Abstract
Study Objective
In the present study we compared results of standardized screening tools for problem
alcohol and other drug use in younger (ages 18-24 years) and older (ages 25 and older)
women attending the same clinic. We separately investigated pregnant and nonpregnant
women.
Design, Setting, Participants, Interventions, and Main Outcome Measures
This was a cross-sectional study of women attending an urban, university-affiliated
obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Women were recruited while awaiting appointments
with their providers. In total, 3317 provided consent and completed a brief anonymous
survey with standardized questions about alcohol and other drug problems. Measures
included the T-ACE (acronym for Tolerance, Annoyed when others express concern, Cut
down on drinking, Eye-opener) for alcohol and CAGE for other drugs (CAGE is a mnemonic
for the following items: (1) Have you ever felt you should cut down on your use of
other drugs? (2) Have people annoyed you by criticizing your use of other drugs? (3)
Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your use of other drugs? and (4) Have you ever
used drugs first thing in the morning to steady your nerves, avoid withdrawal, or
get rid of a hangover [eye opener]?). Individual item responses and screener summary
scores were compared separately for pregnant and nonpregnant younger (ages 18-24 years)
and older adult (25 years of age or older) women using χ2 for categorical and t tests for continuous variables.
Results
For pregnant women, 386/1460 (26%) of older women screened at-risk for problem drinking
compared to 250/1203 (21%) of younger women (P = .001). For other drugs, however, 192/1203 (16%) of younger pregnant women screened
at risk compared to 186/1461 (13%) of older adult pregnant women (P = .02). For nonpregnant women, screen positive rates for at-risk drug use were nearly
2 times higher among older compared with younger women, with 48/321 (15%) of older
women screening at risk compared to 28/332 (8%) of younger women (P < .01).
Conclusion
The present findings affirm the need for routine screening for alcohol and drug problems
in women of all ages, regardless of pregnancy status.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 22, 2018
Footnotes
The authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
