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Of the 200 patients who agreed to participate in the study, 21 were excluded due to suboptimal completion of their questionnaire (<75 % completion), leaving 179 respondents whose data were analysed. Patient age ranged from 18–88 years (median 46 years) and did not differ significantly from that of adult patients registered at the practice. The sample population included fewer male and Caucasian patients than the reported practice population (30.3 % versus 46.5 % male (p < 0.01), and 40.1 % versus 68.0 % Caucasian (p < 0.01)). There were no significant differences between other ethnicities, meaning that most of the minority ethnic groups were slightly overrepresented in our sample. In comparison with the 2011 borough census data, our sample had slightly lower maximal educational qualifications (a greater proportion with no formal qualifications (26.2 % versus 17.7 % (p < 0.01)); less likely to have GCSEs or equivalent (General Certificate of Secondary Education, typically attained in the UK at age 16) (14.9 % versus 23.6 % (p < 0.01)); less likely to have a degree level qualification (13.7 % versus 38.0 % (p < 0.01)). However, a greater proportion of people had completed their education to A levels, typically attained at age 18 (45.2 % versus 10.8 % (p < 0.01)), giving an overall mixed pattern of educational differences.
In total, 60 patients (33.5 %) reported patterns of alcohol drinking that yielded an AUDIT-C score ≥5, consistent with hazardous drinking and risk of alcohol dependence. A further 32 (17.9 %) patients reported that they never drink alcohol. When asked at what frequency patients consumed 6 or more drinks on a single occasion (a measure of binge drinking used in the AUDIT-C), 52.2 % selected 'never'; 25.3 % 'less than monthly'; 9.0 % 'monthly'; 9.6 % 'weekly'; and 2.8 % 'daily or nearly daily'. While debate remains about the best way to operationalise 'binge drinking', we used the criteria from the Health Survey for England and NHS recommendations (>8 units in single session for men, and >6 units for women). Of our high-risk patients (AUDIT-C ≥5), 55 % drank to a level consistent with 'binge drinking'. Two patients who screened negative for the AUDIT-C (score <5) also qualified as 'binge drinking' but did so infrequently thereby not attaining sufficient points to screen AUDIT-C positive. Males were almost three times more likely to screen positive than females (62.3 % versus 21.8 % (p < 0.01)); and Caucasian patients were almost twice as likely to screen positive than other ethnicities (46.4 % versus 25.2 %, p < 0.01)). Age and level of education had no significant bearing on screening AUDIT-C positive.
Table 1 outlines the knowledge and belief-based questions, where applicable the correct answer, and the proportion of patients who made the correct or positive selection where appropriate. The knowledge-based questions most frequently answered incorrectly were: "alcohol is a stimulant" (61 % of respondents believed incorrectly that this was true); "a can of regular coke has more calories than a pint of beer" (51 % believed incorrectly that this was true); and "drinking more alcohol than recommended can cause cancer" (40 % believed incorrectly that this was false).
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