Table 2.
Performance of biomarkers to detect three self-reported heavy alcohol use levels
| Target condition and test | N | Sensitivity % (95% CI)a | Specificity | PPV | NPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any heavy drinking | |||||
| %dCDT | 356 | 40.7 (33.7, 48.0) | 95.7 (91.3, 98.3) | 91.9 (83.9, 96.7) | 57.4 (51.3, 63.4) |
| GGT | 361 | 20.0 (14.6, 26.3) | 86.1 (79.9, 91.0) | 62.9 (49.7, 74.8) | 47.8 (42.0, 53.7) |
| Either %dCDT+ or GGT+ | 358 | 52.6 (45.3, 59.8) | 82.3 (75.6, 87.8) | 77.9 (69.8, 84.7) | 59.5 (52.8, 65.9) |
| Breath alcohol | 375 | 19.9 (14.6, 26.1) | 96.6 (92.7, 98.7) | 87.0 (73.7, 95.1) | 51.1 (45.5, 56.6) |
| Recurrent heavy drinking | |||||
| %dCDT | 356 | 52.5 (43.2, 61.7) | 90.3 (85.7, 93.7) | 73.3 (62.6, 82.2) | 78.9 (73.5, 83.6) |
| GGT | 361 | 19.3 (12.7, 27.6) | 83.9 (78.6, 88.3) | 37.1 (25.2, 50.3) | 67.9 (62.3, 73.2) |
| Either %dCDT+ or GGT+ | 358 | 60.0 (50.7, 68.8) | 75.2 (69.2, 80.6) | 55.0 (46.0, 63.7) | 78.9 (73.0, 84.0) |
| Breath alcohol | 375 | 26.0 (18.5, 34.7) | 94.4 (90.9, 96.9) | 69.6 (54.3, 82.3) | 72.3 (67.2, 77.1) |
| Persistent heavy drinking | |||||
| %dCDT | 356 | 66.1 (52.6, 77.9) | 84.2 (79.5, 88.1) | 45.4 (34.6, 56.5) | 92.6 (88.8, 95.4) |
| GGT | 361 | 29.3 (18.1, 42.7) | 85.1 (80.6, 89.0) | 27.4 (16.9, 40.2) | 86.3 (81.9, 90.0) |
| Either %dCDT+ or GGT+ | 358 | 74.6 (61.6, 85.0) | 70.9 (65.4, 76.0) | 33.6 (25.6, 42.4) | 93.4 (89.3, 96.3) |
| Breath alcohol | 375 | 30.7 (19.6, 43.7) | 91.4 (87.7, 94.2) | 41.3 (27.0, 56.8) | 86.9 (82.8, 90.4) |
Any heavy drinking was defined as ≥4 drinks per occasion or >7 drinks per week for women, ≥5 drinks per occasion or >14 per week for men. Recurrent heavy drinking was defined as ≥5 drinks per day on at least 5 days over the past 30 days. Persistent heavy drinking was defined as ≥5 drinks per day on at least 7 consecutive days over the past 30 days.
aExact 95% CI (confidence interval).