Driving under the influence of alcohol and alcohol use disorder: the relevance of early identification from an Italian retrospective outpatient study

Introduction: Worldwide, almost 1.2 million people drive under the influence of alcohol. However, early identification of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in subjects driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is seldom achieved. Aim: The aim of our retrospective study is to investigate the presence of AUD in a population of DUI subjects who had their driving license suspended, and if they were following a specific rehabilitation program. Methods and results: 750 subjects were retrospectively enrolled from 2018 to 2021. DSM-V to assess AUD was used. Forty-eight (6.4%) subjects presented a diagnosis of AUD, after one month they showed a statistically significant reduction of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) (p<0.0001); however, none were following a program for the treatment of AUD. Conclusions: This outpatient setting may be considered a place of primary and secondary prevention where DUI subjects with a diagnosis of AUD may be entrusted to a Centre in order to follow rehabilitation treatment.