The Tromsø Study: the positive predictive value of gamma‐glutamyltransferase and an alcohol questionnaire in the detection of early‐stage risk drinkers

• Published in: Journal of Internal Medicine
• Main Authors: NILSSEN, O., FØRDE, O. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1991
• Subjects: Tromsø
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2796.1991.tb00384.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2796.1991.tb00384.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2796.1991.tb00384.x

Abstract. Based on the measurement of gamma‐glutamyltransferase and a questionnaire on frequency of alcohol intake, 338 early‐stage risk drinkers were identified from more than 20000 participants in a health survey programme. Two‐thirds (225) of these subjects were questioned regarding their ‘true’ alcohol intake at the first consultation. Positive predictive values were calculated for true daily intake of 30 and 40 g alcohol d −1 for men (20 and 30 g alcohol d −1 for women) on the basis of gamma‐glutamyltransferase activity and the response to a questionnaire. The positive predictive values for a risk intake of 30 gd −1 in men increased from 0.49 to 0.88, with increasing values for gamma‐glutamyltransferase activity and increasing frequency of alcohol intake. The corresponding values for a risk intake of 40 g d −1 were 0.34–0.75. In women, increasing gamma‐glutamyltransferase activity gave no increase in positive predictive values. The estimates for increasing frequency of alcohol intake were unreliable due to small numbers.