Screening for alcohol abuse among urban Native Americans in a primary care setting

Psychiatr Serv. 2002 Jun;53(6):757-60. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.53.6.757.

Abstract

The authors examined the rate of and factors associated with alcohol abuse among 754 urban American Indian and Alaska Native primary care patients. Data were collected through a self-administered survey and by abstracting medical records. A total of 423 respondents (56 percent) screened positive for lifetime alcohol abuse, and 202 (27 percent) reported current alcohol abuse. A diagnosis of alcohol abuse was found in the medical records of 68 of the patients who screened positive (16 percent). Logistic regression analysis showed that being male, having been a victim of violence, and feeling depressed were associated with alcohol abuse. Further research is warranted to help clinicians detect and treat alcohol abuse in this special population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acculturation
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alaska / epidemiology
  • Alcoholism / epidemiology
  • Alcoholism / ethnology*
  • Alcoholism / psychology
  • Crime Victims
  • Female
  • Health Status
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American / psychology
  • Indians, North American / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Mass Screening / statistics & numerical data*
  • Middle Aged
  • Primary Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Risk Factors
  • Violence / psychology
  • Washington