Table 1.
Sample characteristics among Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatients who screened positive for unhealthy alcohol use on an initial screen and had follow-up screening at least 270 days later: overall and compared across documented brief intervention (BI)a.
| Total (n = 6210) |
No BI (n = 4459) |
BI (n = 1751) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | P-value |
| Age (years) | <0.001 | ||||||
| 25–34 | 169 | (3) | 135 | (3) | 34 | (2) | |
| 35–50 | 523 | (8) | 406 | (9) | 117 | (7) | |
| 50–64 | 1281 | (21) | 874 | (20) | 407 | (23) | |
| ≥65 | 4237 | (68) | 3044 | (68) | 1193 | (68) | |
| Female | 161 | (3) | 118 | (3) | 43 | (3) | 0.671 |
| Married | 3018 | (49) | 2190 | (49) | 828 | (47) | 0.195 |
| Exempt from mandatory VA co-payment | 4674 | (75) | 3302 | (74) | 1372 | (78) | <0.001 |
| Tobacco use (past year) | 2849 | (46) | 1915 | (43) | 934 | (53) | <0.001 |
| Any mental health | 2452 | (40) | 1592 | (36) | 860 | (49) | <0.001 |
| High physical comorbidity (Deyo ≥ 3) | 531 | (9) | 353 | (8) | 178 | (10) | 0.004 |
| Baseline AUDIT-C severity category | <0.001 | ||||||
| Mild (AUDIT-C 5) | 2051 | (33) | 1590 | (36) | 461 | (26) | |
| Moderate (AUDIT-C 6–7) | 1854 | (30) | 1323 | (30) | 531 | (30) | |
| Severe (AUDIT-C 8–9) | 1119 | (18) | 771 | (17) | 348 | (20) | |
| Very severe (AUDIT-C 10–12) | 1186 | (19) | 775 | (17) | 411 | (24) | |
| Any alcohol use disorder | 2193 | (35) | 1442 | (32) | 751 | (43) | <0.001 |
| Any addictions treatment | 618 | (10) | 381 | (9) | 237 | (14) | <0.001 |
| Any non-alcohol SUD diagnosis | 729 | (12) | 440 | (10) | 289 | (17) | <0.001 |
| Any alcohol-specific medical conditions | 173 | (3.0) | 115 | (3) | 58 | (3) | 0.144 |
a
BI = brief intervention documented in the electronic medical record with a clinical reminder; AUDIT-C = Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Consumption Test; SUD = substance use disorder.