Alcohol tolerance
Alcohol tolerance refers to the bodily responses to the functional effects of ethanol in alcoholic beverages. This includes direct tolerance, speed of recovery from insobriety and resistance to the development of alcoholism.
Contents |
[edit] Consumption-induced tolerance
Alcohol tolerance is increased by regular drinking.[1] This reduced sensitivity requires that higher quantities of alcohol be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before tolerance was established. Alcohol tolerance may lead to (or be a sign of) alcohol dependency.[1] Heavy alcohol consumption over a period of years can lead to "reverse tolerance". A liver can be damaged by chronic alcohol use, leading to a buildup of fat and scar tissue. The reduced ability of such a liver to metabolize or break down alcohol means that small amounts can lead to a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and more rapid intoxication.
[edit] Physiology of alcohol tolerance
Direct alcohol tolerance is largely dependent on body size. Large-bodied people will require more alcohol to reach insobriety than lightly built people. Thus, men, being larger than women on average, will have a higher alcohol tolerance. The alcohol tolerance is also connected with activity of alcohol dehydrogenases (a group of enzymes responsible for the breakdown of alcohol) in the liver, and in the bloodstream. High level of alcohol dehydrogenase activity results in fast transformation of ethanol to more toxic acetaldehyde. Such atypical alcohol dehydrogenase levels are less frequent in alcoholics than in nonalcoholics and can, alongside other symptoms, can indicate various forms of liver disease.[citation needed] Furthermore, among alcoholics, the carriers of this atypical enzyme consume lower ethanol doses, compared to the individuals without the allele.
[edit] Alcohol tolerance in different ethnic groups
The tolerance to alcohol is not equally distributed throughout the world's population, and genetics of alcohol dehydrogenase indicate resistance has arisen independently in different ethnic groups.[2] People of European descent on average have a high alcohol tolerance and are less likely to develop alcoholism compared to Aboriginal Australians, Native Americans and some East Asian groups.[3][4][5] This is related to an average higher body mass, but also to the prevalence of high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase in the population.[6][7] The high alcohol tolerance in Europeans and some other ethnic groups has probably evolved as a consequence of centuries of exposure to alcohol in established agricultural societies.[8][2]
Not all differences in tolerance can be traced to biochemistry.[9] Differences in tolerance levels are also influenced by socio-economic and cultural difference including diet, average body weight and patterns of consumption.[10][11]
An estimated one out of three people in East Asian countries have an alcohol flush reaction, colloquially known as "Asian Glow", a condition where the body cannot break down ingested alcohol completely because it lacks the genetically coded enzyme that performs this function in the bodies of drinkers with "European" tolerance levels.[12] Flushing, or blushing, is associated with the erythema (reddening caused by dilation of capillaries) of the face, neck, and shoulder, after consumption of alcohol.[12]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b "Alcohol and Tolerance". National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Alcohol Alert (28). April 1995. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa28.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ a b Osier M.V., Pakstis A.J., Soodyall H., Comas D., Goldman D., Odunsi A., Okonofua F., Parnas J., Schulz L.O., Bertranpetit J., Bonne-Tamir B., Lu R.B., Kidd J.R., Kidd K.K.(2002): A global perspective on genetic variation at the ADH genes reveals unusual patterns of linkage disequilibrium and diversity. American Journal of Human Genetics no 71: pp 84-99. pdf
- ^ Luczak & al. (2001): Binge drinking in Chinese, Korean, and White college students: Genetic and ethnic group differences. Psychology of Addictive Behavior no 15: pp 306–309
- ^ Mail & al. (eds., 2002): Alcohol Use Among American Indians and Alaska Natives: Multiple Perspectives on a Complex Problem. NIAAA Research Monograph No. 37. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- ^ Caetano, R. & Clark, C.L. (1998): Trends in alcohol–related problems among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics: 1984–1995. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research no 22: pp 534–538
- ^ Yin, S.J.; Cheng, T.C. & Chang, C.P. (1988): Human stomach alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH): A genetic model proposed for ALDH III isozymes. Biochemical Genetics no 26: pp 343–360
- ^ Fenna, D. L. & Mix, O. (1971). Ethanol metabolism in various racial groups. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 105, 472-475 summary
- ^ Diamond, Jared (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Co.. ISBN 0-393-06131-0.
- ^ Bennion, L. & Li, T. K. (1976). Alcohol metabolism in american indian and whites. New England Journal of Medicine, 294, 9-13
- ^ Waldram, J. B., Herring, A., & Young, K. (1995). Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Book online
- ^ Saggers, S. & Gray, D. (1998b). Dealing with Alcohol: Indigenous Usage in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b "Mitochondrial ALDH2 Deficiency as an Oxidative Stress". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1011 (1): 36–44. April 2004. doi:10.1196/annals.1293.004. PMID 15126281. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118765604/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
[edit] References
- Carroll, Charles R. Drugs in Modern Society . NY: McGraw-Hill, 2000 (fifth ed.).
- Chesher, G., & Greeley, J. Tolerance to the effects of alcohol. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving, 1992, 8(2):93-106.
- Osier M., Pakstis A.J., Kidd J.R., Lee J.F., Yin S.J., Ko H.C., Edenberg H.J., Lu R.B., Kidd K.K. Linkage disequilibrium at the ADH2 and ADH3 loci and risk of alcoholism // Am. J. Hum. Genet. 1999, 6: 1147-1157.
- Muramatsu T., Zu-Cheng W., Yi-Ru F., Kou-Bao H., Heqin Y., Yamada K., Higuchi S., Harada S., Kono H. Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes and drinking behavior of Chinese living in Shanghai // Hum. Genet. 1995,96: 151-154.
- Neumark Y.D., Friedlander Y., Thomasson H.R., Li T.K. Association of the ADH2*2 allele with reduced ethanol consumption in Jewish men in Israel: a pilot study // J. Stud. Alcohol. 1998, 59: 133-139.
- Borinskaya S. A., Gasemianrodsari F., Kalyina N. R., Sokolova M. V., Yankovsky N. K. Polymorphism of alcohol dehydrogenase gene ADH1B in eastern Slavic and Iranian-speaking populations. //Genetika. 2005, 41: 1563-1566 (in Russian).
- Borinskaya S., Kal'ina N., Marusin A., Faskhutdinova G., Morozova I., Kutuev I., Koshechkin V., Khusnutdinova E., Stepanov V.,Puzyrev V., Yankovsky N., Rogaev E. Distribution of the alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B*47His allele in Eurasia //Am. J.Hum. Genet. 2009,84(1):89-92.
- Li H., Borinskaya S., Yoshimura K., Kal'ina N., Marusin A., et al. Refined geographic distribution of the oriental ALDH2*504Lys (nee 487Lys) variant// Ann. Hum. Genet. 2009,73: 335–345
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
