Questionnaire
AUDIT-C
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test — Consumption
Three short questions about alcohol consumption — the most-used primary-care screen for unhealthy drinking.
What it measures
Past-year alcohol consumption pattern across three items: frequency of drinking, typical quantity, and frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Total score 0–12; higher means greater consumption / risk. Derived from the WHO AUDIT 10-item instrument; the three consumption items alone perform almost as well for screening.
Mechanism
Why moving this marker matters
Alcohol's mortality and morbidity associations cross every healthspan pillar — cardiovascular (BP, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy), cancer (oral, oesophageal, breast, liver, colorectal), liver (steatosis, fibrosis), cognitive (dementia risk), sleep (architecture disruption), and accidents. The Wood et al. 2018 Lancet pooled analysis (n=599,912) found minimum-risk consumption is roughly 100 g/week — substantially below most adults' habitual intake.
Guideline targets
What major guidelines recommend
Bush 1998 / Bradley 2007 (men, screen positive)
≥4
Bush 1998 / Bradley 2007 (women, screen positive)
≥3
How to measure
The test, where to get it, when to repeat
Method
Self-administered, ~1 minute. Three items with 5-point answers (0–4 each).
Where
Public domain. Used routinely in NHS, US VA, and most primary-care settings.
Typical cost
Free.
Fasting
Not required
When to test
USPSTF 2018
18+Recommends screening for unhealthy alcohol use in adults aged 18+ with brief intervention for those at risk. AUDIT-C is the most-used screening instrument.
Where to score
Completing this questionnaire
Self-administered — your GP or mental-health professional can confirm scoring and discuss results.
The instrument
Items shown for reference
Validated questionnaires are shown here as reference. Read each item and count your own answers — Healicus does not compute or store a score. This keeps the page on the educational side of the EU MDR line; the instrument itself remains the validated tool.
- 1
How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
0 (Never) · 1 (Monthly or less) · 2 (2–4 times/month) · 3 (2–3 times/week) · 4 (4+ times/week)
- 2
How many standard drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when drinking?
0 (1 or 2) · 1 (3 or 4) · 2 (5 or 6) · 3 (7 to 9) · 4 (10+)
- 3
How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?
0 (Never) · 1 (Less than monthly) · 2 (Monthly) · 3 (Weekly) · 4 (Daily or almost daily)
Scoring (do this yourself)
Sum the three items (range 0–12). Per Bush et al. 1998 and Bradley et al. 2007 validation work: men with score ≥4 and women with score ≥3 screen positive for unhealthy alcohol use and warrant clinical discussion. Higher scores correlate more strongly with alcohol use disorder. The instrument is a screen, not a diagnosis — a positive result prompts conversation about consumption pattern, not labelling.
If you prefer an interactive calculator, the published MDCalc tool is available here ↗ — operated and maintained by a third party.
Context
Reading the numbers
Thresholds were validated in US veteran and general primary-care populations. UK, Australian, and German validation work supports the same cut-points with the same standard-drink definition (~10–14 g ethanol depending on country).
Caveats
A standard drink varies internationally — UK unit = 8 g ethanol; US standard = 14 g; AUDIT-C scoring assumes a consistent definition. Apply your country's definition. Self-reported alcohol use systematically under-estimates true consumption — interpret with that caveat in mind.
Practices
What's been shown to influence this marker
Reducing weekly consumption demonstrably lowers blood pressure, improves sleep quality, and reduces multiple cancer-incidence signals.
Limit alcohol intake
Habit·Lancet pooled analysis (n=599,912): lowest mortality risk threshold is ~100 g/week — about 5-6 standard drinks total.
Why
Wood et al. 2018 Lancet combined individual-participant data from 83 prospective studies (n=599,912 current drinkers in 19 high-income countries). Above ~100 g/week (about 5-6 UK standard units), all-cause mortality climbs in a dose-response manner. Below that threshold the curve is roughly flat — there is no protective effect. Reductions from heavier intake to ≤100 g/week could add up to 2 years of life expectancy at age 40.
How to do it
How
Track intake honestly for one week. If above threshold, set a weekly cap rather than a daily one (avoids the 'I'll catch up' trap). Several alcohol-free days per week is the simplest pattern. Sleep quality typically improves within 1-2 weeks of reduced intake.
Ideal for
Anyone currently drinking above ~100 g/week (≈one bottle of wine, six pints of beer, or a half-bottle of spirits).
Markers this may influence
Evidence
See also
Related markers
Take to your physician
Worth discussing
- If you screen positive, whether the pattern reflects unhealthy use, harmful use, or alcohol use disorder.
- What brief-intervention or treatment options fit your situation.
- Whether your alcohol pattern interacts with current medications or conditions.
Sources
Cited literature
- [1]Bush et al., The AUDIT alcohol consumption questions (AUDIT-C): an effective brief screening test for problem drinking (Arch Intern Med)(1998)
- [2]Bradley et al., AUDIT-C as a brief screen for alcohol misuse in primary care(2007)
- [3]USPSTF 2018 — Screening and behavioral counseling interventions to reduce unhealthy alcohol use in adolescents and adults(2018)
- [4]Roerecke et al., The effect of a reduction in alcohol consumption on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Lancet Public Health)(2017)
- [5]Wood et al., Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of individual-participant data from 83 prospective studies (Lancet)(2018)
Edited by Carl Pöhl, MD · Healicus editorial
Last reviewed May 2026
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