Subjective Response to Alcohol and ADH Polymorphisms in a Select Sample of Young Adult Male East Indians and Africans in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Level of response to alcohol has been associated with risk of alcohol dependence in a number of ethnic groups. In the present study, subjective and objective responses to alcohol were evaluated in Indo-Trinidadians (Indo-T) and Afro-Trinidadians (Afro-T). Associations of alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphisms with response to alcohol, using the Subjective High Assessment Scale (SHAS), and breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) were tested. Method: Regular male drinkers without alcohol dependence (n = 112) ages 18-25 years participated in alcohol challenge sessions consisting of placebo and two doses of alcohol (target BrAC: 0 g/dl for placebo, .04 g/dl low dose, and .08 g/ dl high dose) and genotyped for variants in ADH1B*3 and ADH1C*2. Results: Indo-T had signifi cantly higher BrAC, pulse rates, and cortisol levels when compared with Afro-T but did not have signifi cantly higher SHAS values. Higher responses on the SHAS items muddle/confused and nauseated were signifi cantly associated with the presence of at least one ADH1B*3 allele following the high dose of alcohol in Afro-T. Indo-T with at least one ADH1C*2 allele displayed signifi cantly different Drug × Time interactions for the SHAS item effects of alcohol at the low dose and for the SHAS items clumsy, muddle/confused, effects of alcohol, fl oating, drunk, and total at the high dose from Indo-T with two ADH1C*1 alleles. Conclusions: This is the fi rst study that has investigated individual sensitivity to alcohol in a Caribbean population and in people of East Indian descent. Indo-T with at least one ADH1C*2 allele may be at higher risk for heavy drinking by feeling less of the effects of alcohol, including nausea. In Afro-T, having at least one ADH1B*3 allele appears to exert a protective effect by enhancing the unpleasant effects of alcohol, such as nausea and confusion. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 827-838, 2014)

The Future of Research on Alcohol-Related Disparities Across U.S. Racial/Ethnic Groups: A Plan of Attack

“…It is currently unknown whether standard medications for AUDs work equally well across racial/ethnic groups. However, because level of response to alcohol may differ in Blacks and certain Asian American subgroups (Eng et al, 2007;Iwamoto et al, 2016;Montane Jaime et al, 2014;Wall et al, 1992), response to AUD medications may also differ in these groups (Zapolski et al, 2014). Third, comparative work is needed on nonmedical approaches to alcohol intervention (e.g., mutual help groups, sober living houses, and other community support services).…”

Analysis of the Association of Nonsynonymous Polymorphisms in ADH Genes with Hazardous Drinking in HIV‐1‐Positive Individuals

“…This lack of association was unexpected as the corresponding haplotype ( ADH1B*1 / ADH1B*3 ) encodes β 1/ β 3 subunits with an alcohol‐metabolizing activity similar to β 2 (Edenberg and Foroud, ). This polymorphism was previously associated with HD in individuals with African ancestry (Bierut et al., ; Edenberg et al., ; Gelernter et al., ; Hart et al., ; Luo et al., ; McCarthy et al., ; Montane‐Jaime et al., ). In an attempt to evaluate the ethnic influence on our results, we stratified the population based on the self‐reported skin color, but there was not a significant difference between groups, probably due to the low number of subjects with African ancestry in the sample (data not shown).…”