Abstract
Although alcohol use disorders rank among the leading public health problems worldwide, hazardous drinking practices and associated morbidity continue to remain underdiagnosed. It is postulated here that a more systematic use of biomarkers improves the detection of the specific role of alcohol abuse behind poor health. Interventions should be initiated by obtaining information on the actual amounts of recent alcohol consumption through questionnaires and measurements of ethanol and its specific metabolites, such as ethyl glucuronide. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin is a valuable tool for assessing chronic heavy drinking. Activities of common liver enzymes can be used for screening ethanol-induced liver dysfunction and to provide information on the risk of co-morbidities including insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and vascular diseases. Conventional biomarkers supplemented with indices of immune activation and fibrogenesis can help to assess the severity and prognosis of ethanol-induced tissue damage. Many ethanol-sensitive biomarkers respond to the status of oxidative stress, and their levels are modulated by factors of life style, including weight gain, physical exercise or coffee consumption in an age- and gender-dependent manner. Therefore, further attention should be paid to defining safe limits of ethanol intake in various demographic categories and establishing common reference intervals for biomarkers of alcohol use disorders.
Highlights
Alcohol use disorders, both acute and chronic, are significant clinical problems due to their devastating health impacts and high prevalence throughout the world [1,2,3,4,5]
Adverse effects may arise at lower levels and alcohol-related problems concerning pregnancy could add another dimension to the problem of excessive alcohol consumption per se [3,4,8]
Recent progress in laboratory medicine has provided us with novel possibilities for biomarker-based assessment of health risks related to excessive alcohol use and other factors of life style
Summary
Both acute and chronic, are significant clinical problems due to their devastating health impacts and high prevalence throughout the world [1,2,3,4,5]. Biomarkers are markers of a biological process or state, which are useful for clinicians and patients if they provide information about the current status or future risk of disease [22]. Biomarkers should be used to confirm the aetiology and to help the interactions between physicians and patients on raising the issue of alcohol use as a possible cause of adverse health outcomes. They can improve patient follow-up procedures providing useful prognostic information. The aim of the present contribution is to discuss the current role of biomarkers in the assessment of alcohol consumption and associated health problems. The reader is referred to other previous reviews in this field [17,18,19,20,21,23]
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