Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
186,625 studies31 sourcesUpdated 58 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Psychiatry

The use of diagnostic codes to record long-term excessive drinking and alcohol use disorder– a systematic review

  • Adina Olaru1,2,3
  • Lloyd Halsey3
  • Mohsen Subhani1,4
  • Colin Crooks1,2,3
  • Guruprasad P. Aithal1,2,4
  • Stephen Ryder3
4 affiliations
  1. 1National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre
  2. 2University of Nottingham School of Medicine
  3. 3Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust
  4. 4University of Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

Objectives: Alcohol-related disease and mortality continue to rise globally, with hazardous drinking the third leading cause of premature death in the UK. Population studies are valuable for understanding excessive drinking patterns, but case-finding is limited by variability in Electronic Health Record (EHR) coding. This systematic review identified diagnostic codes used to define alcohol use.

Methods: Using PRISMA guidance, OVID (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE), Pubmed and Web of Science were searched. Data were extracted on drinking-related codes and prevalence estimates. International Classification of Diseases (ICD) v10 and Read v2 studies were analysed using narrative synthesis, and risk of bias was assessed.

Results: Twelve studies were included from 16,913 records. Six of twelve studies were deemed to be at low risk of bias. No studies were deemed to be at high risk of bias. Two studies identified 18 shared Read v2 codes classifying drinking behaviour. Ten studies used ICD-10 codes; F10 and its subcategories were used consistently; additional codes improved episode-based case-finding but not identification of unique patients.

Conclusion: Coding heterogeneity complicates identification of excessive drinking. Although commonly used Read v2 and ICD-10 codes were identified, no standardised code set exists, highlighting the need for consensus to improve consistency in population-based alcohol research.

Related

  1. Real-world alcohol cue exposure and drinking risk in alcohol use disorder
    Ali Ghadami, Abhijit Sreepada, Iris Reinhard +14
    Translational PsychiatryPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEpidemiology & public healthCrossref
  2. No Heavy Drinking Days and Percentage of Days Abstinent in a Randomized Trial of Adjunctive Ketamine for Alcohol Use Disorder: Secondary Analysis of the KARE Trial
    C. J. Morgan, D. J. Nutt
    medRxivPreprintPublic domainFull textPsychiatry & mental healthmedRxiv
  3. “As long as you can make it to work the next day”: normalized drinking and problem recognition among individuals in recovery from alcohol use disorder
    Monique T. Cano, Oscar F. Rojas Perez, Li Yan McCurdy +4
    Frontiers in PsychiatryPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEpidemiology & public healthCrossrefEurope PMCPMCEurope PMC
  4. Psilocybin, cognitive stability and drinking reduction in co-occurring alcohol use disorder and depression: a pilot secondary analysis of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial
    C. Sayali, E. Weisman, F. S. Barrett
    medRxivPreprintCC BY-NCFull textPsychiatry & mental healthmedRxiv
  5. How common is alcohol use disorder in posttraumatic stress disorder? A systematic review, meta‐analysis, and moderator analysis
    Maria Olivia Pozzolo Pedro, Manoela Pozzolo Pedro, Gabriella Zimmer Monteiro +4
    The American Journal on AddictionsPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textPsychiatry & mental healthPMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{olaru2026diagnostic,
  title = {{The use of diagnostic codes to record long-term excessive drinking and alcohol use disorder– a systematic review}},
  author = {Adina Olaru and Lloyd Halsey and Mohsen Subhani and Colin Crooks and Guruprasad P. Aithal and Stephen Ryder},
  journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1932974},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1932974/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The use of diagnostic codes to record long-term excessive drinking and alcohol use disorder– a systematic review
AU  - Adina Olaru
AU  - Lloyd Halsey
AU  - Mohsen Subhani
AU  - Colin Crooks
AU  - Guruprasad P. Aithal
AU  - Stephen Ryder
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/02
JO  - Frontiers in Psychiatry
DO  - 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1932974
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1932974/full
AB  - Objectives: Alcohol-related disease and mortality continue to rise globally, with hazardous drinking the third leading cause of premature death in the UK. Population studies are valuable for understanding excessive drinking patterns, but case-finding is limited by variability in Electronic Health Record (EHR) coding. This systematic review identified diagnostic codes used to define alcohol use.  Methods: Using PRISMA guidance, OVID (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE), Pubmed and Web of Science were searched. Data were extracted on drinking-related codes and prevalence estimates. International Classification of Diseases (ICD) v10 and Read v2 studies were analysed using narrative synthesis, and risk of bias was assessed.  Results: Twelve studies were included from 16,913 records. Six of twelve studies were deemed to be at low risk of bias. No studies were deemed to be at high risk of bias. Two studies identified 18 shared Read v2 codes classifying drinking behaviour. Ten studies used ICD-10 codes; F10 and its subcategories were used consistently; additional codes improved episode-based case-finding but not identification of unique patients.  Conclusion: Coding heterogeneity complicates identification of excessive drinking. Although commonly used Read v2 and ICD-10 codes were identified, no standardised code set exists, highlighting the need for consensus to improve consistency in population-based alcohol research.
SN  - 1664-0640
ER  -