Feasibility of a mail-in, self-administered dried blood spot collection method in national, population-based alcohol surveys in the United States.

Abstract

Including a low-intensity blood collection method in population-based alcohol studies would advance our ability to study biological mechanisms related to alcohol. However, the likelihood of participation in such a blood collection method remains understudied. This study's primary aims were to (1) estimate the return rate of mail-in, self-administered dried blood spot (saDBS) samples in national surveys and (2) test correlates of returning a sample. Re-contact of all eligible participants from two telephone, population-based alcohol surveys followed by χ² tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Non-institutionalized US population in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Adults aged 18+ who reported drinking at least one alcoholic beverage in the past 12 months (assessed 2017-18). Contact was made with 680 eligible participants, and 257 consented. The return rate of saDBS samples was defined as the proportion of returned samples among those who were eligible and contacted. Key correlates examined were gender, age, race/ethnicity and education. Among the 680 eligible people contacted, 179 (26.3%) returned a saDBS sample. Blacks [odds ratio (OR) = 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.35-0.95], Latinos (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.23-0.69) and those with a high school education or less (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31-0.81). The likelihood of participating in mail-in, self-administered dried blood spot (saDBS) sampling among drinkers in the US general population appears low, and blacks, Latinos and people with lower levels of education appear less likely to provide a saDBS sample compared with whites and people with higher levels of education.