Relationships of alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotypes with alcohol sensitivity, drinking behavior and problem drinking in Japanese older men.

Marowa Hashimoto,Mikio Arita,Mayumi Oka,Miyoko Utsumi,Masutaka Watanabe,Mariko Hayashida,Yuji Uematsu,Nobuyuki Miyai,Sonomi Hattori,Kenji Kinoshita,Tatsuya Takeshita

doi:10.1007/s12199-016-0507-5

Abstract

Many East Asians have the genetic polymorphisms rs1229984 in alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) and rs671 in aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2). Here we analyzed the relationships of the two genotypes with alcohol sensitivity, drinking behavior and problem drinking among older and younger men living in rural areas of Japan. The subjects were 718 Japanese men aged 63.3 ± 10.8 (mean ± SD), categorized into the older (≥65 years, n = 357) and younger (<65 years, n = 361) groups. Facial flushing frequency, drinking behavior and positive CAGE results were compared among the genotypes using Bonferroni-corrected χ(2) test and a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, BMI and lifestyle factors. The frequency of 'always' facial flushing among the ADH1B*1/*2 carriers was significantly lower than that among the ADH1B*2/*2 carriers in the older group (P < 0.01). The alcohol consumption (unit/day) in the ADH1B*1/*2 carriers tended to be higher compared with that in the ADH1B*2/*2 carriers among the older group (P = 0.050). In the younger group, no significant differences in alcohol sensitivity and drinking habits were generally found among the ADH1B genotypes. The ADH1B*1/*1 genotype tended to be positively associated with problem drinking in the older group (P = 0.080) but not in the younger group. The ALDH2 genotypes consistently and strongly affected the alcohol sensitivity, drinking behavior and problem drinking in both the younger and older group. We for the first time observed a significant difference in alcohol sensitivity between ADH1B*1/*2 and ADH1B*2/*2 in older men aged 65 and above.

Highlights

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 revealed that alcohol use was the third- and eighth-ranked risk factor for disability-adjusted life-years in men and women, respectively [1]
We analyzed the relationships of the two genotypes with alcohol sensitivity, drinking behavior and problem drinking among older and younger men living in rural areas of Japan
Facial flushing frequency, drinking behavior and positive CAGE results were compared among the genotypes using Bonferroni-corrected v2 test and a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle factors

Summary

Introduction

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 revealed that alcohol use was the third- and eighth-ranked risk factor for disability-adjusted life-years in men and women, respectively [1]. In Japan in 2007, alcohol use was the third and 11th risk factor for deaths in men and women, respectively [2]. Several studies have reported that the amount of alcohol consumption decreases to some extent in the older compared to younger people [4,5,6,7,8]. Other studies have indicated that because the peak blood ethanol concentration of older people was higher than that of younger people, the prevalence of alcohol sensitivity may be increased in older people [9,10,11].

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