Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption
AUDIT-C is the three-item alcohol consumption screen from the WHO AUDIT. This page is for clinics. It is not a diagnosis of alcohol dependence.
Overview
What is the AUDIT-C?
AUDIT-C asks about drinking frequency, typical quantity, and heavy-drinking frequency. It is a short consumption screen, not the full 10-item AUDIT and not a treatment plan.
Development and clinical use
WHO published the AUDIT self-report questions. AUDIT-C is the first three consumption questions. Bush and colleagues (1998) studied those questions in a male veteran sample. Bradley and colleagues (2007) reported sex-specific screening thresholds of 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women.
- Items
- 3 consumption items
- Full relative
- 10-item AUDIT
- Publisher
- WHO
- Typical use
- Brief screening
- Clinical role
- Screening support
- Diagnosis
- Not established by score
Administration
A focused client experience
Adults complete the three consumption questions. Sex is recorded so the published thresholds can apply. Sex is not one of the WHO AUDIT questions.
- One question at a time with visible progress
- Large keyboard-operable response choices
- Previous, next, and answer-review steps
- Clear confirmation that results go to the clinic
The illustration does not reproduce AUDIT items.
Report showcase
Designed to make evidence easy to review
The downloadable synthetic example illustrates report layout using invented response patterns, without patient data or instrument questions.
- Named instrument, version, and provenance
- Item-level response pattern without source wording
- Methodology, references, and clinical boundary
- Responsible clinician review rather than automated conclusions
Clinician review required
Methodology
Understand the measure and its scoring conventions
The three answers sum to a score from 0 to 12. For men, 0-3 is below the cutoff of 4 and 4-12 is at or above it. For women, 0-2 is below the cutoff of 3 and 3-12 is at or above it. The WHO AUDIT manual states a cutoff of 8 for the full 10-item AUDIT. It does not state these AUDIT-C thresholds.
References
- WHO AUDIT manualWorld Health Organization. AUDIT: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.
Questions
What clinics ask before they evaluate the AUDIT-C
These answers stay inside educational catalogue scope. They do not replace official manuals or clinician judgement.
Is AUDIT-C the same as AUDIT?
No. AUDIT-C is the three consumption items. The full AUDIT covers more domains.
Does AUDIT-C diagnose alcohol dependence?
No. It is a brief screen. Further assessment stays with the clinician and local policy.
Can I complete it here?
No. This page is educational.
Which cutoff is used?
Bradley et al. (2007): 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women. Sex is recorded so those thresholds apply. A score is a screen, not a diagnosis.
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