Blood Pressure, Levels of Serum Lipids, Liver Enzymes and Blood Glucose by Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 and Drinking Habit in Japanese Men

Abstract

Objectives: The association of blood pressure and levels of serum lipids, liver enzymes, blood glucose and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) with drinking habit was examined in Japanese men.Methods: The subjects were 264 men aged 39 to 80 years who were classified into the ALDH2 deficiency or sufficiency group using the ethanol patch test and the Tokyo University ALDH2 Phenotype Screening Test. A self-administered questionnaire including drinking habit was used. Blood pressure and the levels of biochemical markers in groups with ALDH2 sufficiency, ALDH2 deficiency and drinking habit were compared using multiple regression models for adjusting age, smoking habit, physical exercising habit and body mass index.Results: The levels of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) were significantly higher in current drinkers of 20 g of ethanol or more per day than in nondrinkers of the ALDH2 sufficiency group. The levels of serum AST and γ-GTP in current drinkers of 20 g of ethanol or more per day, and fasting blood sugar in current drinkers of less than 20 g of ethanol per day were significantly higher than those in nondrinkers of the ALDH2 deficiency group.Conclusions: These results suggest that alcohol consumption increases the levels of serum lipids and liver enzymes in ALDH2-sufficient individuals and liver enzymes and blood glucose levels in ALDH2-deficient individuals.

Flushing Response Modifies the Association of Alcohol Consumption with Markers of Glucose Metabolism in Japanese Men and Women

“…In contrast, at heavy alcohol consumption, only nonflushers showed a decrease in HbA1c. Contrary to our study finding, a population‐based study in Japan (Nakamura et al., ) found that flushers who consumed ≥20 g of EtOH per day had higher, albeit statistically insignificant, HbA1c levels than nondrinking flushers, while in nonflushers, HbA1c levels did not differ between drinkers and nondrinkers. However, that study (Nakamura et al., ) did not distinguish between moderate and heavy drinking, even though moderate drinking may improve glucose metabolism, while heavy drinking may deteriorate it (Baliunas et al., ).…”

“…Contrary to our study finding, a population‐based study in Japan (Nakamura et al., ) found that flushers who consumed ≥20 g of EtOH per day had higher, albeit statistically insignificant, HbA1c levels than nondrinking flushers, while in nonflushers, HbA1c levels did not differ between drinkers and nondrinkers. However, that study (Nakamura et al., ) did not distinguish between moderate and heavy drinking, even though moderate drinking may improve glucose metabolism, while heavy drinking may deteriorate it (Baliunas et al., ). Similarly, a study among Japanese patients with diabetes (Murata et al., ) showed that among drinkers consuming ≤57.1 g of alcohol daily (the majority of current drinkers), HbA1c levels were higher in patients with inactive ALDH2 than in those with active ALDH2.…”

“…Evidence of the effect of the flushing response or ALDH2 genotypes on the relationship between alcohol and glucose metabolism is limited. One population‐based study (Nakamura et al., ) and 2 clinical studies (Murata et al., ; Wakabayashi and Masuda, ) conducted with respect to hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) suggested that in subjects with heavy alcohol use, higher HbA1c levels were seen in flushers than in nonflushers. Previous population‐based studies found that flushers had higher fasting blood glucose levels than nonflushers only among Japanese healthy women (Dakeishi et al., ) and Korean outpatients (Kim et al., ) with a higher amount of alcohol use, but not among healthy Asian men (Dakeishi et al., ; Jung et al., ).…”