The purpose of the present study was to compare the characteristics of patients diagnosed with AUD according to DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria in a clinical sample of US Veterans who received general medical care (e.g. “primary care”) in Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics and reported frequent heavy drinking and were recruited into a trial of alcohol-related care management. We first describe the prevalence of DSM-IV and DSM-5 AUD, and categorize patients into four mutually exclusive groups: those who met criteria for: (1) neither DSM-IV nor DSM-5 AUD; (2) DSM-IV AUD alone; (3) DSM-5 AUD alone; or (4) both DSM-IV and DSM-5 AUD. We then compare sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol and drug related problem severity, mental health comorbidity, and readiness to change drinking across the four mutually exclusive diagnostic groups.
