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

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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Objectives

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.

Methods

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 χ2 test and a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, BMI and lifestyle factors.

Results

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.

Conclusions

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.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted with a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (25460811 and 25350894) and with a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, AMED (15ck0106102h0102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama, Wakayama, 641-8509, Japan

    Marowa Hashimoto, Masutaka Watanabe & Tatsuya Takeshita

  2. School of Health and Nursing Sciences, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan

    Yuji Uematsu, Sonomi Hattori, Nobuyuki Miyai, Miyoko Utsumi, Mayumi Oka & Mikio Arita

  3. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mukogawa Woman’s University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan

    Mariko Hayashida & Kenji Kinoshita

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  1. Marowa Hashimoto
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  2. Masutaka Watanabe
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Correspondence to Tatsuya Takeshita.

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Hashimoto, M., Watanabe, M., Uematsu, Y. et al. Relationships of alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotypes with alcohol sensitivity, drinking behavior and problem drinking in Japanese older men. Environ Health Prev Med 21, 138–148 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-016-0507-5

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