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Sweat‐Patch Testing Detects Inaccurate Self‐Reports of Alcohol Consumption
Author(s) -
Phillips Michael
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1984.tb05032.x
Subject(s) - alcohol , alcohol consumption , sweat , abstinence , unit of alcohol , medicine , consumption (sociology) , ethanol , alcohol intake , environmental health , psychiatry , chemistry , social science , biochemistry , organic chemistry , sociology
The object of this study was to measure how accurately drinkers report their consumption of alcohol. Twenty‐two normal volunteers kept a written record of all alcoholic beverages they consumed in 1 week. During the same period, their actual intake was monitored by the sweat‐patch test for alcohol consumption. Only nine subjects (40.9%) reported their alcohol consumption accurately; two (9.1%) overreported their intake, and 11 (50%) underreported their intake. Five (22.7%) of those who underreported their consumption claimed to have drunk no alcohol at all, but elevated ethanol levels in their sweat‐patch tests indicated otherwise. These data suggest that self‐reported claims concerning alcohol consumption or abstinence should be received with a degree of skepticism, and that greater emphasis should be placed upon objective laboratory tests for the diagnosis of alcohol abuse.