The present study showed once more that patients are unlikely to recognize and acknowledge problems related to their alcohol use themselves. Thereby a continuous monitoring of patients’ alcohol use could be useful not only for prevention of a number of physical health consequences but also for the primary as well as secondary prevention of AUDs. A Swedish study investigated frequencies of life style advice in GP settings in a large sample of primary care patients [37]. Across all age groups patients were least likely (only 4.7 % of the patients) to receive advice about alcohol compared to other life style areas like diet, smoking, or exercise.
