Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and HDL cholesterol (HDL) are highly correlated in male alcohol dependent patients.
BACKGROUND
Serum levels of total HDL cholesterol (HDL) are reportedly influenced by recent alcohol intake. We examined the correlation between HDL cholesterol and widely used markers of excessive alcohol intake, such as carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT), or mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes (MCV), of which CDT is thought to be the most specific.


METHODS
Several serological markers [i.e., CDT, GGT, aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), MCV, and HDL] were determined in 100 actively drinking male patients with alcohol dependence (DSM-IV) and in 27 non-alcohol-dependent controls, according to routine procedures. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated.


RESULTS
We found a highly significant positive correlation between HDL and CDT (r(s) = 0.55; p < 0.0005) in patients, but not in controls (r(s) = 0.13;p = 0.51). HDL was also positively correlated with GGT, ALAT, ASAT, and MCV only in patients.


CONCLUSIONS
HDL cholesterol, as a widely determined parameter, may represent a useful routine marker for recent excessive alcohol intake. High HDL cholesterol levels should alert clinicians to investigate a patient's recent pattern of alcohol consumption.
Szegedi
A
A
Department of Psychiatry, University of Mainz, Germany. szegedi@mail.psychiatrie.klinik.uni-mainz.de
Müller
M J
MJ
Himmerich
H
H
Anghelescu
I
I
Wetzel
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase