Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jul;44(5):1581-1593.
doi: 10.1111/dar.14081. Epub 2025 May 27.

Portuguese Validated Versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: A Systematic Review of Academic and Grey Literature

Diogo Phalempin Cardoso  1 , Daniela Oliveira  2 , Beatriz Antunes  3 , Rosa Saraiva  4 , Kathryn Angus  5 , Eugenia Gallardo  6   7 , Frederico Rosário  8
Affiliations
Review

Portuguese Validated Versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: A Systematic Review of Academic and Grey Literature

Diogo Phalempin Cardoso et al. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

Issues: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is one of the best screening instruments for at-risk drinkers. However, a fully validated Portuguese version is lacking. This study aimed to review validated versions of the AUDIT in Portuguese and their characteristics.

Approach: A systematic search was performed in Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ÍndexRMP, LILACS, AJOL and Scielo databases, along with grey literature searches. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the studies' methodological quality, using the QUADAS-2 checklist.

Key findings: Seven studies were included in this review, six from Brazil and the other from Portugal, in a total of three versions of the AUDIT achieved through translation-back translation. Studies reported acceptable to good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.72-0.86), moderate to excellent inter-rater reliability (K = 0.75-0.99), and poor to moderate test-retest reliability (K = 0.52-0.75). Sensitivity ranged from 52.2% to 100% and specificity from 64% to 98.9%. Only two studies reported on AUC, with values between 0.805 and 0.858. No study reported on all the performance characteristics and psychometric properties. The Portuguese translations for terms lacking a direct translation from English were heterogeneous.

Implications: This review could not identify any studies rigorously validating the AUDIT in Portuguese, raising concerns regarding the AUDIT's validity as a screening tool in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries. The significant variation between versions raises questions regarding its efficacy.

Conclusion: The results of this review show the need for a validation study of the AUDIT in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries and the development of a new version for Portugal.

Keywords: alcoholism/epidemiology; alcohol‐induced disorders; alcohol‐related disorders; mass screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. GBD 2019 Risk Factors Collaborators, “Global Burden of 87 Risk Factors in 204 Countries and Territories, 1990–2019: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019,” Lancet 396, no. 10258 (2020): 1223–1249, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140‐6736(20)30752‐2.
    1. World Health Organization, “Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018,” 2018 Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. Report No: CC BY‐NC‐SA 3.0 IGO.
    1. C. Ferreira Borges, M. Neufeld, J. Breda, J. Madureira Lima, and E. de Aragón León, “Alcohol Consumption and Sustainable Development,” Copenhagen, Denmark, https://www.euro.who.int/en/SDG_factsheets.
    1. “Alcohol, Total Per Capita (15+) Consumption (In Litres of Pure Alcohol) (SDG Indicator 3.5.2),” 2019, https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator‐details/GHO/total....
    1. C. Angus, C. Thomas, P. Anderson, P. S. Meier, and A. Brennan, “Estimating the Cost‐Effectiveness of Brief Interventions for Heavy Drinking in Primary Health Care Across Europe,” European Journal of Public Health 27, no. 2 (2017): 345–351.

LinkOut - more resources