Assessment of alcohol related disorders in family physician’s work – a pilot study

Sa？etak Introduction. According to WHO data, the average yearly alcohol consumption in the Republic of Croatia per capita resembles 12.2 L of pure alcohol in the age group >15 years. Despite these data, alcohol related disorders are rarely diagnosed in family medicine (FM) practices. Aim. Proportion of patients in care of family physicians in Bednja District that fulfill criteria of hazardous drinking, harmful drinking or possible alcohol dependence is investigated. Methods. A pilot study was conducted in two FM practices in Bednja District on an appropriate sample of respondents aged 18+ years (N=150) from March to April 2013. Data on respondents’ characteristics (sociodemographic data, health self-assessment, life satisfaction) and hazardous drinking, harmful drinking or possible alcohol dependence (AUDIT questionnaire) was collected. Results. There were 75 out of 150 questionnaires (response rate 50%) included in the analysis. According to total AUDIT score, 9 of 75 respondents fulfilled criteria of hazardous drinking, harmful drinking or possible alcohol dependence. Majority of these respondents (8 out of 9) had moderate level of alcohol related problems while in 1 respondent high level of alcohol related problems was detected. Analysis of 75 individual responses revealed that 11-27 fulfilled criteria of hazardous drinking, 3-10 of possible alcohol dependence and 4-12 of harmful drinking. Conclusion. A significant proportion of FM patients in Bednja District fulfilled criteria of hazardous drinking, harmful drinking or possible alcohol dependence. Analysis of individual responses revealed even higher rates of respondents that fulfilled those criteria in separate domains, enabling family physicians early detection and intervention in those patients