Ethnic Differences in Level of Response to Alcohol Between Chinese Americans and Korean Americans

Abstract

Objective-Koreans have higher rates of alcohol-use disorders and family history of alcoholism, compared with Chinese. These differences likely reflect both environmental and genetic influences. One genetically influenced characteristic that may contribute to these ethnic differences is level of response to alcohol. Variant alleles of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1B) genes are prevalent in individuals of Asian heritage and have been associated with an increased level of response to alcohol and a decreased risk for alcohol dependence. Additionally, a low level of response to alcohol is more common in individuals with a first-degree family history of alcoholism and is predictive of increased risk for this disorder. It also is possible that sociocultural factors have an impact on an individual's response to alcohol. The current study examined self-report level of response to alcohol, ALDH2 and ADH1B, country of origin, and family history of alcoholism in 154 Chinese-and 181 Korean-American college students.Method-Participants were evaluated via in-person interviews and genotyped at the ALDH2 and ADH1B loci.Results-Ethnicity was significantly related to level of response to alcohol, with Koreans having a lower self-reported level of response than Chinese. This relationship remained significant after considering the effects of gender, height, weight, quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption (over the previous 90 days), ALDH2 genotype, ADH1B genotype, country of origin, and first-degree family history of alcohol dependence.

Genetic and Environmental Predictors of Alcohol Use in Asian American Young Adults

“…Thus, in terms of familial-based predictors, FH appears to be a more salient predictor of alcohol misuse among Asian American young adults than was ethnicity. This lack of ethnic differences is in contradiction to those reported by others in the literature (Duranceaux et al, 2008;Hendershot et al, 2008). Differences between the present study and prior studies may account for these disparate findings, most notably our sampling strategy that resulted in a sample that was older and consumed more alcohol.…”

“…Based on the literature (Duranceaux et al, 2008;Hendershot et al, 2008;Luczak et al, 2004), we hypothesized ethnic differences in terms of alcohol use. Although Korean ethnicity was associated with a greater likelihood of positive FH, no effect of ethnicity was observed as either a main effect or a moderator of either genetic factors or acculturation.…”

“…In terms of vulnerability to alcohol use disorders, ethnicity has been shown to be significantly associated with alcohol use, such that Korean Americans drink significantly more and generally have lower alcohol sensitivity than either Chinese or Japanese Americans (Duranceaux et al, 2008). There are population-level ALDH2 allele frequency differences between Korean and Chinese populations, such that Korean Americans are significantly less likely to possess the ALDH2*2 allele than are Chinese Americans.…”

Prevalence and neuropsychiatric comorbidities of alcohol use disorders in an elderly Korean population

“…In addition, there were ethnic differences in the level of response to alcohol even among East Asians. Koreans showed a lower level of response to alcohol than Chinese (Duranceaux et al, 2008). The lifetime prevalence of AUD was estimated to be highest among Asian countries in a nationwide sample of Korean adults (Cho et al, 2007).…”

Promoting Recovery in Alcohol-Dependent Patients

“…Between 40% and 50% of Asian individuals have a mutation in the ALDH2 gene, which produces an enzyme that is a far less efficient metabolizer of acetaldehyde (Duranceaux et al, 2008;Li, 2000;Wall & Ehlers, 1995). About 10% of Asian men and women have inherited two copies (alleles) of the deficient gene, and when these homozygous individuals drink, very high acetaldehyde levels develop, producing such severe nausea, vomiting, and associated symptoms that they carry almost no alcoholism risk (Maezawa, Yamauchi, Toda, Suzuki, & Sakurai, 1995;Wall & Ehlers, 1995).…”