testing does not replace conversation. In older patients and Eastern European cohorts validation is limited – thresholds may need local adaptation.
Source
Formula version: bush-1998-v1