The flushing response to alcohol use among Koreans and Taiwanese.

Asians, Asian-Americans and Alcohol

“…Both individual and racial differences in enzyme activity appear to have genetic bases (Goedde, Agarwal & Harada 1980). Studies of families from Hawaii, Taiwan, and Korea (Nagoshi et al1988;Johnson et al1984;Park et al, 1984;Schwitters et al 1982a) indicated considerable familial transmission of self-reported flushing, and it is likely that this transmission is genetically based. With regard to flushing, the present authors found it useful in these latter studies to distinguish between first flushers (i.e., those who flushed after consuming one drink or less) and slow flushers (i.e., those who required more than one drink to produce the flushing response).…”

“…The present authors' studies found significant negative correlation's of fast flushing, but not slow flushing, with alcohol use among Chinese and Japanese subjects living in Hawaii, as well as among native Koreans and Taiwanese (Nagoshi a al. 1988;Park et al 1984;Schwitters et al 1982a). It should be noted that these correlation's are typically moderate (around-0.30 to -0.40 at most) and that the focus on differences in alcohol use between groups ignores the tremendous variation in usage within groups.…”

“…If nonsecretion of ALDH-I is an influence on alcohol use, then Caucasians should drink the most, Koreans next most, and Chinese and Japaneseshouldbetiedforleastconsumption. Infact,homelandKoreans who use alcohol consume substantially more of it than do Caucasians (Park et al 1984), while Taiwanese Chinese Park et al 1984), Hawaiian Chinese (Acheron 1989; Danko et al 1988;Johnson et al 1984;Schwitters et al 1982b), and mainland Chinese-Americans (Chi, Kitano ~ Lubben 1988) drink very little. Japanese Americans in Hawaii and on the U.S. mainland are intermediate in use and, in Hawaii, now drink about as much as do Caucasians (Danko et al 1988).…”

Differential Effects of Acculturation on Drinking Behavior in Chinese- and Korean-American College Students

“…In one cross-national study, the lifetime prevalence of a DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980) AUD was 23% in Korea versus 7% in China (Helzer et al, 1990). This disparity is reflected in the United States, where studies find higher rates of alcohol use and heavy drinking among Korean Americans than Chinese Americans (e.g., Chi et al, 1989;Park et al, 1984). Using data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Price and colleagues (2002) reported that, across five Asian subgroups, rates of frequent heavy drinking were highest for Korean Americans and lowest for Chinese Americans.…”

“…Although acculturation is a complex concept to define, one way to view the process is by the extent to which individuals learn the customs, attitudes, and behaviors characteristic of a host culture (Zane and Mak, 2003). Some studies allow global inferences about acculturation's effects by comparing the drinking rates of U.S. Asians to their counterparts abroad (e.g., Higuchi et al, 1994;Johnson et al, 1987;Park et al, 1984;Yamamoto et al, 1994); however, these studies typically have not measured acculturation directly. Several studies of Asian Americans show that measured indices of acculturation correlate positively with drinking quantity/frequency (Hahm et al, 2003(Hahm et al, , 2004Hendershot et al, 2005;Nakashima and Wong, 2000;Nakawatase et al, 1993;Song et al, 2004;Sue et al, 1979).…”