Steps toward responsibility.
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Behavior, Addictive↗
Biomedical subjects
Sten Rönnberg
Publications and source records attributed to Sten Rönnberg.
Comparing the New Zealand and Swedish national surveys of gambling and problem gambling.
National surveys of gambling and problem gambling have recently been completed in New Zealand and Sweden. These studies are unique in that data collection was undertaken by official government statistical agencies, involved large, nationally representative samples, and attained high response rates. Comparison of the findings is facilitated by the use of similar procedures and instrumentation and is of interest in that both countries have similar per capita gambling expenditure and welfare states that have recently undergone major economic and social restructuring. Data on gambling participation, problem gambling prevalence and risk factors for problem gambling are presented and discussed. While there are a number of similarities and differences, the Swedish findings are more similar to those of an earlier national survey conducted in New Zealand during 1991. This suggests that risk factors are changing over time in relation to evolving patterns of gambling participation and attitudes towards gambling, a finding that has implications for future patterns of gambling and problem gambling in these and other countries.
Adolescent↗
The readiness to change questionnaire: reliability and validity of a Swedish version and a comparison of scoring methods.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relative merits of three methods of scoring the Swedish version of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RTCQ), either by assigning a stage in the Prochaska and DiClemente (1986) Stages of Change Model or by treating the scores as a continuous readiness to change variable. Assigning a stage of change was achieved with both the quick method and the refined method. DESIGN AND METHODS: Out of 563 patients screened at an emergency surgical ward for risky alcohol consumption, 165 met risk criteria and responded to the RTCQ. The three scoring methods were examined with regard to internal consistency, test - retest reliability, construct and predictive validity. RESULTS: All three methods of treating the RTCQ scores had satisfactory reliability. Since stages of change (quick method) were significantly but modestly correlated to alcohol consumption and to change-related behaviours at intervention, and moderately correlated to alcohol problems, the quick method had reasonable construct validity. The refined method had higher construct validity; however, this method left 32% of the patients without a stage assignment. The continuous readiness scale had higher construct validity than the quick method, but was not in par with the refined method. No scoring method was found to have predictive validity. CONCLUSIONS: The RTCQ scores treated as a continuous readiness scale were a viable alternative to the original ways of assigning a stage of change to a patient. The Swedish RTCQ is reliable and has reasonable construct validity, but its predictive validity needs further investigation.
Adolescent↗
Screening for high-risk and elevated alcohol consumption in day and shift workers by use of the AUDIT and CDT.
BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption levels and drinking patterns have been reported to vary between day and shift workers, although the results have been conflicting. Previous results indicate that questions about alcohol habits may be asked in the workplace. However, no studies have evaluated the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) or the alcohol biomarker carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) in serum for this purpose. AIM: To investigate, in conjunction with routine health examinations, whether there is any difference between permanent day and shift workers in high-risk alcohol consumption, according to the AUDIT and CDT. Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in serum was included mainly as a comparison test. METHODS: The employees who attended for a regular health examination during the study period were offered voluntary alcohol screening with the AUDIT and CDT. RESULTS: Altogether, 990 employees (day, two-shift, and three-shift workers) participated in the study, 194 (20%) of whom screened positive with the AUDIT and/or CDT. There were no significant differences in the screening results between day and shift workers, whereas significantly fewer of the two-shift workers (odds ratio=0.5, 95% confidence interval=0.3-0.9) screened positive with CDT. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings on employees who attended for regular health examinations suggest that shift workers did not show a higher level of risky alcohol consumption than day workers, according to the results with the AUDIT, CDT and GGT. On the contrary, the two-shift workers appeared to drink significantly less.
Adult↗
Screening of binge drinking among patients on an emergency surgical ward.
In a sample of 149 emergency surgical patients, binge drinking was assessed through interviews. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for three questionnaires-the Malmö modification of brief MAST (Mm-MAST), CAGE, and the Trauma Scale-and two biological markers-carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Binge drinking was reported by 42% of male patients, aged 16-29 years; 66% of female patients, aged 16-29 years; 27% of male patients, aged 30-73 years; and 16% of female patients, aged 30-73 years. All alcohol biomarkers had low sensitivity to binge drinking among women. Mm-MAST alone and CAGE and CDT combined were sensitive to identifying binge drinking among men aged 30-73 years. The three questionnaires combined had a sensitivity of 0.82 to binge drinking among men aged 16-29 years.
Adolescent↗
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in alcohol-related sickness absence.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that elevated, risky levels of alcohol consumption may lead to higher rates of sickness absence. However, no studies have examined the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) or serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) in relation to sickness absence in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sick-days, 12 months before screening, and the AUDIT and CDT (CDTect kit). Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase also was used for comparison. METHOD: The study was carried out over 36 months in a large workplace and formed part of an ongoing controlled study. In conjunction with a routine health examination, employees were offered the opportunity to undergo an alcohol screening. Absence data were obtained from the company payroll system, and sickness absence was analyzed by using a three-ordinal level cumulative logistic model on the number of sick-days. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. RESULTS: Of the 989 subjects who participated in the study, 193 (19.5%) screened positive in relation to either the AUDIT (>or=8 points) or CDT (<20 units/liter for men, and <27 units/liter for women), or both. Employees who screened positive with the AUDIT had a significantly higher proportion of sick-days (p = 0.047) compared with those who screened negative (OR = 1.4, CI 1.0-1.9). Neither long, continuous periods of sickness absence nor absence on Mondays or Fridays gave a clear indication of individuals who screened positive on the AUDIT or CDT test. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that individuals with moderately elevated or risky levels of alcohol consumption show an increase in sick-days. Accordingly, workplaces have a good reason for using a more systematic approach to alcohol screening in routine workplace health examinations.
Absenteeism↗