{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T07:44:51Z","timestamp":1775634291751,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773705600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a widely used biomarker for alcohol use, but interpretation may vary by demographic factors, and the clinical relevance of current cutoffs is uncertain. We examined the distribution of PEth values across a large healthcare network and the associations between PEth and demographics, lab markers, and clinical outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 4892 adults with \u22651 PEth 16:0\/18:1 result from January 2022 to August 2024 within the Mass General Brigham system. Linear regression assessed associations between PEth and demographic characteristics, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), low-density lipoprotein, A1c, hospital encounters, length of stay, and self-reported alcohol use.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>60% of patients had negative PEth (&amp;lt;20\u00a0ng\/mL). Among positives, the median was 251\u00a0ng\/mL. 18% had moderate (20\u2013200\u00a0ng\/mL) and 22% heavy (&amp;gt;200\u00a0ng\/mL) alcohol use. PEth was directly associated with AST (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u2009.001) and inversely with age (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u2009.001), body mass index (P\u00a0=\u2009.019), income (P\u00a0=\u2009.010), and A1c (P\u00a0=\u2009.0044). Black patients had higher PEth than White patients (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u2009.001). No differences by gender were observed. Higher PEth was associated with more hospital encounters (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u2009.001) but shorter stays (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u2009.001). PEth did not correlate well with self-reported alcohol intake, and 31% of patients with positive PEth reported no alcohol use.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In a broad clinical population, PEth values were higher than previously reported. Demographic disparities and limited agreement with self-report suggest PEth may better detect unhealthy alcohol use and reveal unmet care needs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/alcalc\/agag021","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T12:46:02Z","timestamp":1774010762000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Phosphatidylethanol testing: patterns, demographic and clinical correlates, and outcomes"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"61","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3002-1200","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pranay","family":"Nadella","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital , 75 Francis Street Boston, MA 02115 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"William C","family":"Oles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Harvard University , 25 Shattuck Street Boston, MA 02115 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Russell P","family":"Goodman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital , 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital , 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jay","family":"Luther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital , 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114 ,","place":["United 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