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Before you begin

Answer the four original lifetime CAGE questions. This brief screen looks for dependence-oriented alcohol concerns; it does not diagnose alcohol use disorder or cover the full spectrum of unhealthy alcohol use.

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This changes only the presentation order of the answer ledger; it never changes scoring.
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Use the lifetime “have you ever” frame. Choose the response that fits best.

Safety and support
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What this means

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What to do next

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Score chart
Answer review
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-10) Complete and score the 10-item WHO AUDIT for the past year, see the 0–40 screening zone, and review which item groups contributed.
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) Score three past-year AUDIT-C responses against published 3+ through 8+ reference lines, with non-diagnostic guidance and local processing.
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) Assessment Measure distress frequency over the past four weeks with K10, compare two published band guides, and review the complete response pattern.
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) Screener Screen past-30-day psychological distress with the six-item K6 total, clear 5 and 13 cutoffs, and non-diagnostic follow-up guidance.

A drinking screen can focus on current quantity or on consequences that may signal dependence. CAGE follows the second route. Its four lifetime questions ask about feeling a need to Cut down, being Annoyed by criticism, feeling Guilty, and taking an Eye-opener drink in the morning. Those initials give the questionnaire its name.

The lifetime wording is central to interpretation. A Yes response may refer to an event many years ago, so the total does not describe current drinking frequency or quantity. A No response also cannot rule out recent binge drinking, hazardous use, or other alcohol-related risk that the four questions never ask about.

CAGE can supportCAGE cannot establish
A brief record of four dependence-oriented concernsA diagnosis of alcohol use disorder
A prompt for fuller assessment at the standard cutoffCurrent drinking quantity or clinical severity
Specific follow-up after an Eye-opener responseWhether abrupt alcohol withdrawal is safe
A voluntary personal or clinical conversationFitness, eligibility, employment, insurance, or legal status

Two or more Yes responses meet the standard positive-screen cutoff. One Yes remains below that cutoff but can still identify a concern worth discussing. Current NIAAA guidance advises against using CAGE as a broad preventive screen because its focus on established consequences misses many people who could benefit from earlier intervention.

The Eye-opener question carries information that a total alone can hide. Morning drinking to steady nerves or relieve a hangover deserves follow-up about possible dependence and withdrawal, even when the other three answers are No. Anyone drinking heavily over a prolonged period should seek qualified medical advice before making an abrupt change.

How to Use This Tool:

Keep “have you ever” in mind for every question and answer Yes or No from lifetime experience.

  1. Complete all four questions. Use Previous to correct an answer before finishing.
  2. Read any Safety and support notice before the general score interpretation. A Yes to Eye-opener triggers separate guidance regardless of the total.
  3. Compare the total with the standard cutoff and check which items were endorsed. Answer-review order and score detail change only how the completed responses are displayed.

Interpreting Results:

A score of 0 means none of the four lifetime concerns was endorsed; it does not clear current hazardous use. A score of 1 is below the standard cutoff but supports reviewing that specific answer. Scores from 2 to 4 form the positive-screen band and call for a fuller alcohol assessment rather than a diagnosis from CAGE alone.

Check the answer pattern as well as the total. Eye-opener guidance takes priority because the morning-drinking response may affect withdrawal safety. For a broader picture of current use, use a current quantity-and-frequency screen or discuss the result with a qualified health professional.

Technical Details:

Each item has a direct binary response map. No contributes 0 and Yes contributes 1. All four questions must be answered before the score is interpreted, and no item is reversed or weighted.

Formula Core:

The CAGE total is the number of Yes responses.

C=∑i=14yi whereyi∈{0,1}

The result is an integer from 0 through 4 with no weighting, normalization, or rounding.

Rule Core:

RuleBoundaryMeaning
No endorsed itemsTotal = 0No CAGE concern endorsed; broader current risk is not ruled out
Below standard cutoffTotal = 1One concern endorsed; broader-net guidance may still prompt follow-up
Positive screenTotal ≥ 2Meets the standard cutoff for fuller assessment
Stricter comparisonTotal ≥ 3Optional comparison shown in interpretation, not a separate result band

A Yes on item 4 activates the Eye-opener safety rule at any total. That rule adds guidance but does not replace or alter the 0 to 4 score.

Responsible Use and Privacy:

Answers stay in the current browser tab during ordinary use. A completed result can be placed in a copied link only after confirmation. That link contains all four raw Yes-or-No responses in an encoded URL fragment; encoding is not encryption, and anyone with the link can read them.

  • Restarting clears the in-memory session and removes the result fragment from the current URL.
  • A positive screen supports fuller assessment; it does not diagnose or grade alcohol use disorder.
  • A low total does not rule out unhealthy alcohol use, and Eye-opener guidance should not be dismissed because the total is below 2.
  • Do not make abrupt alcohol changes from this result alone when dependence or withdrawal may be possible.

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