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The Effects of Low Km Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH2) Phenotype on Drinking Behavior in Japanese University Students
Ikuko Sobue, Tatsuya Takeshita, Soichiro Maruyama, Kanehisa Morimoto
Objective: The present study investigated the relationship between a history of a flushing reaction and drinking behavior in Japanese university students, adjusting for the effects of alcohol-related psychosocial factors including academic year, school division, club membership and housing situation. Method: In 1995, 419 men and 321 women at Kyoto University were enrolled in a study using informed consent. Subjects were classified as nonflushers or flushers by using a self-reported measure, the ALST (Alcohol Sensitivity Screening Test). Alcohol drinking behavior during the last year, including drinking frequency, alcohol intake per occasion and problem drinking behavior, was investigated. Results: Compared with male flushers, male nonflushers showed a 1.8 times higher frequency of drinking with family members (p < .01) and drank significantly larger amounts of alcohol with family members (p < .05). Male nonflushers drank significantly larger amounts of alcohol with friends than did male flushers (p < .0001) and showed significantly heavier mean alcohol consumption per month than male flushers did (p < .001). Compared with male flushers, male nonflushers showed a 1.7 times higher rate of high-problem drinking (p < .01). In contrast, none of these drinking behaviors differed between female nonflushers and female flushers. Conclusions: Even after adjusting for aspects of alcohol-related psychosocial factors, flushing reactions among Japanese university students were significantly related to drinking behavior in men but not in women. (J. Stud. Alcohol 63: 527-530, 2002)
