Abstract
Rationale
Previously, we reported methods to estimate peak breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) from transdermal alcohol concentrations (TAC) under conditions where alcohol consumption was controlled to produce similar BrAC levels in both sexes.
Objective
This study characterized differences in the relationship between BrAC and TAC as a function of sex and developed a model to predict peak BrAC that accounts for known sex differences in peak BrAC.
Methods
TAC and BrAC were monitored during the consumption of a varying number of beers on different days. Both men (n = 11) and women (n = 10) consumed one, two, three, four, and five beers at the same rate in a 2-h period. Sex and sex-related variables were considered for inclusion in a multilevel model to develop an equation to estimate peak BrAC levels from TAC.
Results
While peak BrAC levels were significantly higher in women than men, sex differences were not significant in observed TAC levels. This lack of correspondence was evidenced by significant sex differences in the relationship between peak TAC and peak BrAC. The best model to estimate peak BrAC accounted for sex-related differences by including peak TAC, time-to-peak TAC, and sex. This model was further validated using previously collected data.
Conclusions
The relationship between peak TAC and actual peak BrAC differs between men and women, and these differences can be accounted for in a statistical model to better estimate peak BrAC. Further studies are required to extend these estimates of peak BrAC to the outpatient environment where naturalistic drinking occurs.
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Abbreviations
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- BrAC:
-
Breath alcohol concentration
- SCRAM:
-
Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor
- TAC:
-
Transdermal alcohol concentration
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Acknowledgments
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health [R01AA14988]. The research was also supported in part by the National Institute of Drug Abuse [T32DA031115] for postdoctoral training for Tara E. Karns. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Dougherty also gratefully acknowledges support from a research endowment, the William and Marguerite Wurzbach Distinguished Professorship. The authors appreciate the supportive functions performed by our valued colleagues Cameron Hunt and Krystal Shilling.
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None of the authors have conflicts of interests concerning this manuscript.
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Hill-Kapturczak, N., Roache, J.D., Liang, Y. et al. Accounting for sex-related differences in the estimation of breath alcohol concentrations using transdermal alcohol monitoring. Psychopharmacology 232, 115–123 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3644-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3644-9