1. The 'alcohol abuser' test…
Answering yes to just two questions – Do you regularly have more than six drinks in one sitting? Do you regret a drunken escapade that took place in the past year? – can in 87% of cases correctly identify those with alcohol problems.
The research by [b]Leicester University[/b], reported in the [s]Daily Mail[/s], was aimed at identifying a quick way for GPs to identify patients with alcohol problems. Although these two questions are not strong enough to immediately diagnose someone as an alcoholic, they are enough to effectively rule out those with no drink problem, the research says. Dr Alex Mitchell said: ‘There is great time pressure in primary care. Routine screening using simple questions are an attempt to improve the situation.’
2. The 'teen binger' test…
Meanwhile, scientists claim to have developed a way of predicting which teenagers are likely to binge-drink. [s]BBC News[/s] reports that an international group of scientists took 40 variables, including family history, exposure to alcohol, neuroticism, extravagance, conscientiousness and other personality traits, a suite of genes, brain volume, how the brain responds to reward and many more. It can predict, with 70% accuracy, which 14-year-olds are likely to binge-drink at 16. But a simpler method would be needed to make the test practical because of the prohibitive costs of brain scans.
3. The 'healthy woman’ test…
And in the US, health actvists have identified the one question that they believe if asked by primary care doctors of women, would contribute significantly ‘to keep women healthier, eliminate health disparities, and save taxpayer dollars’. The initiative, called One Key Question, aims to make sure that during each medical visit, a woman of reproductive age is asked: ‘Would you like to become pregnant in the next year?’
[s]Slate[/s] reports that if the answer is yes, counselling and resources are offered to make the pregnancy as healthy as possible. If no, the doctor starts a conversation about contraceptive options. If uncertain, the doctor encourages contraceptive measures for the interim.
[link url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2682594/Do-consume-six-drinks-one-sitting-month-And-regret-drunken-incident-past-year-Two-questions-tell-GP-drink-problem.html]Full Daily Mail report [/link]
[link url=http://bjgp.org/content/64/624/e408.abstract?sid=45dc2f42-759b-483a-89ef-7b815129704f]B Jrnl of Gnl Prac abstract[/link]
[link url=http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28124747]Full BBC News report[/link]
[link url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13402.html]Nature abstract[/link]
[link url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/07/one_key_question_health_care_providers_should_ask_women_would_you_like_to.html?wpisrc=newsletter_slatest_morning_newsletter&mc_cid=65a71d2f15&mc_eid=2b851c712b]Full Slate report[/link]