How much alcohol is too much alcohol? According to the “Health Knowledge Foundation”, 1.6 million people in Germany are addicted to alcohol; that’s about 3.1 percent of the total population.
The Epidemiological Addiction Survey (ESA), on which these figures are based, also states that 4.5 percent of men and 1.7 percent of women aged 18 to 64 are affected.
Alcohol addiction brings big problems
However, these numbers are unlikely to be all that reliable when you consider that not all alcoholic people present the same picture.
Some manage to cope with the demands of life, such as their job, despite their addiction and are therefore able to hide their problem well. One speaks of high-functioning sufferers.
Two questions are intended to simplify the diagnosis of alcohol addiction
In these cases in particular, treatment is difficult because those affected keep their alcohol addiction secret and even deny it.
There are questionnaires so that medical professionals can diagnose alcohol addiction, but these can be relatively time-consuming.
Researchers find way to easily recognize alcohol addiction
As part of a meta-study, British researchers at the University of Leicester have found a much simpler way to detect alcohol addiction with a hit rate of 87 percent.
By reviewing 17 topic-related studies, the research team was able to identify two questions that should be sufficient to determine alcohol addiction.
These questions reveal alcohol addiction
These two questions identified could make the work of general practitioners much easier. They can be casually woven into patient conversations. This also encourages a spontaneous and possibly more truthful answer.
The two questions that the British research team identified as particularly insightful are:
“How often do you drink six or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion?” “Have you ever drunk alcohol first thing in the morning to stabilize your nerves?”
If the first question is answered with “often” or even “regularly,” this indicates a problematic relationship with alcohol.
Answering the second question with “yes” is also a clear indication. In combination, these two questions have a hit rate of 87 percent.
AUDIT questionnaire or CAGE test
The British research team recommends that patients who can be classified as “at risk” after answering the two questions should be examined using a longer list of questions – for example the CAGE test or the AUDIT questionnaire.
Alcohol dependence can then be correctly diagnosed with a probability of over 90 percent.
If you want to question your relationship to alcohol yourself, you can take the CAGE test, which is available online.