Project Grant R01AA032491

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism awarded Kaiser Foundation Hospitals $759,219 on September 1, 2026, under the Alcohol Research Programs (CFDA 93.273) to conduct early identification research on alcohol-associated liver disease in primary care settings.

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, through its Kaiser Foundation Research Institute division, will recruit 1,300 patients to determine the prevalence of current liver disease using transient elastography across all AUDIT-C alcohol screening questionnaire scores (scored 0-12). The study aims to establish how routine primary care AUDIT-C alcohol screening can efficiently identify patients at risk for alcohol-associated liver disease, addressing the clinical gap that current fibrosis-4 index guidelines miss approximately half of primary care patients who subsequently develop major adverse liver outcomes including cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, liver cancer, transplant, or death. A second aim uses existing data to determine the incidence of major adverse liver outcomes over an 11-year follow-up period across AUDIT-C scores. The research is motivated by the finding that 89 percent of alcohol-associated liver disease is diagnosed only after complications develop, when prognosis is poor, and that reducing drinking improves outcomes through interventions deliverable in primary care.

Performance occurs in Seattle, Washington, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031. The award is a project grant, the standard assistance type under NIAAA's research grant program, which supports projects typically not exceeding five years with recommendations approved by the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.