Validity of the CAGE questionnaire in schizophrenic patients with alcohol abuse and dependence

Dervaux, Alain; Baylé, Franck J.; Laqueille, Xavier; Bourdel, Marie-Chantal; Leborgne, Michèle; Olié, Jean-Pierre; Krebs, Marie-Odile

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2005.09.012

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 81, Issue 2 , Pages 151-155, 31 January 2006

Validity of the CAGE questionnaire in schizophrenic patients with alcohol abuse and dependence

Alain Dervaux
- Service d'addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France
- Service de psychiatrie, BP 27, Centre hospitalier général, F 91401 Orsay, France
- INSERM EMI 0117, 2 ter rue d'Alésia 75014 Paris, France
- Corresponding author. Service d'addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France. Tel.: +33 1 45 65 80 64; fax: +33 1 45 65 88 32.
Franck J. Baylé
- INSERM EMI 0117, 2 ter rue d'Alésia 75014 Paris, France
- Université René Descartes (Paris V) Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Santé Mentale et Thérapeutique Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France
Xavier Laqueille
- Service d'addictologie, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France
Marie-Chantal Bourdel
- INSERM EMI 0117, 2 ter rue d'Alésia 75014 Paris, France
- Université René Descartes (Paris V) Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Santé Mentale et Thérapeutique Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France
Michèle Leborgne
- Service de psychiatrie, BP 27, Centre hospitalier général, F 91401 Orsay, France
Jean-Pierre Olié
- INSERM EMI 0117, 2 ter rue d'Alésia 75014 Paris, France
- Université René Descartes (Paris V) Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Santé Mentale et Thérapeutique Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France
Marie-Odile Krebs
- INSERM EMI 0117, 2 ter rue d'Alésia 75014 Paris, France
- Université René Descartes (Paris V) Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Santé Mentale et Thérapeutique Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 1 Rue Cabanis, F 75014 Paris, France

Received 18 July 2005; received in revised form 10 September 2005; accepted 14 September 2005.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to assess the sensitivity and the specificity of the CAGE questionnaire in 114 schizophrenic patients. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to assess the DSM-III-R diagnosis of abuse of or dependence on alcohol. The CAGE questionnaire can be reliably used to assess alcohol use disorders in schizophrenic patients: with a cutoff score of 1 or more, the sensitivity of the CAGE questionnaire was 0.91 and the specificity was 0.83. With a cutoff score of 2 or more, the sensitivity of the CAGE questionnaire was 0.82 and the specificity was 0.94. The post test probabilities (PPV) were high (PPV₁=0.74; PPV₂=0.85) compared to the primary probability of alcoholism (29.8%).