One of the concerns with the DSM-5 revision has been whether individuals excluded from a diagnosis but formerly positive for an AUD, i.e., those positive for a single abuse criterion (usually hazardous use), will be adversely affected by no longer having a diagnosable condition for which the costs of treatment or brief intervention can be reimbursed. Although the prior study by Agrawal et al. (2011) presented a profile of this group of individuals, it did not examine treatment utilization. Whereas the present analysis provided a profile of cases that were positive for abuse but not moderate AUD, not all of the individuals in this category were excluded from a DSM-5 diagnosis; a small proportion were upgraded into the category of DSM-5 severe AUD. In post-hoc analyses of treatment utilization among individuals who went from positive to negative for any AUD under the DSM-5 (data not shown), only 1.3% had received help for alcohol problems in the past year, and the majority of these had sought help solely from nonmedical sources (e.g., 12-step programs, etc.). Thus, it would appear that few
