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OBJECTIVE: Early identification of Harmful Drinking (HD) is difficult, and underestimated. The aim of our retrospective study was to investigate the presence of HD in a population of subjects who had their driving license suspended due to driving under the influence of alcohol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively recruited 979 subjects. During the first appointment (T0), clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients were evaluated, and the AUDIT questionnaire was administered. Two groups were then defined: Harmful Drinking (HD) and non-HD, and all subjects underwent a brief interview for 5-10 minutes before being assigned to a group. RESULTS: 95.9% of our sample were identified as non-HD, whereas 4.1% of them were HD; twenty-one (2.1%) of the HD underwent a control appointment (T1), and 17 (1.7%) of them were diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD); there was a statistically significant reduction in mean daily alcohol intake (p

Harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption is one of the most significant public health problems in Italy and Europe. Habitual excessive consumption and occasional excessive consumption, known as binge drinking, are the two main risk behaviours related to alcohol. Harmful drinking and alcohol dependence have strong social repercussions in terms of their social and economic impact and contribution to productivity losses. In addition, the terms alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence have been recently substituted by the only term of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The issues presented in this review demonstrate that excessive alcohol consumption is a growing public health concern and an appropriate national action plan is needed to increase the prevention of harmful and hazardous consumption and encourage patients to seek healthcare. To date, the main problem is the under-treatment of the population at risk, manifested as the time-lag between the onset of AUD and the first clinical detection. In order to address this, the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) strategy has been shared across countries in Europe and is supported by a Systematic Review of Reviews on SBIRT in primary healthcare. Unfortunately, there are still obstacles in the implementation of this approach. The main problem would appear to be general practitioners' difficulty in carrying out accurate and widespread screening, because they may minimize the problem. A more concerted effort in the training of healthcare professionals could address this by enabling the creation of renewed networks for the early identification of harmful and hazardous drinkers. These networks could prevent the occurrence of avoidable alcohol-related conditions, such as alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), while allowing for the timely implementation of evidence-based brief interventions.

Various epidemiological and biological evaluations and the recent publication of the DSM-V (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders) has imposed on the scientific community a period of reflection on the diagnosis and treatment of what in the DSM-IV was defined as "addiction". To date, the term "addiction" has been replaced by the DSM-5, because there is no global scientific consensus that has unequivocally characterized its clinical characteristics. This, we will talk about substance/alcohol use disorders (SUDs/AUDs) and disorders related to behavioral alterations (DBA) that can generate organic diseases, mental disorders, and social problems. In the first psychotic episode 40-70% of subjects meet the criteria of a SUDs/AUDs, excluding tobacco dependence. Substances can not only be the cause of a psychotic onset, but they can also disrupt a psychotic picture or interfere with drug therapy. The pharmacodynamic profiles of many substances are able to provoke the phenomenology of the main psychotic symptoms in a way that can be superimposed onto those presented by psychotic subjects without a history of SUDs/AUDs. The Department of Addictions (DAs) must not be absorbed by or incorporated into the Departments of Mental Health (DMH), with which, however, precise operational cooperation protocols will have to be defined and maintained, but it will have to maintain its own autonomy and independent connotation. Addiction Medicine is a discipline that brings together elements of public health, prevention, internal medicine, clinical pharmacology, neurology, and even psychiatry. The inclusion of the DAs in those of DMH refers purely to a problem of pathology that has to do with lifestyle, choices, and behaviors. These, over time, show their dysfunctionality and only then do related problems emerge. Moreover, epidemiological, social, and clinical motivations impose the creation of alcohological teams dedicated to alcohol-related activities. The collaboration with self-help-groups (SHGs) is mandatory. The action of SHGs is accredited in numerous international recommendations both on the basis of consensus and evidence in the literature.

L'obiettivo primario del trattamento della dipendenza da bevande alcoliche è il mantenimento della completa astinenza. La modalità di intervento è multi-professioanle e multi-modale.