Trial Information

National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions -III

The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) is
planned to be fielded in 2012 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA) in conjunction with Westat, through a contract under data collection authority Title
42 U.S.C. 285 n (Attachment 23.a). The target population of the NESARC-III is the civilian
noninstitutionalized population, 18 years and older, residing in the contiguous United
States (U.S.) and Alaska and Hawaii. The sample (N=46,500) will include households and
selected noninstitutionalized group quarters (e.g., agricultural, vocational training and
other dormitories, halfway houses, hostels, YMCAs, shelters, campgrounds, carnivals). The
NESARC-III will collect information on alcohol use disorders and related physical and mental
disabilities in addition to DNA to be obtained through saliva samples.

This request for IRB approval also includes a pilot test of approximately 50 respondents
that will serve the sole purpose of testing the data collection procedures, operations and
system architecture of the NESARC-III survey. There will also be two small methodological
subcomponents of the NESARC-III proper that will serve the purposes of providing ongoing
validation and assessment of the utility of outcome measures appearing on the major data
collection questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview
Schedule-V (AUDADIS-V: Grant et al., 2008). In the first methodological subcomponent, 1000
respondents participating in the NESARC-III proper will be re-interviewed with a shorter
version of the original AUDADIS-V. In the second methodological subcomponent, 700 different
respondents participating in the NESARC-III proper will be re-interviewed using a different
assessment instrument, the Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders
(PRISM: Hasin et al., 2008), covering information on major outcome variables very similar to
those appearing in the AUDADIS-V. NIAAA has conducted such validation/utility tests that
have received OMB approval (OMB No. 0930-0151, OMB No. 0925-0455: Grant et al., 2003a; Ruan
et al., 2008) in the past. The design and procedures associated with each of these
methodological subcomponents will be explicated and discussed within the body of this IRB
submission as necessary.

The NESARC-III will be the fourth national survey conducted by NIAAA. The objectives and
content areas of the NESARC-III are extremely similar to those of the prior three NIAAA
surveys, with the exception of the NESARC-III's provision for collecting saliva samples.
Prior NIAAA national surveys included the 1991-1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol
Epidemiologic Survey (OMB No. 0930-0151: Grant et al., 1994), the 2001-2002 Wave 1 NESARC
(OMB No. 0925-0484: Grant et al., 2003b), and the 2004-2005 Wave 2 NESARC (OMB No.
0925-0484: Grant et al., 2006).