Consistent with prior findings of under-reporting alcohol exposure among HIV+ individuals,16,17,38,39,42,43 about 15% of HIV+ individuals self-reporting abstinence in our sample had positive PEth. Three studies among HIV+ individuals in Uganda reported higher level (25%, 25%, 27%) of disagreement between AUDIT-C and PEth among those self-reporting abstinence.16,38,43 These studies assessed self-report alcohol use in the last 3016 and 90 days.38,43 Another study among young people in San Francisco who inject drugs reported positive PEth results among 6% of those self-reporting abstinence.42 Our findings corroborate those from other settings,16,29,38,42,43 that combining AUDIT-C and PEth can improve detection of alcohol exposure. Our work extends prior findings by demonstrating an association between under-report and increased risk of mortality.
