An empirical approach to evaluating the validity of alternative low-risk drinking guidelines.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction and aims

This paper proposes an approach for evaluating the validity of alternative low-risk drinking guidelines.

Design and methods

Twenty-seven alternative guidelines were evaluated in terms of their ability to predict nine measures of concurrent and prospective alcohol-related harm, using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of US adults (n = 26 438 to 12 339 depending upon outcome). Parameters compared included sensitivity, specificity, adjusted odds ratios and measures of model fit.

Results

Performance varied by harm. The guidelines that best predicted concurrent alcohol-related harm comprised daily-only limits of 4/3 drinks for men/women, but gender-invariant limits of 4/4 drinks also performed well. Adding weekly limits did lit

SUBMITTER: Dawson DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3252404 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature