Abbreviated Version (abbreviated + version)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Hostility, drinking pattern and mortality

ADDICTION, Issue 1 2008
Stephen H. Boyle
ABSTRACT Aims This study examined the association of hostility to drinking pattern and whether this association mediated the relation of hostility to mortality. Participants and design Subjects were 3326 current drinkers from the Vietnam Experience Study cohort who were followed for vital status. Setting United States. Measurements Hostility was measured by an abbreviated version of the Cook,Medley Hostility Scale (ACM). The alcohol variables were total monthly intake of alcohol, drinking frequency, drinks per drinking day and drinking , 5 drinks on at least one occasion in the past month (i.e. heavy episodic drinking). Findings Regression analyses showed associations between the ACM and total monthly intake of alcohol (P < 0.0001), drinks per drinking day (P < 0.0001) and heavy episodic drinking (P < 0.0001), but not with frequency of drinking days. Hostility, drinks per drinking day, heavy episodic drinking and total monthly alcohol intake were also associated with all-cause mortality (all Ps < 0.0001). Further analyses showed that drinking pattern, particularly drinks per drinking day, may account partially for the relation of hostility to mortality. Conclusions High hostility is associated with elevated mortality and a deleterious drinking pattern characterized by relatively high intake per drinking occasion. Drinking pattern could help explain the relationships between hostility and health. [source]


SITEs revisited: Socioeconomic and demographic contours of small island tourist economies

ASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2010
Jerome L. McElroy
Abstract This study attempts to do three things: (i) provide a review of recent advances in the small island economy literature using the tourism penetration index, (ii) update the impact of tourism across the same global sample of 36 small islands (less than 1 million in population and 5000 km2 in area) introduced in APV 47 (1) 2006, and (iii) employing an abbreviated version of the destination life cycle as a development paradigm, construct three different socioeconomic and demographic profiles based on low, intermediate and high tourism impact. Results using cross-sectional data of 27 indicators reveal three statistically distinct profiles that demonstrate three stages of economic development. Specifically, the findings contrast the low-income, labour-exporting, least tourism-penetrated MIRAB-type (Migrant/Remittances and Aid/Bureaucracy) emerging islands with their more advanced intermediate impact neighbours. In turn, the latter fall at a significant distance from the most successful small island tourist economy (SITE) destinations. Thus, this study further refines the characteristics of SITE islands and confirms the viability of tourism in general and the destination life cycle in particular as an effective engine and model, respectively, of island development. [source]


Applicability of an abbreviated version of the oral impacts on daily performances (OIDP) scale for use among Tanzanian students

COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
J. R. Masalu
Abstract , Objectives: The objective was to examine the applicability of an abbreviated version of the oral impact of daily performances (OIDP) inventory to Tanzanian adults attending the University of Dar es Salaam. Method: A total of 1123 students (mean age 26.4 years, response rate 58%) completed a survey instrument designed to measure subjective oral health indicators including the eight-item OIDP frequency scores. After a period of 4 weeks, 228 students (mean age 24.6 years, response rate 65%) were examined clinically for the presence or absence of oral disorders. Results: A total of 51% of the participants reported that an oral problem had affected them on at least one daily performance in the 6 months preceding the survey. Cronbach's alpha for the OIDP frequency items was 0.83 and 0.87 on the first and second administration of the questionnaire. A reliability coefficient (Spearman's rho) of 0.87 was obtained for the OIDP frequency scores. For five of the eight OIDP frequency items, the kappa values ranged from 0.60 to 1.0, whereas one scale item had the less satisfactory value of 0.22. Construct validity was demonstrated in that the OIDP frequency scores were statistically significantly associated in the expected direction with clinically observed oral problems and a global self-report indicator of oral health status, respectively. Conclusion: The OIDP frequency scale seems to have acceptable psychometric properties in the context of a descriptive questionnaire survey among Tanzanian university students. [source]


Is the Full Version of the AUDIT Really Necessary?

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010
Internal Construct of Its Abbreviated Versions, Study of the Validity
Background:, This study was aimed at assessing the psychometric qualities of the abbreviated versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-3, AUDIT-4, AUDIT-C, AUDIT-PC, AUDIT-QF, FAST, and Five-Shot) and at comparing them to the 10-item AUDIT and the CAGE in 2 samples of Brazilian adults. Methods:, The validity and internal consistency of the scales were assessed in a sample of 530 subjects attended at an emergency department and at a Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Drugs. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was used as the diagnostic comparative measure for the predictive validity assessment. The concurrent validity between the scales was analyzed by means of Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results:, The assessment of the predictive validity of the abbreviated versions showed high sensitivity (of 0.78 to 0.96) and specificity (of 0.74 to 0.94) indices, with areas under the curve as elevated as those of the AUDIT (0.89 and 0.92 to screen for abuse and 0.93 and 0.95 in the screening of dependence). The CAGE presented lower indices: 0.81 for abuse and 0.87 for dependence. The analysis of the internal consistency of the AUDIT and its versions exhibited Cronbach's alpha coefficients between 0.83 and 0.94, while the coefficient for the CAGE was 0.78. Significant correlations were found between the 10-item AUDIT and its versions, ranging from 0.91 to 0.99. Again, the results for the CAGE were satisfactory (0.77), although inferior to the other instruments. Conclusions:, The results obtained in this study confirm the validity of the abbreviated versions of the AUDIT for the screening of alcohol use disorders and show that their psychometric properties are as satisfactory as those of the 10-item AUDIT and the CAGE. [source]


The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: An Update of Research Findings

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2007
Duane F. Reinert
Background: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) has been extensively researched to determine its capability to accurately and practically screen for alcohol problems. Methods: During the 5 years since our previous review of the literature, a large number of additional studies have been published on the AUDIT, abbreviated versions of it, its psychometric properties, and the applicability of the AUDIT for a diverse array of populations. The current article summarizes new findings and integrates them with results of previous research. It also suggests some issues that we believe are particularly in need of further study. Results: A growing body of research evidence supports the criterion validity of English version of the AUDIT as a screen for alcohol dependence as well as for less severe alcohol problems. Nevertheless, the cut-points for effective detection of hazardous drinking as well as identification of alcohol dependence or harmful use in women need to be lowered from the originally recommended value of 8 points. The AUDIT-C, the most popular short version of the AUDIT consisting solely of its 3 consumption items, is approximately equal in accuracy to the full AUDIT. Psychometric properties of the AUDIT, such as test,retest reliability and internal consistency, are quite favorable. Continued research is urged to establish the psychometric properties of non-English versions of the AUDIT, use of the AUDIT with adolescents and with older adults, and selective inclusion of alcohol biomarkers with the AUDIT in some instances. Conclusions: Research continues to support use of the AUDIT as a means of screening for the spectrum of alcohol use disorders in various settings and with diverse populations. [source]


Effectiveness of Structured Questionnaires for Screening Heavy Drinking in Middle-Aged Women

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2006
Mauri Aalto
Background: There is a need for an effective and feasible alcohol screening instrument. The aim of the study was to evaluate how the abbreviated versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire perform in comparison with the original AUDIT and what the optimal cutoffs are when screening for heavy drinking among women. Methods: All the 40-year-old women in the city of Tampere, Finland, are invited yearly for a health screening. From 1 year, data from 894 women (response rate 68.2%) invited for a health screening were utilized in the study. The original 10-item AUDIT, AUDIT-C, Five Shot, AUDIT-PC, AUDIT-3, AUDIT-QF, and CAGE were evaluated against the Timeline Followback. Consumption of at least 140 g of absolute ethanol per week on average during the past month was considered heavy drinking. Results: In the Timeline Followback, the meanąSD weekly reported alcohol consumption was 45ą67 g (range 0,936 g) of absolute ethanol. Of the women, 6.2% (55/894) were heavy drinkers. The optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity was reached for the AUDIT with cutoff ,6, for the AUDIT-C with cutoff ,5, for the Five Shot with cutoff ,2.0, for the AUDIT-PC with cutoff ,4, and for the AUDIT-QF with cutoff ,4. When choosing the optimal cutoffs, the AUDIT-C, the Five Shot, the AUDIT-PC, and the AUDIT-QF performed as well as the 10-item AUDIT. With these cutoffs, sensitivities were 0.84 to 0.93 and specificities were 0.83 to 0.90. The AUDIT-3 and the CAGE did not perform as well as the other questionnaires. Conclusions: The 10-item AUDIT, AUDIT-C, Five Shot, AUDIT-PC, and AUDIT-QF seem to be equally effective tools in screening for heavy drinking among middle-aged women. However, their applicability is achieved only if the cutoffs are tailored according to gender. [source]