Thursday is National Alcohol Screening Day

Assess your drinking risk with this easy test.

The more you drink, the less likely you are to accurately perceive the risks of heavy drinking, according to a survey by Screening for Mental Health (SMH), a Boston-area non-profit group.  The phone survey of 1,000 adults in the U.S. indicated that 7 out of 10 respondents would consult a health care provider if they “thought they might have a problem with alcohol,” but that only 50% of responders with the highest number of at-risk drinking episodes per year said they would seek medical help.

Phone surveys can be notoriously unreliable when it comes to questions about the personal use of drugs and alcohol. However, the point being made here is clear: There are ways to screen high-risk drinkers, who aren’t always the best judge of their own behavior. For National Alcohol Screening Day on Thursday, April 11, SMH offers www.HowDoYouScore.org, where you can take a quick quiz to see how you measure up. More than a thousand community organizations, colleges, and military bases will be taking part. The screening, which is geared toward younger drinkers, is free, anonymous, and online—just the way college students like it. The event, held in April in conjunction with Alcohol Awareness Month, netted more than 40,000 online anonymous screenings last year.

In another finding from the survey, 20% of respondents said that drinking heavily is a “phase many kids go through,” which is certainly true and a suspiciously rare choice in this survey. It’s unlikely that people are eager to approve of young people drinking heavily, even as a “phase.” Nonetheless, we know that kids who begin drinking before age 15 are far more likely to drink alcoholically as adults. And at-risk drinking correlates strongly with age: Most of the mayhem is committed by men under age 35. No surprise there.

“Despite public opinion, at-risk drinking increases your chances of developing alcohol use disorders—such as alcoholism—as well as other physical and mental health problems," said Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and medical director of SMH, in a prepared statement. “In the U.S., about 18 million people have an alcohol use disorder. The screenings allow individuals to assess their drinking habits and have an opportunity to connect with local support resources.”

And while we are on the subject of, and in the month of, alcohol awareness, here are some earlier posts on ethyl alcohol and you:

7 Myths the Alcohol Industry Wants You to Believe

The Truth About Weight Loss Surgery and Alcohol

Mixing up the Medicine: What Alcohol Doesn’t Go With

Alcoholic Deception

Dude, where’s my metaconsciousness?

Are You Okay?

A variety of drinking tests: the good, the bad, and the silly.

Here’s a short, no-nonsense questionnaire that uses your weekly drinking habits to produce an at-a-glance comparison of how your intake stacks up against others your age and sex. For example, your result might say: “Only 4% of the adult male population drinks more than you say you drink.” Which is food for thought, at least. Join Together (sponsored by The Partnership at DrugFree.org and Boston University School of Public Health) provides this service.

Here is the Mayo Clinic alcohol use self-assessment test, which says with refreshing frankness: “This assessment can’t diagnose you with an alcohol use or abuse problem, but it can help you evaluate your drinking and understand whether you may benefit from seeking help.” Tends to be a bit stern on the drinks-per-day end of things, but otherwise it’s quite straightforward.

Then there is the venerable Michigan MAST Test, first offered in 1971, and revised regularly every since. It’s showing its age a bit as a clinical tool, but here is a link to the 22-question self-administered version: TEST

Iondesign’s Drink-O-Meter is a whimsical test that makes a sober point: “Why not take our test to calculate the state of your kidneys, wallet, and quantity of alcohol you have consumed over the years?” Why not? Well, maybe because you can’t HANDLE the truth: Test results give an estimate of the total number of drinks you have consumed, an estimate of how much money you’ve spent—and an estimate of the number of Ferraris you could have bought instead.

And finally, we have the amazing and ever-popular CAGE Test, so called for the system of naming and memorizing the questions. The CAGE test takes less than a minute, requires only paper and pencil, and can be graded by test takers themselves. It goes like this:

1. Have you ever felt the need to (C)ut down on your drinking?

2. Have you ever felt (A)nnoyed by someone criticizing your drinking?

3. Have you ever felt (G)uilty about your drinking?

4. Have you ever felt the need for a drink at the beginning of the day—an “(E)ye opener?

People who answer “yes” to two or more of these questions should seriously consider whether they are drinking in an alcoholic or abusive manner. Unfortunately, the CAGE test is considered to be an accurate diagnostic tool primarily in the case of adult white males.

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